New Public Art Coming to Riverside Park South

Brook’s installation will replace ‘Hell Gate Cairns’ from Samantha Holmes.

By Alex Israel

Viewfinding, a sculptural installation from Brooklyn-based artist Sarah E. Brook, will take over Riverside Park at 66th Street in September, in partnership with the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, according to a presentation at this month’s Community Board 7 Parks & Environment Committee meeting.

According to her site, Brook’s work often utilizes “translucency, layering, color gradients and architectural references, exploring the relationship between expansive external and internal space.” For this installation, Brook shared her excitement to have a “unique opportunity in the city,” to showcase her work against a backdrop of such “expansive sky.”

Brook’s sketch of ‘Viewfinding’.

“Having it in a place where at certain points of day the sun will be hitting it from the front, and at other points the sun will be hitting it from the back, it will really change [the experience] quite a bit,” she said, explaining the thinking behind her work. “It creates a really interesting opportunity for the viewer to interact with the piece standing and the environment at the same time.”

Brook’s installation will be up from September 2018 through September 2019. NYC Parks is hosting a meet and greet with Brook on September 22 to learn about the new sculpture. You can read more about the event here.

The project will also feature the integrated work of 26 queer-identified poets. “Their short poems on the themes of queer transformation and self-actualization will be installed on the sculpture’s bench, and provide additional opportunities for reflection. The potluck on 9/22 is also a poetry reading where many of the included poets will share longer work,” Brook tells us.