5 NYC Outdoor Art Exhibitions To See Before Summer Ends

When the sun comes out, the city turns into a canvas of all things summer. While most use this canvas as a chance to wear a summer dress or new shades, artists find a rare opportunity for their work to interact with the elements of the city. Here is a list of outdoor art exhibitions you’d be sorry to miss out on this summer.

Desire Lines

In Tatiana Trouvé’s first public commission in the United States, she toils with the idea that taking a walk may in someway be politically poetic. Desire Lines exposes her interpretation of walks on Central Park’s pedestrian paths as being representative of political statement, personal recreation and inspiration for many artists. Trouvé selected 212 possible paths through the park that are each represented as a spool on one of three large-scale storage racks. Each spool is wound with string the length of the pathway it represents. All spools are labeled to identify their location in Central Park.
Through August 30th, 2015
Doris C. Freedman Plaza
Central Park, 60th Street & 5th Avenue

Frida Kahlo: Art Garden Life

We all know Frida Khalo as the iconic female painter most famous for her self-portraits. However few have examined Kahlo’s exceptional interest for the beauty and diversity found in nature. The artist’s home and artwork both reflected her deep love and infatuation for the natural world. Art Garden Life, an exhibition at The New York Botanical Garden, showcases a number of original Kahlo paintings and reimagines the beautiful garden found at her home in Mexico City. It is a peacefully inspiring experience.
2900 Southern Blvd, Bronx
Through November 1st, 2015

COSMO at Moma PS1

As the winner of the annual Young Architects Program in collaboration with The Museum of Modern Art and MoMa PS1, Andres Jaque had a lot to live up to. His exhibition entitled COSMO, features a moveable artifact designed as a temporary urban landscape. Jaque’s work will filter and purify 3,000 gallons of water every four days, with the water become increasingly purified with each cycle. At the end of each cycle the core of the piece will flow. COSMO addresses the issue of depleting water resources, specifically in countries who already live without sufficient water.
Through September 7th, 2015
22-25 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City

Billion Oyster Pavilion

Each unique artwork means something different to everyone. The Billion Oyster Pavilion means a lot to the Harbor School, and the oysters populating New York’s waterways. Funded through Kickstarter, this temporary pavilion will eventually be placed into the New York Harbor as an artificial reef for aquatic life. An effort focused on repopulating the city’s increasingly toxic waters that once were abundant with life. Even if this issue doesn’t resonate with you, the artwork will certainly strike a chord. The beautiful outdoor instillation is incredibly intricate. The kind of work that forces you to acknowledge the amazing capacity of the human imagination that led to the creation of such work.
Governor’s Island

Storm King

Just north of New York City exists a sculpture park perfectly placed on a pristine 500-acre field of hills and woodlands. This beautiful landscape holds the work of over 100 artists from different backgrounds, including some of the most renowned artists of our time. Rotating exhibitions complement their impressive permanent collection. This summer Lynda Benglis: Water Sources and Outlooks: Luke Stettner are on show. The sculptures are as inspirational as the nature that surrounds them in this special place.
1 Museum Road, New Windsor