Having loved Nancy Blum’s work at the 28th Street IRT station in New York City, I decided to look further into the MTA Art & Design program, which brings public art to the NYC subway stations. I learned that one of my favorite artists, Katherine Bradford, recently had five mosaic murals installed at the L train First Avenue station in Manhattan.
Yesterday I walked across town and enjoyed a bit of a scavenger hunt in order to find all five installations. You don’t have to pay to get into the station as the mosaics are outside the turnstiles at five different L train entrances, spanning from 1st Avenue to Avenue B.
The glass mosaic installation is called Queens of the Night, and fabricated by Mayer of Munich in 2021. They were commissioned by the MTA Arts & Design and New York City Transit.
As I came above ground after seeing the final mosaic, I emerged into an absolute deluge! I didn’t have an umbrella, so I ran into the Target across the street on Avenue B. They had sold all their umbrellas, so I bought a $1.99 day-glo blue plastic rain poncho. Walking through the streets of Manhattan I couldn’t help but laugh to myself thinking that I could be one of Bradford’s super heroes.
Wow! These mosaics add a pop of color and a dash of intrigue to morning commutes, for sure!