Next Stop – The Q Train Gallery

A Trip Down NYC’s Second Avenue Subway Line

The first phase of the long-awaited Second Avenue subway line opened on January 1, 2017, almost a full century after its original inception and approval by the NYC Board of Transportation in the 1920s (and you thought you were behind on your projects). Primarily serviced by the Q Train, this route runs from 96th Street in Manhattan down through Brooklyn, culminating at Coney Island. But this particular train line is much more than just a convenient way for Upper East Siders to take a beach daycation—it also happens to house the largest permanent public art installation in the state of New York.

As part of the MTA’s Arts & Design Project, four artists were commissioned to create unique works of art to be housed at the line’s first four stations: 96th Street, 86th Street, 72nd Street, and 63rd Street. While the pieces differ in style and composition, they all reflect the experiences and lives of those who have called New York ‘home’ at one time or another. So stand clear of the closing doors please as we take a ride down the Second Avenue line….

96 ST & 2 AVE

“BLUEPRINT FOR A LANDSCAPE” BY SARAH SZE

Made from 4,300 porcelain tiles spanning 14,000 square feet, Sarah Sze’s creation mimics the visual style of an architectural blueprint. The subject matter is an amalgam of schematics, scaffolding, and whirlwinds of paper, birds, and leaves. As it stretches down the corridor and up the escalators, the piece swirls with movement, while also creating a feeling of breathholding suspension. Kind of like you’re walking through a frozen moment in time on a busy, windy New York day.

86 ST & 2 AVE “SUBWAY PORTRAITS” BY CHUCK CLOSE

Made of ceramic tile, glass, and ceramic mosaic, Chuck Close’s 12 photorealistic portraits are composed in striking detail, capturing the indelible likenesses of the artists they pay homage to. The collection contains two self-portraits of Close, as well as portraits of Lou Reed (musician), Cecily Brown (artist), Zhang Huan (artist), Pozsi Kolor (artist), Cindy Sherman (artist), Sienna Shields (artist), Kara Walker (artist), Philip Glass (composer), Alex Katz (artist), and Close’s niece as an infant.

72 ST & 2 AVE “PERFECT STRANGERS” BY

VIK MUNIZ

Made from glass mosaic and laminated glass, Vik Muniz’s 36 life-sized mosaic portraits scattered throughout the 72nd Street station present a colorful array of characters. Based on actual photos taken and recreated by the artist, these depictions reflect the richness and diversity of New York’s population in a cross-section of ages, races, cultures, socioeconomic classes, occupations, and interests. While each mosaic individual is wonderfully unique, they all share a commonality in the mundane, familiar experience of waiting for the train.

63 ST & LEXINGTON AVE “ELEVATED” BY JEAN SHIN

Made of ceramic tile, glass mosaic, and laminated glass, Jean Shin’s work delves into New York’s transit history. The images in the piece are composite recreations of archival photos from the New York Transit Museum and New York Historical Society. The piece depicts subway riders from the 1920s-1940s, along with images of New York’s historic Second and Third Avenue Elevated train lines that were dismantled in 1942 and 1955, respectively. The images serve as a callback to the past amidst the technological advancement of the present.