Fata Morgana, Teresita Fernandez
Madison Square Art, Commission
June, 2015 - January, 2016
Brooklyn-based artist Teresita Fernandez (b. Miami, 1968) created the installation Fata Morgana for Mad. Sq. Art, the free, contemporary art program of Madison Square Park Conservancy. The outdoor sculpture consisted of 500 running feet of golden, mirror-polished discs that created canopies above the pathways around the Park’s central Oval Lawn.
In nature, a Fata Morgana is a horizontal mirage that forms across the horizon line. Alluding to this phenomenon, Fernández’s project introduced a shimmering horizontal element to the Park. A mirror-polished, golden metal sculpture hovered above the Park’s walkways to define a luminous passage for Park visitors. The metal forms, perforated with intricate patterns reminiscent of foliage, created abstract flickering effects as sunlight filtered through the canopy, casting a golden glow across the expanse of the paths and passersby.
Press:
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Photograph by Yasunori Matsui, courtesy of Mad. Sq. Art