Gwyneth Leech: Hypergraphia, in the Flatiron Prow Art Space
Ever since the middle of September, Gwyneth Leech has sat on a stool within the base of the lovely, legendary Flatiron Building drawing on coffee cups. Five days a week, three hours a day (Tuesday through Saturday, 11:00 until 2:00, to be exact), Leech creates often-intricate, sometimes quite colorful patterns and drawings on all of the "disposable" cardboard coffee cups that she's drank from since she last entered the prow, as well as cups from artist friends she's met for coffee or tea in that time. The drink, date consumed, and social situation is dutifully recorded on the bottom of cup before she starts her work. After they've been illustrated, Leech suspends them from the ceiling of the Flatiron Prow Art Space, and over the course of these past weeks and months, has transformed this triangular, windowed gallery–until recently home to cell phone advertisements, and still sponsored by Sprint–into a little Flatiron District neighborhood treasure.
See One of Fatiron District's Famous Buildings, Cupped From the Inside
We've been strolling by Gwyneth Leech's Hypergraphia in the Flatiron Prow since she took up "residence" in the space, and although we weren't fully convinced at first, the installation has really grown on us. We like the way it looks from a distance, especially at night, a beckoning jewel box of light and color; we like the way it looks up close, each coffee cup its own work of art, all of varying compositions, subjects, styles and palettes. Adding to the magic is the way Leech suspends her pieces floor to ceiling, filling the space with her designs. And, of course, there's the whole, appealing "up-cycling" aspect of Leech's Hypergrahia in the Flatiron Prow, which the artist defines as "taking an item that has already served its intended purpose and creating something beautiful out of it." Clearly we're not the only ones who have grown fond of Leech's installation: Sprint announced last week that they'll be extending the exhibition through February 18, tacking an extra six weeks onto the run. Smart move.
Gwyneth Leech: Hypergraphia, in the Flatiron Prow Art Space details
Gwneth Leech's Hypergraphia can be viewed 24 hours a day from now through February 18 in the Flatiron Prow Art Space, located in the uptown "point" of the historic Flatiron Building. It's a little unclear on the website, but it seems that the artist will continue to be working within the Flatiron Prow on Tuesday through Saturday, from 11:00 until 2:00. For more information on the Flatiron Prow Art Space and Gwneth Leech's Hypergraphia, check out the installation's curator, Cheryl McGinnis Gallery website.
Posted in NYC Events | Tagged Famous Buildings • Flatiron Building New York • flatiron district • Flatiron Prow Art Space • Gwyneth Leech • Gwyneth Leech Hypergraphia Flatiron Building
