Sol Lewitt' Structures in City Hall Park

 

  Why should you stop by the City Hall Park soon? Because it is a beautiful park, nestled in between older, beautifully decorated buildings and new, contemporary high rises, and right now it too has the feel of past and present converging.  

  From May 24th to Dec 2nd the City Hall Park hosts an outdoor art show by artist Sol Lewitt (1965-2006).  The show is titled 'Structures' and it consists of about 15 modern sculptures scattered throughout the park. The artist was inspired by geometrical forms such as cubes and polygons and constructed multiple variations of them.  He is a pioneer in the use of seriality - “the creation of art through an objective chain of permutations."  

  While visually interesting and certainly rich in concept, I was interested in observing these sculptures in the environment.  In an otherwise old fashioned, delightful park, these statues seem more progressive then they would in a modern art museum for example.  However, because of their unifying white color, and strategic placement into the gardens, I don’t think they disturb the harmony of the park, even though they are relatively large in size.  The show echoes the overall surroundings in Downtown Manhattan and the visit to this park is truly refreshing!