Toshihiro Oki Architects Win Folly Garden Competition with Fanciful Design for Socrates Sculpture Park

Toshihiro Oki Architects Win Folly Garden Competition with Fanciful Design for Socrates Sculpture Park

Now in its second year, the Folly Competition – a two-month residency project sponsored by the Architectural League of New York and Socrates Sculpture Park that explores the tradition of 18th and 19th century folly gardens – has announced a winner. Toshihiro

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PHOTOS: Leo Villareal’s Twinkling New LED Art Installation Lights Up an NYC Lobby

PHOTOS: Leo Villareal’s Twinkling New LED Art Installation Lights Up an NYC Lobby

Light artist Leo Villareal recently unveiled his newest LED sculpture inside a glass-front lobby on the Avenue of the Americas. Called “Volume (Durst),” the chandelier-like installation was commissioned by the Durst Organization to be enjoyed by its employees, as well as the rest of the city. The piece incorporates 86,400 LED lights programmed by Villareal to pulse in a myriad of shapes and patterns that never repeat themselves.

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NYC AIDS Memorial Loses Plants But Gains Community Support

NYC AIDS Memorial Loses Plants But Gains Community Support

Plans for the New York City AIDS memorial honoring the city’s 100,000+ men, women and children who have succumbed to the disease in the last thirty years have been reimagined with a more streamlined design. Brooklyn architecture studio a+i originally covered their design with English ivy, Virginia creeper and honeysuckle, but took the wishes of the community into account and put the kibosh on the greens. The new plant-less plan means that the memorial would be able to maintain a beautiful aesthetic all year-round.

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William Miller’s Beautiful and Abstract Photos Are Actually of the Gowanus Canal’s Polluted Slime

William Miller’s Beautiful and Abstract Photos Are Actually of the Gowanus Canal’s Polluted Slime

Artist William Miller’s photos may look like beautiful artistic abstractions, but the flowing lines and iridescent specks are actually close-ups of Brooklyn's heavily polluted Gowanus Canal. A closer look reveals the grim details of the sludgy waterway - bits of garbage, pools of oil and even the corpse of a rodent floating in the infamously mucky waterway .

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Newark Students Recreate Van Gogh’s Starry Night Using 5,000 Bottle Caps

Newark Students Recreate Van Gogh’s Starry Night Using 5,000 Bottle Caps

Students at South Street Elementary School in Newark, New Jersey are both artists and conservationists. After collecting over 5,000 bottle caps in their local community, the students arranged the caps into an eco-friendly 8-foot by 12-foot rendition of Vincent

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Recalling 1993: NYC’s New Museum Transforms Old Pay Phones into Portals to the City’s Past

Recalling 1993: NYC’s New Museum Transforms Old Pay Phones into Portals to the City’s Past

The New Museum has hijacked the city’s pay phones and transformed them into time machines that allow city-dwellers to make calls 20 years into New York’s past. Anyone strolling along Manhattan’s streets can now walk up to a pay phone, dial 1-855-FOR-1993,

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SNEAK PEEK: Nest-Shaped Treehouse Made of Hurricane Sandy-Fallen Trees Rises at Brooklyn Botanical Garden

SNEAK PEEK: Nest-Shaped Treehouse Made of Hurricane Sandy-Fallen Trees Rises at Brooklyn Botanical Garden

"Nature is the architect," Roderick Romero told us rather modestly when asked about his latest creation, a giant "nest" made from trees knocked down by Hurricane Sandy at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. While it's true that the public art piece, dubbed "Sandy Remix", was born from the aftermath of the superstorm, we think Romero should at least take a little credit. He and his crew have been working through frigid temps, snow and rain to perfect the one-of-a-kind treehouse before it opens to the public on April 6th. If you want to get a sneak peek of this magical structure before the official launch, click through our gallery to take a private tour.

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Heather Kocsis’ Intriguing 3-D Dioramas Let You Peer into Tiny Scenes of New York City

Heather Kocsis’ Intriguing 3-D Dioramas Let You Peer into Tiny Scenes of New York City

If the measure of a truly successful piece of art is its ability to draw the viewer in, Heather Kocsis' entrancing vignettes of New York City life certainly fit the bill. Handcrafted from reclaimed pieces of wood that have been broken down and painted to resemble miniature fire escapes, brick walls and windows, each diorama offers a new little world to be explored. We recently had the chance to snap some photos of these truly delightful 3-D assemblages - click through our gallery to take a tour of NYC as seen through Kocsis' eyes.

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WASTED: Artist Alex White Mazzarella’s New Exhibit Explores Social Inequality Using Recycled Materials

WASTED: Artist Alex White Mazzarella’s New Exhibit Explores Social Inequality Using Recycled Materials

111 bottles and one shoe: the components that comprise artist Alex White Mazzarella's latest piece may seem mundane, but are impactful when they work together, just like the immigrant workers they represent. Called "A Working Class", the assemblage is currently on view at Japanese gallery Resobox in Long Island City along with a selection of Mazzarella's older works in an exhibition entitled WASTED. We recently caught up with Mazzarella to find out more about WASTED, his use of recycled materials, and his related projects, which endeavor to bring attention to marginalized communities throughout the world. Read on for some of his thoughts.

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Navid Baraty’s Energizing Photos Capture NYC Life From the Rooftops

Navid Baraty’s Energizing Photos Capture NYC Life From the Rooftops

New York City’s breathtaking skyscrapers and busy city streets have been the subject of many a lens, but Brooklyn-based photographer Navid Baraty captures the city from a point of view not often seen by the masses. In a series of spectacular aerial photos, Baraty manages to take hold of bustling intersections from high above for a perspective that entailed dangling his camera dangerously over Manhattan's rooftops. Click through the gallery to peruse through some of his incredible shots of New York City life.

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Artists Turn Trash Into Striking Recycled Art Pieces at transFORM Gallery

Artists Turn Trash Into Striking Recycled Art Pieces at transFORM Gallery

We may call it garbage, but for artists at the transFORM Art Gallery in New Rochelle, NY, trash is just art waiting to happen. In a new exhibit at the gallery called Re-Imagining Past Possessions: Works of Recycled Materials, five artists used eco-friendly methods to create sculptures and paintings using recycled and reused materials ranging from magazines to scrap metal. Click through the gallery to see these transformative works of art.

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IN PIECES: 10 Perfectly Pixelated LEGO Sculptures Pop Up in SoHo

IN PIECES: 10 Perfectly Pixelated LEGO Sculptures Pop Up in SoHo

If you've ever wondered what it would be like to step into a Super Mario Brothers game (we're talking pre-SNES), you won't want to miss this pleasantly pixelated new exhibit by LEGO sculptor Nathan Sawaya and Australian photographer Dean West. Entitled "IN PIECES", the show displays ordinarily mundane objects - flip flops, a bucket, a dog - that have been constructed brick by brick by Sawaya. West's photographs take the sculptures to the next level by featuring them amidst simultaneously peculiar yet unremarkable scenes of Americana. If you're not quite sure what we mean, step into our gallery to see some of our favorite LEGO pieces as well as the somewhat creepy portraits that accompany them.

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“Heartwalk” Sculpture Made of Hurricane Sandy Wood Gets New Home in Brooklyn

“Heartwalk” Sculpture Made of Hurricane Sandy Wood Gets New Home in Brooklyn

If you missed your chance to see Heartwalk, a heart-shaped pavilion made from Hurricane Sandy-salvaged wood, while it was in Times Square, you can still catch it while it's at its new location. The expressive sculpture now sits proudly on the Pearl Street Triangle in DUMBO, Brooklyn, where both visitors and locals have been having a ball stepping into its warm embrace. The pavilion will be on display at this location until April 30th.

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8 Green Designs Included in AIA New York’s 2013 Architect Awards Winners

8 Green Designs Included in AIA New York’s 2013 Architect Awards Winners

The New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects recently unveiled the winners of its annual design awards, and we were excited to see that eight of the top designs were focused around sustainable features. The AIA NY based their scores on quality of design, innovation, technique and response to context and community, and only 21 projects made it to the cream of the crop. The selected works will be on exhibit at the Center for Architecture from April 18th through May 31st, but if you'd like to get a glimpse of the eight green winners ahead of time, click through our photo gallery now.

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Surf Legend Herbie Fletcher’s Wrecktangles Recycle Broken Surfboards Into New Sculptures

Surf Legend Herbie Fletcher’s Wrecktangles Recycle Broken Surfboards Into New Sculptures

The surfers who ride the waves at the famous Pipeline in Oaha have some major cojones, but sometimes their boards don't make it out. The force of the waves can crack a board in two, leaving the rider with little more than a souvenir of their survival. Surfing legend Herbie Fletcher decided to do something with the carnage from Pipeline, and he just launched a new installation at the Hole NYC. Wrecktangles is a series of sculptures that turn broken and recycled surfboards into a complex tangle of logos, fiberglass and personal expression.

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Starving Artists Project Turns Cardboard Signs From NYC’s Homeless into Art for Social Change

Starving Artists Project Turns Cardboard Signs From NYC’s Homeless into Art for Social Change

They are part of New York City’s invisible culture. They ride the trains to stay warm, set up camp in transportation hubs and plead for city dwellers to spare some cash or food. Yet, despite their massive presence, the homeless are widely ignored. Now a new initiative, the Starving Artists Project, is trying to change all of that by giving NYC’s homeless community a platform to showcase their cries for help. The program seeks to turn the cardboard signs we see being held up on street corners and in subway stations into art that funds social change.

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Shinique Smith’s Curious Hanging Sculptures are Upcycled from Her Own Wardrobe

Shinique Smith’s Curious Hanging Sculptures are Upcycled from Her Own Wardrobe

Artist Shinique Smith’s captivating canvas collages and hanging sculptures are made from found objects from the artist’s life - including some of her own clothing. Recently opened at Chelsea’s James Cohan Gallery, “Bold As Love” incorporates Smith’s colorful body of work and features hanging anthropomorphic forms made from upcycled garments. The show coincides with the announcement of Smith’s piece for MTA for the Arts, which will be a giant mosaic rendering of one of her collages for a bus shelter in Harlem.

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7 Gorgeous Vertical Gardens That Bring Living, Growing Art to the Walls of New York City

7 Gorgeous Vertical Gardens That Bring Living, Growing Art to the Walls of New York City

Those of us who've ogled spectacular vertical gardens in other cities may feel that New York City is a bit lacking when it comes to great green walls - but the truth is that you just have to look for them. From a dazzling vegetated display at Lincoln Center to a dynamic planted wall at one of our favorite restaurants, we recently spied 7 living walls by plant wall design right here in the Big Apple. Click through our gallery to see them all, but don't forget to visit them in person as well. Except for the residential ones (that might be weird).

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Jeremiah Johnson’s Dollhouses Made from Credit Card Applications Pop Up in Chelsea

Jeremiah Johnson’s Dollhouses Made from Credit Card Applications Pop Up in Chelsea

We’ve been following the work of artist Jeremiah Johnson for a while, but now New Yorkers will get to experience his miniature houses made from recycled credit card application papers at a pop-up exhibition at Kotsabi World Gallery Space. Presented by Converge

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The End is Far: Olek’s Crazy New Crocheted Exhibit Features Dining Skeletons and Mermaids On Swings

The End is Far: Olek’s Crazy New Crocheted Exhibit Features Dining Skeletons and Mermaids On Swings

This weekend, New York artist Olek opened the doors to her latest exhibition, The End is Far, to a huge crowd queuing up to see what crazy crocheted concoctions would be on display at the Jonathan Levine Gallery in Chelsea. From a crocheted mermaid moving to and fro on a swing to a yarnbombed dining room with another pair of mermaids sitting with a skeleton, Olek's handiwork in this latest show is nothing short of impressive. Click through our gallery for more photos of the surrealist, psychedelic scene!

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Help This Glittering Recycled Bottle Pavilion Materialize at the Figment Festival This Summer

Help This Glittering Recycled Bottle Pavilion Materialize at the Figment Festival This Summer

The annual FIGMENT Festival on Governor’s Island is still a few months away, but STUDIOKCA is already hard at work on their Head in the Clouds Pavilion. The winner of the festival’s “City of Dreams” contest, the project upcycles hundreds of plastic bottles into a glittering cloud-like installation that visitors can sit around and under. STUDIOKCA has begun the arduous building process, and is simultaneously collecting plastic bottles from the community, while running a Kickstarter campaign to help build the installation. Read on to see how you can help!

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Mayor Bloomberg Announces First NYCxDESIGN Event to Showcase Designs from the 5 Boroughs

Mayor Bloomberg Announces First NYCxDESIGN Event to Showcase Designs from the 5 Boroughs

Mark your calendars, design fans! In keeping with its other efforts to promote local goods and services, New York City recently announced the first ever “NYCxDESIGN” (NYC by Design) city-wide event to showcase design from all around the five boroughs.

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PHOTOS: Single Fare 3 Brings Even More Cool MetroCard Artwork to Tribeca

PHOTOS: Single Fare 3 Brings Even More Cool MetroCard Artwork to Tribeca

Single Fare, the phenomenal exhibition that recycles hundreds of used MetroCards into miniature works of art, is back for a third rendition. Hosted by RH Gallery in Tribeca, the show turns the discarded MetroCards that litter our MTA stations into cool and quirky paintings and sculptures. Curated by Michael Kagan and Jean-Pierre Roy, this year’s batch is heavy on pop culture and movie references, with stand-out pieces like a series of 3D-printed cards and one wall depicting the epic Superman movie, scene by scene on individual MetroCards.

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Own a Piece of the Wildly Popular Discovering Columbus Exhibit Through the Public Art Fund’s Sale!

Own a Piece of the Wildly Popular Discovering Columbus Exhibit Through the Public Art Fund’s Sale!

Last fall, Japanese artist Tatzu Nishi surrounded the iconic 13-foot statue of Christopher Columbus at his namesake circle with a living room six stories above the street. Visitors were invited to hang out in the elevated apartment, lounge on the couches or read a book from the living room shelf. Now, in a fundraiser that benefits the Public Art Fund, arts lovers can take home their very own piece of the installation by purchasing the actual furniture and accessories used in the lofty space.

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Heartwalk Pavilion Made of Hurricane Sandy-Salvaged Boardwalk Planks Opens in Times Square

Heartwalk Pavilion Made of Hurricane Sandy-Salvaged Boardwalk Planks Opens in Times Square

You could really feel the love in Times Square this morning with the unveiling of Heartwalk, a heart-shaped art installation made of boardwalk planks salvaged after Hurricane Sandy. Conceptualized and designed by Brooklyn's Situ Studio, the LED-laced pavilion will provide lovers and others with the perfect photo opp backdrop for Valentine's Day on Thursday. Click through our gallery to see pics of this romantically recycled piece of public art.

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