A celebration of more than 100 major public art commissions throughout the New York transit
system Contemporary Art Underground presents more than 100 permanent projects completed
between 2015 and 2023 by MTA Arts & Design. This ground-breaking program of site-specific
projects by a broad spectrum of well-known and emerging contemporary artists has helped to
create a sense of character and place at subway and commuter rail stations throughout the MTA
system. Among the featured artists are Yayoi Kusama Kiki Smith Nick Cave Ann Hamilton
Xenobia Bailey Jim Hodges Alex Katz Sarah Sze and Vik Muniz. Of special interest is the
discussion of fabricating and transposing the artist's rendering or model into mosaic glass
or metal the materials that can survive in the transit environment. This is the definitive
survey of the latest works of the internationally acclaimed MTA Arts & Design collection. On
view 24 hours a day the collection is seen by more than four million subway riders and
commuters daily and has been hailed as 'New York's Underground Art Museum.' The collection
enlivens stations in all boroughs with a myriad works by major contemporary artists executed
in mosaic glass metal and ceramic.|A celebration of more than 100 major public art
commissions throughout the New York transit system|Sandra Bloodworth is director of MTA Arts &
Design and the principal author of Along the Way and New York's Underground Art Museum. Under
her leadership MTA Arts & Design has gained renown in the field of public transportation by
creating a collection of nearly 400 public artworks. Bloodworth is the recipient of numerous
awards including the Sloan Public Service Award and the Gari Melchers Award from the Artist's
Fellowship. Cheryl Hageman is deputy director of MTA Arts & Design responsible for
commissioning new projects and maintaining the permanent art collection throughout the MTA
system. She has applied an in-depth knowledge of materials and fabrication to produce and care
for award-winning artworks during her two decades as an arts administrator. Hilarie M. Sheets
writes frequently on public art for the New York Times and the Art Newspaper.
