New York City, NY — Undercurrent, a massive steel sculpture by celebrated Sundaram Tagore Gallery’s Chinese artist Zheng Lu, is on view now through August of 2024 in Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, just outside the iconic United Nations complex. The historic park was established in the mid-20th century, when 47th Street was widened to accommodate the new complex of the United Nations. Zheng Lu is the first Chinese artist to exhibit here.
This brand-new public art project, initiated by Sundaram Tagore, the artist’s gallerist in the United States and a descendant of Rabindranath Tagore, is facilitated by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation and supported by the non-profit organization World Council of Peoples for the United Nations (WCPUN). Mr. Tagore proposed one of Zheng Lu’s large-scale sculptures for the prestigious Art In The Parks program, exhibiting outdoor temporary works of public art throughout New York City for more than half a century. Since its inception, the program has showcased work by significant contemporary artists, including Alexander Calder, Jean Dubuffet, Sol LeWitt, Jenny Holzer, Keith Haring, Barbara Kruger, El Anatsui, Rashid Johnson and Simone Leigh.
The glimmering sculpture was created especially for the site and relates to the United Nations’ recent climate action initiatives. Zheng’s deep reverence for nature is often reflected in his work. Part of his acclaimed Water in Dripping series, Undercurrent emphasizes the significance of water as a medium symbolic of change, self-reflection and the passage of time, as well as a symbol of temperate planet Earth, where the presence of water—a rapidly diminishing resource-permits life.
Zheng Lu’s sculptures have been exhibited across the world, including, most recently, in the group exhibition, Summoning Memories: Art Beyond Chinese Traditions at the Asia Society, Texas, one of America’s most influential Asian arts, culture, business and education institutions.
His work will be on view in an upcoming solo exhibition at Sundaram Tagore, New York, slated for 2024.
Media Details:
Company Name: Sundaram Tagore Gallery
Contact Person: Susan McCaffrey
Contact email: gallery@sundaramtagore.com
City: New York
State: USA
Website link: https://www.sundaramtagore.com/
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