Kathryn Andrews: Sunbathers I & II

High Line Art, New York, NY

May 2016 – March 2017

Production | Installation Grant

Presented by High Line Art, the public art program of the High Line, and curated by Cecilia Alemani, the Donald R. Mullen, Jr. Director & Chief Curator of High Line Art, Sunbathers I & II are composed of two new site-specific sculptures that respond to two distinct locations on this unique elevated park on the West Side of Manhattan. Los Angeles-based artist Kathryn Andrews translates her Los Angeles movie-set references to a New York context—playing on the neighborhood’s industrial and commercial past as well as its current associations with popular culture and advertising. Each sculpture consists of imagery printed a large painted aluminum structure, as well as a kinetic element—misting nozzles spray water from the Sunbathers I sign cautioning passers-by of nude sunbathers, and a central fan accompanies the image of a melting ice cream cone in Sunbathers II. These graphic elements reflect the leisure activities within the park while inviting the viewer to think critically about the context of the High Line as an urban park, directing their attention outward towards the surrounding environment.

High Line Art commissions and produces public art projects on and around the High Line, an elevated freight rail line transformed into an iconic public park. Founded in 2009, High Line Art presents a wide array of artwork including site-specific commissions, exhibitions, performances, video programs, and a series of billboard interventions. High Line Art invites artists to think of creative ways to engage with the uniqueness of the architecture, history, and design of the High Line and to foster a productive dialogue with the surrounding neighborhood and urban landscape.

For more information, visit High Line Art.

Images: Kathryn Andrews, Sunbathers I, 2016. A High Line Commission, on view May 2016 – March 2017. Photos by Timothy Schenck. Courtesy of Friends of the High Line.

Kathryn Andrews, Sunbathers I, 2016. A High Line Commission, on view May 2016 – March 2017. Photos by Timothy Schenck. Courtesy of Friends of the High Line.

Kathryn Andrews, Sunbathers I, 2016. A High Line Commission, on view May 2016 – March 2017. Photo by Matthew Eisman. Courtesy of Friends of the High Line.

Kathryn Andrews, Sunbathers II, 2016. A High Line Commission, on view May 2016 – March 2017. Photos by Timothy Schenck. Courtesy of Friends of the High Line.

Kathryn Andrews, Sunbathers II, 2016. A High Line Commission, on view May 2016 – March 2017. Photos by Timothy Schenck. Courtesy of Friends of the High Line.

Kathryn Andrews, Sunbathers II, 2016. A High Line Commission, on view May 2016 – March 2017. Photos by Liz Ligon. Courtesy of Friends of the High Line.

Kathryn Andrews, Sunbathers I Limited Edition Towel, 2016. Photos by Daniel Thiem. Courtesy of Friends of the High Line.