One of our favorite places in the world is New York City. A place where as soon as you arrive, you are swept into step with fashion icons, finance moguls, celebutantes alike. As you quickly move down the avenues, you barely ever have a moment to stop and look up at the impossibly tall buildings that shoot high into the sky. On the Southern border of Central Park lies the Shops at Columbus Circle- home to posh boutiques like Sephora, Thomas Pink and more. Right outside of this shopping mecca is a 75 foot granite pillar and atop is a larger than life marble statue of Christopher Columbus. Seriously. You just have to look up.
This fall, a genius man named Tatzu Nishi decided that New Yorkers needed to take notice of the art around them. Hence he created a totally unique art installation which aims to give the public intimate access to this 13 foot statue which has become a totally missed aspect of the city’s urban landscape. As his first public project in the US, Nishi’s installation re-imagines the colossal statue of Columbus standing in a fully furnished, modern living room. Featuring tables, chairs, couch, rug, and flat-screen television, the décor reflects the artist’s interpretation of contemporary New York style. He even designed wallpaper inspired by memories of American popular culture, having watched Hollywood movies and television as a child in Japan. “Discovering Columbus” offers both a unique perspective on a historical monument and a surreal experience of the sculpture in a new context. Allowing us to take a journey up six flights of stairs to a fictional living room, Tatzu Nishi invites us to discover for ourselves where the imagination may lead. If you plan to visit NYC in the near future, we highly recommend that you checkout this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for yourself. The installation is up until December 2nd.
