Skip to main content
Lawns Closed Today
  | Seasonal Closure
Lawns Open    Lawns Closed

Madison Square Park Conservancy is responsible for the maintenance of the park’s lawns. Lawns are open daily for public use starting at 10 AM through 5 PM, weather permitting. Lawns are closed on Parade Days.  Learn more about park hours and rules by visiting our FAQ page.

Antony Gormley: Event Horizon

Antony Gormley 8
Past Exhibition

Antony Gormley: Event Horizon

March 26 – April 15, 2010
Past Exhibition

Antony Gormley: Event Horizon

March 26 – April 15, 2010
Antony Gormley 8

Thirty-one life-sized self portraits cast in iron and fiberglass are installed on the sidewalks and across the parapets of skyscrapers in and around Madison Square Park for Antony Gormley’s Event Horizon. Gormley’s work is distinguished for upending expectations for the physical presence of the human figure in life and in sculptural form. The works were adapted for New York City after their 2007 commission by London’s Hayward Gallery. Four sculptures are sited at ground level. Twenty-seven are installed on surrounding structures including the Empire State Building, the Flatiron Building, and the New York Life Building. The nudity of Gormley’s figures contrast with expected conventions of city life and challenge assumptions for public space. Their seemingly-precarious placement on the ledges of tall buildings offers multiple readings: perched observatory, potential self-harm, the perceived power of height. Gormley described his motivations: “… I don’t know what is going to happen, what it will look and feel like, but I want to play with the City and people’s perceptions. My intention is to get the sculptures as close to the edge of the buildings as possible. The field of the installation should have no defining boundary…”

Thirty-one life-sized self portraits cast in iron and fiberglass are installed on the sidewalks and across the parapets of skyscrapers in and around Madison Square Park for Antony Gormley’s Event Horizon. Gormley’s work is distinguished for upending expectations for the physical presence of the human figure in life and in sculptural form. The works were adapted for New York City after their 2007 commission by London’s Hayward Gallery. Four sculptures are sited at ground level. Twenty-seven are installed on surrounding structures including the Empire State Building, the Flatiron Building, and the New York Life Building. The nudity of Gormley’s figures contrast with expected conventions of city life and challenge assumptions for public space. Their seemingly-precarious placement on the ledges of tall buildings offers multiple readings: perched observatory, potential self-harm, the perceived power of height. Gormley described his motivations: “… I don’t know what is going to happen, what it will look and feel like, but I want to play with the City and people’s perceptions. My intention is to get the sculptures as close to the edge of the buildings as possible. The field of the installation should have no defining boundary…”

Exhibition Support
Your browser is out-of-date!

Update your browser to view this website correctly. Update my browser now

×

play
Abigail Deville: Light of Freedom
Abigail Deville: Light of Freedom, Narrated by Brooke Kamin Rappoport
close