Forget gallery walks. It’s all about the gallery ride.
For the price of a subway fare, world-class art — from Yayoi Kusama’s colorful creations to William Wegman’s irresistible dog photographs — can be enjoyed in stations across New York City, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Over the decades, the MTA has commissioned more than 400 piece of public art to enliven New Yorkers’ daily commutes and longer treks.
“Each work speaks in a unique way to a place,” Sandra Bloodworth, the longtime Director of MTA Art & Design told The Post.
She’s the co-author, along with Cheryl Hageman, of the new book “Contemporary Art Underground: MTA Arts & Design New York” (Monacelli, out now).
It highlights more than 100 of the MTA’s newest commissions — mostly constructed with mosaics or larger pieces of metal or glass — added to the transit system from 2015 to 2023.
Wanna check a few out?
Grab your Metrocard and take one of these (mostly) subterranean sight-seeing tours mapped out by The Post with the aid of the new book.
Tour 1: Williamsburg to Midtown
Start at the Bedford Avenue L station and check out Marcel Dzama’s “No Less Than Everything Comes Together” (2021). The piece is inspired, in part, by Walt Whitman’s poem “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry,” which brought Dzama comfort when he first moved to NYC from Canada and felt lonely on his daily commutes from his apartment on the Lower East Side to his studio in Brooklyn.
Take the Manhattan-bound L train to the First Avenue station to see Katherine Bradford’s “Queens of the Night” (2021), which plays with notions of New Yorkers’ inner and outer lives. On the south mezzanine, a singular large figure in a ball gown dances beneath a starry sky. On the north side, a number of smaller people float beneath a disco ball-like mirror. At the entrance, two caped superhero-like images offer protection to riders. “It’s a really sort of ephemeral work, you can feel the emotion,” said Bloodworth.
Continue West on the L to the 14th Street-Union Square station, and transfer to an uptown 6 train. Get off at 28th Street to see Nancy Blum’s “Roaming Underfoot” (2018). The oversized florals, all varieties known for their resilience to climate changes, nod both to botanical sketches from the 16th and 17th centuries and the Tiffany glass lamps that were once manufactured in the neighborhood.
Get back on the uptown 6 and head to Grand Central Station. Look up as you exit the subway and climb the stairs to the main hall to see Jim Hodges’ “I dreamed a world and called it Love” (2020). The colorful installation is based on camouflage and made from more than 5,000 pieces of glass.
From there, head to the Long Island Railroad Grand Central Madison terminal to see Kiki Smith’s “River Light,” “The Presence,” “The Spring,” “The Sound” and “The Water’s Way” (all 2022) mosaics, depicting Long Island nature scenes.
You can also catch Yayoi Kusama’s “A Message of Love, Directly from My Heart unto the Universe” (2022) here. The Japanese artist is known for her polka dots, but in this sprawling mosaic she portrays a number of amoeba-like figures that conjure a surreal high-school biology class.
Tour 2: Astoria to Herald Square to The Bronx
Start at the Astoria Boulevard N, W station to see Jeffrey’s Gibson’s “I AM A RAINBOW TOO” (2020), which features 102 multicolored geometric designs rendered in glass.
Take the N or W into Manhattan and transfer to the southbound F or M at Herald Square. Exit at 23rd Street to see William Wegman’s “Stationary Figures.” The photographer is famed for his whimsical images of his (sometimes costumed) Weimaraners Flo and Topper, and here they’re rendered in inviting mosaics.
Then head north on the F or M, back to Herald Square. Transfer to the uptown D train, and take it to 167th Street to see Rico Gatson’s “Beacons” — eight portraits of notable black and Latino figures, such as Reggie Jackson and Gil Scott-Heron, with connections to The Bronx.
