new york's iconic buildings as contorted sculptures by alexandre arrechea

a maquette of the empire building to be produced as a ten foot sculpture as part of ‘no limit’ exhibition by alexandre arrechea, new york citystainless steel
 40 x 25 3/4 x 11 3/4 inches (101.6 x 65.4 x 29.8 cm)all images courtesy magnan metz gallery

alexandre arrechea: no limitpark avenue malls, new yorkon from march 1st through to june 9th, 2013

beginning march 1st, park avenue will be lined with 10 monumental sculptures of iconic new york buildings by cuban artist alexandre arrecheaas part of his ‘no limit’ site-specific installation backed by the magnan metz gallery. the pieces – including the chrysler building, citicorp center,empire state building, flatiron building, helmsley building, metlife building, metropolitan life insurance company tower, seagram building, sherry netherland, and the US courthouse – will in some cases reach up to 20 feet tall, reinterpreted into new foreign elastic forms that investigate the traditional role of icons in society. the rigid towers are made fluid, as if rolled out from the snail-like base, representing the rather relative sociopolitical and sociocultural values that rise and fall with the economy.

in the artist’s words:

‘I believe the same way that a building is exposed to daily elements and changes – cold hear, rain, fog – it is also exposed to constant changes in function –increases and decreased in market value, tenant use, and therefore purpose and social value. these persistent modifications are something i want to capture an embody in my work, creating a new model in constant negotiation with its surroundings.’

all ten sculptures represented graphically

‘the park avenue project presents a form of marriage between new york city landmarks and architectural elements from different backgrounds. these elements,I believe, symbolically parallel facets of the human condition. with this installation, I have created a set of works that confront dynamism vs static, the whole vs. the fragmented, control vs. chaos, utopia vs. reality. the series provides a new point of access from which to understand the dialogue between art and architecture and how this relationship can evolve and open new doors.’

rendering of the seagram building – showing the scale of the buildings

‘helmsley’, 2013steel15 x 14.4 x 2.6 feet (H 4500 x L 4415 x W 803 mm)image courtesy of the artist / magnan metz gallery

‘sherry netherland’, 2013steel14.75 x 14.4 x 1.2 feet(H 4500 x L 4415 x W 402 mm)image courtesy of the artist / magnan metz gallery

’empire state’, 2013steel15 x 10 x .9 feet(H 4500 x L 2946 x W 288 mm)image courtesy of the artist / magnan metz gallery

‘seagram’, 2013steel20 x 9.4 x 3.3 feet(H 6000 x L 2870 x W 1031 mm)

‘chrysler’, 2013steelno limits by alexandre arrechea14.8 x 6.4 x .8 feet(H 4525 x L 1940 x W 272 mm)image courtesy of the artist / magnan metz gallery

‘courthouse’, 2013aluminum, steel20 x 4.3 x 3 feet(H 6000 x L 1300 x W 960 mm)image courtesy of the artist / magnan metz gallery

‘flatiron’, 2013aluminum18 x 6.5 x .75 feet(H 5500 x L 1980 x W 250 mm)image courtesy of the artist / magnan metz gallery

‘flatiron’, 2013 – detailaluminum18 x 6.5 x .75 feet(H 5500 x L 1980 x W 250 mm)image courtesy of the artist / magnan metz gallery