New York City is a vibrant and dense city, full of life, colors, and forms. A city known for its love of art in all expressions and ways. Artists and creators find in New York City an open space to showcase their talent, that openness and invitation to create are what makes New York City a reference in the world and a destination for many artists and visitors who want to experience and see the world through the eyes of those who have a story to tell.

A beautiful and special place is Central Park, right in the middle of Manhattan, a space that has allowed New Yorkers and guests to experience nature in the middle of this concrete jungle. Central Park is there to offer all its visitor a space to breath, to walk and to decompress from the intensity that this city can embody. Central Park is also an open space and an open canvas for many artists to present their work to the world.

The Horses is a remarkable art installation located in the Doris C. Fredman Plaza in Central park, curated by Public Art Fund and the curator Daniel S. Palmer. The Horses is an impressive artwork of three aluminum horses, created by the well-known and respected French artist Jean-Marie Appriou. The massive sculptures raging from 16 feet tall to 16 feet long are outstanding installations that evoke those whimsical and poetic figures that can be found in magical stories.

Appriou was inspired by the horses-drawn carriages that are one of the many attractions found in Central Park and by August Saint-Gaudens’s gilded monument of William Tacumseh Sherman on horseback, located in the area. The Horses are magnificent sculptures, carved in clay and foam models, cast in aluminum and full of textures emulating muscles, metal plates and in some places like fabric. One horse is seated, the two others are standing but their location it’s made to create a feel of a scene or scenario.

Public Art Fund curator said about the artist in the public art fund press release, “Jean-Marie Appriou’s unconventional approach to sculpture is almost alchemical, His craftsmanship is informed by a deep knowledge of the historical lineage of sculptors that have preceded him. At the same time, Appriou’s equine sculptures are otherworldly, evoking the silent majesty of horses with nuanced sculptural details that flicker between narrative and poetry.” 

The Horses are sculptures of a mix of human and horse form, giving the viewers the experience of being in front of mystical creatures, encouraging the visitors to see beyond what their eyes see and into what their imagination see. The Horses installation is also an active experience, where people can walk under the standing horse, or around the others to see all of their details and touch their textures, an activity that creates a distinctive experience.

The installation is a beautiful artwork that invites all visitors to use their imagination and to find the magic in the creation and is a suitable art piece that asks everyone to experience the charmed that Central Park offers. Art could be a special way to see the world, with curious eyes and with an open and creative mind, and that is the perfect attitude to go to Central Park and see and discover all its beauty, secrets, and artistic elements.

The world is living in a new reality, where social distancing, face mask and proper hygiene are part of the vocabulary, a new reality in which parks and open spaces are now the perfect and safest places to visit and to spend time. For New Yorkers and tourist now days Central Park has become not only an essential point in an itinerary but also a must visit to fulfill the artistic need, to calm the anxious mind and to enter for a moment in a new and simple reality full of nature and art. The Horses and this type of art exhibits give people the chance to practice art in a safe and fun way.

Public art is a great way to enjoy and satisfy that artistic necessity in any day, but most important during this time when people are not only facing isolation and health concern but also economical concerns. Now creativity is a key not only to create art or to find it but also a way to enjoy time, families, and friends. New York is a place that offers many forms of public and accessible art to its residents and guests. The Horses installation is an example of that artistic vain that is part of the essence of this city.

The Horses will be on display at Doris C. Freedman Plaza, 5^th Avenue at 60^th Street, until August 2020.

Jean-Marie Appriou, The Horses, 2019, Cast aluminum, courtesy of the artist and CLEARING, New York/Brussels; Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zürich/New York
Presented by Public Art Fund, Doris C. Freedman Plaza, Central Park, Sep 11, 2019 – Aug 30, 2020

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New York City is a city that breathes art in most of its corners, and it is known as the city that never sleeps and where dreams come true. New York City is where art cannot only be found in its famous museums, but also in its streets. Walking through the city could lead you to multiple and diverse forms of art, from installations, murals, paintings to monuments, you name it and probably you can find it in the well-known and appreciated street art in the mist and heart of the city.

A city that is full of attractions but also it is in itself a massive attraction to many visitors and locals. Walking through New York City has become in many cases a free for all access pass to a giant and singular urban museum of architectural wonders, music and other cultural experiences. New York City is a clean and open canvas for many artists, performers, and creators to display and share their talent with everyone willing to pay attention. Street art is mostly for everyone, and is an accessible way to convey art, to provide an experience to all visitors and viewers, and a spectacular way of doing art.

Banksy is the famous British street artist, known for his mysterious and anonymous identity, and for his popular graffiti paintings around many countries in the world. His urban street art and interventions in the art community have gained him recognition, his style is a signature that he has developed over the years with each of his pieces and displays. Banksy has attracted an interest in his street art and in the meaning of it, making it an experience for his followers, admires and critics. The inclusion of his fans in his way of doing art, and the chase to discover his latest creation or intervention is what has made him a symbol of the rise of street art. The use of cultural, urban and mundane objects and spaces as part his artwork, the graffiti form of painting and the inappropriate feel of it has gained him an audience that appreciates his irreverent style and his mysterious message sometimes implicit and at other times difficult to identify.

The Hammer Boy, located on 79^th Street and Broadway in Manhattan on the wall of the DSW store, is one of many Banksy’s street art pieces left during October 2013, when the artist created a few art pieces around New York City, in over a 31-day period. Some of those pieces were removed, but the Hammer Boy was preserved by the local business, owner of the store, where it was found it. Now covered with Plexiglas to protect the art over time and from other forms of damages, Hammer Boy has become a point of reference for tourist, visitor and Banksy fans.

The simplicity and the use of his surroundings are signs of the artist’s work found in the Hammer Boy. A simple black silhouette of a child holding a hammer painted in a stencil, imitating for many the popular carnival game, where a person uses a hammer to hit a level, the contrast with the brick beige wall and the black color of the silhouette makes it stand up to the viewer. The use of the hydrant, the pipe and the signs on the wall are a demonstration of Banksy’s style of using artless and ordinary objects.

Graffiti and the definition of it as a form of street art, art or  just simple vandalism is a topic of discussion and evaluation, but what is not up for discussion for many is the inspiration and appreciation street art provides to those looking to transform mundane objects, spaces and lives into better and more artistic expressions. Street art challenges the artist and everyone that admires it to see the world with a different and more artistic eye.

New Yorkers are coming out of a difficult quarantine due to a virus that has impacted the city in unimaginable ways but has strengthened its spirit and determination. The love of their city is ingrained in what it represents and provides not only to its local population but to the world. Art is subjective but also is encouraging, inspiring and healing, having these options accessible by a simple walk or a simple train ride, for many is what helps and keeps this city alive. Discovering and re-discovering these little gems throughout the city is a way to get back into a new normal that people are still trying to discern and grapple with. Soon Museums will open again and inside door activities will be available, but for now and for all those who value seeing and finding art in the monotonous and daily life, street art is a way to enjoy art and life in these difficult times.

The Hammer Boy is a simple, very accessible piece of art that is not only a representation of its creator, but also a fit in a city that love, speaks and inhale art. You can find Banksy’s Hammer Boy art piece on 79^th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam, on the wall of the DSW store. It is worth a visit.

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