The Work Will Be Displayed in Lobby and Street Level Windows from January 8 through June 30
L&L Holding Company announced today that it has partnered with New York-based online art gallery Uprise Art for the next installation in the company’s ongoing, public art exhibition series at 200 Fifth Avenue.
The exhibition, Prism Point, will be displayed in both the lobby and in two street level window cases at L&L’s landmark 800,000-square-foot office building from January 8 through June 30. It will feature two site-specific works, “Murmuration XIX: A Kind of Blue” by Christina Watka, and “Twelve Tilted Planes” by Rachel Mica Weiss.
“Murmuration XIX: A Kind of Blue” is part of Watka's ongoing Murmuration series. In this piece, thousands of handmade porcelain shapes form compositions that reference naturally occurring patterns found in swarms, flocks, cells, constellations, and topographical maps. Inspired by the gilded lobby, the installation explores color in a bold, optimistic way, with heightened contrast between the marble surfaces and the deep teal surface, the natural porcelain glow, and the glistening glaze, creating a visual conversation between density, mass, lightness and air.
Watka channeled the transitory nature of the space through her materials. As she explains, "the porcelain mimics the bustle of the city streets outside the door, but pauses quietly in space to encourage each passerby to take a moment to enjoy the vibrant color, the moving composition, and the light casting tiny shadows on the wall."
Looking to the structural elements of the landmark space as her framework, Weiss’ “Twelve Tilted Planes” creates interventions that are rooted in the craft of weaving—its technical processes, historical use and relationship to architecture. Hand-strung on site, these labor-intensive installations reference the repetitious act of warping—the measuring, threading, and tensioning of thousands of threads into the loom. While these walls of thread control space, they also seem to move and shift when viewed from different points.
The composition of Weiss' installation further emphasizes the site-specificity. Mimicking the feeling created by the entryway's grand, illuminated arch, Weiss explains, "the grounded tension and tapered form of the installation open upward and expand toward the arch above. The woven metal facades in the lobby are also referenced in the materials and processes I used to create the work; their reflections in the glass allow for an overlap of the woven metal and woven thread forms."
Following the installation of the artwork, L&L Holding President and Chief Investment Officer Robert T. Lapidus, commented: “We are proud to partner with Uprise Art, an innovative technology community that makes unique, original artwork accessible to the public online. We are thrilled with Christina Watka’s and Rachel Mica Weiss’ original and sophisticated designs, which we believe will become an attraction for both our tenants and visitors walking along Fifth Avenue.”
The partnership with Uprise Art is the second major installation at L&L’s 200 Fifth Avenue in recent months. Last year, sculptor John Newman, who has shown his work internationally and is in major museum collections, was the first artist to display work in the building’s rotating series of exhibitions.
A pioneer in transforming neighborhoods, L&L Holding has won widespread acclaim for its reinvention of 200 Fifth Avenue, formerly known as the International Toy Center.Following a spectacular $135 million renovation in 2009, the 800,000 square-foot trophy office property has welcomed a wide variety of blue-chip tenants, including the world headquarters of the Grey Group, the New York headquarters of IMG Worldwide, and the Italian food and wine marketplace Eataly.
The lobby is open to the public daily.
About L&L Holding Company
Manhattan-based L&L Holding Company, LLC is a privately-owned real estate investment company with a current portfolio exceeding 6 million square feet of office space in Manhattan. Through joint ventures with select institutional partners, our strategy is to identify, acquire, and develop prime but underperforming real estate for the purpose of maximizing its value. L&L provides a broad spectrum of services to its partners including acquisition, disposition, asset management, leasing, accounting, design, construction, and financing. The company’s current portfolio includes many notable properties including 425 Park Ave., 195 Broadway, 200 Fifth Ave., 150 Fifth Ave., 114 Fifth Avenue, Metropolitan Tower and 600 Third Avenue. For more information on L&L, visit their website www.ll-holding.com.
