Productive Public Space.
Courtesy Van Alen Institute
Through 04.25.08
Productive Public Space: Exploring Hybridities in Informal Settlements
During their New York Prize Fellowship term at the Van Alen Institute, Chelina Odbert and Jennifer Toy organized a series of roundtables with a wide range of design and environmental professionals to explore the significance of public space in informal settlements. Odbert and Toy also commissioned a group of artists and graphic designers to create a poster series, to be reproduced and distributed throughout Nairobi, NYC, and other cities as part of an awareness campaign this summer. The originals, which range in media from woodcut to newsprint and silkscreen, are on view.
Van Alen Institute
30 West 22nd Street
Jersey City’s Hudson & Manhattan Powerhouse Transformation.
Keith Lang
04.22-28.08
Thesis 2008: SVA Interior Design
Students at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) are trying to enhance life around the city, and their designs are on view to start the discussion. Projects include the transformation of the Jersey City Hudson and Manhattan Powerhouse into a contemporary sculpture center, a new culinary institute for Tribeca, and an artist colony as 21st-century urban lodge. Works of 17 students graduating from SVA are on view. The curators are Neville Lewis (National Arts Club Gold Medal and Interior Design Hall of Fame) and Anthony Lee, design director at Gary Lee Partners.
The National Arts Club
15 Gramercy Park South
Courtesy Columbia University
Through 04.28.08
Italian Mosaic and Terrazzo Workers in New York City
The Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America at Columbia University presents an exhibition on the unknown history of mosaic and terrazzo workers, a chapter in the story of Italian immigration to NY and America. The decoration of many of NYC’s buildings came from the hands of skilled Italians — the palatial homes of Vanderbilts and Goulds, and public buildings such as Christ Church, the Metropolitan Club, and the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Building. Gold leaf and jewel-toned glass mosaics were a hallmark of these Italian immigrants, as were the inlaid, polished marble floors (known as Venetian mosaic and terrazzo).
The Italian Academy at Columbia University
1161 Amsterdam Avenue
Courtesy Parsons The New School for Design
04.23-05.02.08
Parsons Integrated Design Curriculum Displays Theses
Thesis work by students in the Parsons Integrated Design Curriculum (IDC), a self-directed art and design interdisciplinary degree program, is on view. The work presented has undergone a comprehensive, year-long process involving research and prototyping, and culminates in a final project.
Parsons The New School for Design
66 5th Avenue