The MTA commission is "a portal into Dzama's universe"
September 23, 2021
MTA Arts & Design has just announced new mosaic artwork at stations on the L train (Canarsie Line), including No Less Than Everything Comes Together by Marcel Dzama at the Bedford Avenue Station. These installations culminate the upgrades and improvements at both stations as part of the L Train Project at one of the busiest stations in Brooklyn.
At Bedford Avenue Station, Brooklyn based artist Marcel Dzama depicts the hopeful beauty of the sun and the moon’s illuminated mysteries in four mosaic panels. Inspired by Walt Whitman's "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry", the sun and moon rise and set on the city and its constant flow of people throughout time. Depicted in radiant gold and dazzling blue, 400 square feet of glass mosaic fabricated by Mayer of Munich appear in locations at the mezzanine and new stairways at the Driggs Avenue end of the station.
Marcel Dzama states “In these works it is my intention to bring the sun, the sky, and the moon to the underground. What I love most about New York is its people, and for me it was important to represent them and all of their wonderful complexities and diverse beauty in the piece. People looking and quietly observing together. In the subway, it’s always a togetherness that bonds us uniquely like no other place in the world.”
Read more about Dzama's MTA mosaics in Hyperallergic.
The artwork draws upon the artist’s early experiences coming to New York and living in Williamsburg, with scenes of graceful dancers, whimsical characters, and glowing sun and moon. Employing different illustration styles, the work presents a timeless tableau celebrating New York’s history and its people.
In each theatric composition, an arabesque patterned curtain featuring fairytale figures provides an enchanting proscenium stage setting for these tableaux. The scenes are populated by elegant ballet performers that appear throughout his oeuvre of drawings and paintings. Mischievous characters pop up throughout and represents infamous Brooklynites from history such as Bugsy Siegel and Captain Jonathan Williams, founder of Williamsburg.
Images: Marcel Dzama, No Less Than Everything Comes Together, 2021. © Marcel Dzama and NYC Transit Bedford Avenue Station. Commissioned by MTA Arts & Design. Photos by Kris Graves
