Monday, January 22, 2024
Amtrak is ready to inaugurate the third installment of its Art at Amtrak series with a new artwork by Rico Gatson, a renowned artist based in New York. This latest piece, titled “Untitled (Collective Light Transfer),” is set to be unveiled at New York Penn Station on Thursday, Jan. 25. The installation will encompass the entire concourse of the station and will be displayed throughout the summer season.
The Art at Amtrak series, especially with the unveiling of Rico Gatson’s “Untitled (Collective Light Transfer)” at New York Penn Station, significantly enhances tourism by transforming a conventional transit space into a vibrant cultural landmark. This initiative, now in its third year, adds an artistic allure to the station, attracting not just regular commuters but also tourists and art aficionados.
Jina Sanone said that the latest art at the Amtrak showcase weaves light, color, and culture together to surprise and delight customers and station visitors. Sanone is the Amtrak Vice President of the Northeast Corridor Service Line. Sanone added that as they enter the third year of the popular Art at Amtrak program, the next journey through the station for the passengers will be even brighter and more inspiring, thanks to the brilliant vision of local artists like Rico.
Untitled (Collective Light Transfer) features geometric compositions alongside a carefully selected color palette, illuminating the station with pulsating energy and evoking a sense of resonating rhythm and vibration. Radiating lines and concentric circles echo the collective movement of bodies circulating throughout the station.
This integration of art into public spaces like train stations adds a new dimension to the urban landscape, making these locations destinations in themselves for cultural engagement. Consequently, this artistic enrichment of transit hubs is poised to draw more visitors, contributing positively to the local tourism sector and the broader cultural appeal of the city.
Gatson’s artistic process layers ideas and inspirations he has contemplated throughout his career, such as spirituality, African, Native, and Indigenous artistic practices, music as a transcendental force, illumination as a concept, abstract mathematics, the role of art in counterculture movements, and political identity. In totality, the designs in Untitled (Collective Light Transfer) come together to uplift, reflect, and guide travelers as they move between the rotunda, concourse, their train, and their next destination.
Art at Amtrak launched in June 2022 and has commissioned temporary installations for New York Penn Station by New York and New Jersey artists, including Shoshanna Weinberger, David Rios Ferreira, Derrick Adams, Dennis RedMoon Darkeem, Ghost of a Dream, Saya Woolfalk, and Dahlia Elsayed. In 2023, the initiative grew to include the Metropolitan Lounge at Moynihan Train Hall, where Karen Margolis’ four-panel artwork Continuum is permanently installed, as well as Amtrak’s William H. Gray 30th Street Station in Philadelphia and Washington Union Station.
Art at Amtrak has been curated by Debra Simon Art Consulting since the program’s inception. Simon was the Director of Public Art at the Times Square Alliance, created Arts Brookfield, the largest privately funded public art program in the United States, and co-founded the River to River festival.
[Image Source: Coda Worx]
Sunday, April 28, 2024
Sunday, April 28, 2024
Sunday, April 28, 2024
