One of New York City's great under-hyped little gems is Long Island City's Socrates Sculpture Park, set on a patch of Queens riverbank. The art here–large outdoor sculptures–is always fun and interesting, the setting unique, the atmosphere festive and communal, the views of the water and Manhattan's Upper East Side wide-open and fairly stunning. Recently installed here and open every day from now until next spring is the Emerging Artists Fellowship Exhibition, featuring 18 newly commissioned works by an energetic group of up-and-coming artists. 

The current show, the Emerging Artists Fellowship Exhibition, offers a great introduction to the space. There are lots of good pieces at the Socrates Sculpture Park, including Crash and Burrow (above) by Jonathon Durham; a crazy plastic-bottle-sided shack Coastal Hermitage by Gavin Anderson (also above); the simultaneously towering and burrowing Sponge Pieces For Socrates by Jory Rabinovitz, (immediately above); the climbable fort-facade Everything Fought For by Jess Perlitz, immediately below; and the dense metal grid Untitled by Frank Haines, further below. And if you want to make a whole day out of your journey here to the wilds of Long Island City, there's a huge Costco right next door, and the beautiful Noguchi Museum is just a short walk–three or four blocks–away. 

The Socrates Sculpture Park is located in Long Island City, at the end of Broadway, on Vernon Boulevard. It's easy to get to: just take the N (or, on weekdays, the W) train to the Broadway stop, and head down to the East River. It's about a three-quarters of a mile walk, mostly very unscenic, which, perhaps, makes the Park seem even more of a hidden treasure. The Socrates Sculpture Park is open every day from 10:00 a.m. until sunset. For lots more information, please see the Socrates Sculpture Park website.     

Back for 2015, Socrates Sculpture Park again brings a host of stunning works.