Photo courtesy of www.nycgovparks.org

By Paul Bisceglio

The Union Square Partnership and New York City Department of Parks & Recreation has introduced a new sculpture in Union Square Park.

“Microscopic Landscape” is a 24 foot, 7,500 pound installation by Malcolm D. MacDougall III, a 22-year-old graduate of SUNY Purchase College’s School of Art and Design who currently works in a Dobbs Ferry studio on the banks of the Hudson River. The sculpture is his first exhibition in New York.

The city’s Rec Department stated that the sculpture and the park share a “natural dialogue”:

“Microscopic Landscape finds its inspiration in the multi-faceted structures and activities seen on the molecular level. The sculpture . . . is a static object that maintains the constant anticipation of movement, just as the grounds of Union Square provide the framework for the energetic flow of people and commerce.”

The sculpture can be found on the plaza of Union Square’s Triangle Park on Broadway and Park Avenue South between 14th and 15th Streets, now through January 2013.

If approved, 16 sculptures by Spanish artist Manolo Valdes would be installed at various points along the malls, between Columbus Circle and West 166th Street. The sculptures would officially be unveiled May 20 and remain on display until January 2011. Eleven of the 16 sculptures would be installed within the boundaries of Community Board 7: five in Columbus Circle, one at West 63rd Street, three at West 72nd Street, one at West 96th Street and another at West 103rd Street.

The Valdes exhibition would be presented in conjunction with the Department of Parks and Recreation, the Broadway Malls Association and the Marlborough Galleries.