Amtrak says that Art at Amtrak is its public art programme that continues to uplift and showcase local talent
Rail company Amtrak has announced the kick off Art at Amtrak’s third year with the latest installation at New York Penn Station by New York-based artist Rico Gatson, which will open on January 25.
In a press statement, Amtrak says that the art, Untitled (Collective Light Transfer), will cover the entire station concourse and remain on view through the summer. Amtrak says that Art at Amtrak is its public art programme that continues to uplift and showcase local talent.
Jina Sanone
“The latest Art at Amtrak showcase weaves light, colour and culture together to surprise and delight customers and station visitors. As we enter the third year of the popular Art at Amtrak programme, your next journey through the station will be even brighter and more inspiring thanks to the brilliant vision of local artists like Rico,” says Jina Sanone, Amtrak Vice President, Northeast Corridor Service Line.
The statement adds that Untitled (Collective Light Transfer) features geometric compositions alongside a carefully selected colour palette, which illuminate the station with pulsating energy and evoke a sense of resonating rhythm and vibration. Radiating lines and concentric circles echo the collective movement of bodies circulating throughout the station, it adds.
Gatson’s artistic process layers ideas and inspirations he has ruminated on throughout his career, such as spirituality, African, Native, and Indigenous artistic practice, music as a transcendental force, illumination as a concept, abstract mathematics, and the role of art in counterculture movements, and political identity. In totality, the designs in Untitled (Collective Light Transfer) come together to uplift, reflect, and guide travelers as they move between the rotunda, the concourse, their train, and their next destination.
Amtrak says that Art at Amtrak was launched in June 2022 and has commissioned temporary installations for New York Penn Station by New York and New Jersey artists including Shoshanna Weinberger, David Rios Ferreira, Derrick Adams, Dennis RedMoon Darkeem, Ghost of a Dream, Saya Woolfalk and Dahlia Elsayed.
In 2023, the initiative grew to include the Metropolitan Lounge at Moynihan Train Hall, where Karen Margolis’ four-panel artwork Continuum is permanently installed, as well as Amtrak’s William H Gray 30th Street Station in Philadelphia and Washington Union Station. More information about Art at Amtrak, including pictures and details about each installation can be found on the website of the rail firm.
The statement adds that Art at Amtrak has been curated by Debra Simon Art Consulting since the programme’s inception. Simon was Director of Public Art at the Times Square Alliance, created Arts Brookfield, the largest privately funded public art programme in the United States and co-founded the River-to-River festival.
