FLATIRON — A canopy of shimmering golden discs will hover over the paths in Madison Square Park starting this spring.
The 500-foot-long canopy — the largest public art installation ever mounted in the park — will be suspended over the paths surrounding the central oval lawn, creating intricate patterns overhead that will appear like sunlight filtering through foliage, according the Madison Square Park Conservancy.
Called “Fata Morgana,” meaning mirage, the exhibit created by Brooklyn-based artist Teresita Fernández will be on display from April 30, 2015, through Jan. 10, 2016.
“My concept was to invert the traditional notion of outdoor sculpture by addressing all of the active walkways of the park rather than setting down a sculptural element in the park’s center,” Fernández said in a written statement.
“By hovering over the park in a horizontal band, ‘Fata Morgana’ becomes like a ghost-like, sculptural, luminous mirage that both distorts the landscape and radiates golden light,” she continued.
The canopy will be made from mirror-polished metal discs that will be suspended from beams, which in turn will be connected to posts on the ground.
“Mad. Sq. Art is a singular opportunity for artists to further their current practice without the physical limitations of a traditional gallery space,” said Brooke Kamin Rapaport, senior curator at the Conservancy. “What Fernández has realized with 'Fata Morgana' is the most monumental example of this approach.”