Monumental flower blossoms by the artist John Isherwood have been installed at eight locations in Broadway this summer which will be on view till spring of next year.
The outdoor exhibition titled “Blooms: Jon Isherwood on Broadway” has been organized by the Broadway Mall Association along with Isherwood’s representative, Morrison Gallery of Kent, Connecticut. The artwork will be installed from 64th Street to 157th Street. The blooms, all made from varieties of marble, are intended to create a feeling of unity between the neighborhoods and the city’s residents.
“I chose ‘Blooms’ for Broadway in part because the imagery is accessible to the many people that navigate these intersections in their daily lives,” the artist wrote in a statement. “Flowers are imbued with a universal symbolism and can create wonder and joy in their discovery. Placing them in a series of locations across neighborhoods, I hope to promote a sense of interconnectedness in a space that can otherwise feel impersonal, anonymous, and alienating.”
But the installation has had its own share of obstacles The gargantuan marble blooms, which were unveiled earlier this week, was originally scheduled to be installed in spring 2020. Isherwood, who lives in New York, fabricates his sculptures in his studio in Italy. Pandemic restrictions that prevented the artist from traveling were followed by the international trans-oceanic shipping delays.
“After the darkness of winter and spring, Jon’s flowers are now in full bloom,” said Billy Morrison, founder of Morrison Gallery. “It’s bittersweet, but I hope these flowers are like a gift to a friend you haven’t seen in a long while.”
The sculptures are installed at eight major intersections of Broadway: 64th Street at Dante Park at Lincoln Center, then at 72nd, 79th, 96th, 103rd, 117th, 148th, and ending at 157th Street.
This exhibition marks the 13th sculpture show presented by the Broadway Mall Association since 2005. Isherwood’s exhibition came together through a collaboration between the NYC Parks Department’s Art in the Parks program and Morrison Gallery with assistance from the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District.
This is Morrison Gallery’s fourth major installation on Broadway, having shown works by Peter Woytuk, Don Gummer, and Joy Brown on the famed thoroughfare in the past decade.