Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers

Artist: Spero, Nancy

With: Lee Harris Pomeroy Architects, architect

Status: In Situ

Title: Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers (sculpture)

Dates: 2001

Medium: Glass and ceramic mosaic

Dimensions: varies

Description: Series of 22 brilliantly colored glass mosaics depicting images of women representing the performing arts.

Owner: Metropolitan Transit Authority, New York, New York

Located 66 St-Lincoln Center Subway Station, 1 line

Remarks: For the subway station located closest to New York’s Lincoln Center, Nancy Spero created a series of mosaic panels lining its walls depicting subject matter inspired by the performing arts institutions above, including the opera, ballet, and classical music. She features iconic images of women, both real and mythical, drawn from a diverse range of source material. The central icon of opera, the Diva, is repeated in various forms through the work. These lead and follow riders through the station, giving the illusion of movement and change. Elsewhere, Spero represents scenes from the subway and the city outside, the architectural backgrounds enlivened by musicians performing and athletes running, signaling you are in a creative and energetic place.

References: Bloodworth, Sandra and William Ayres, New York’s underground Art Museum: MTA Arts & Design, New York: Monacelli Press, 2014, 70.