As the weather warms, public art projects around New York are putting down roots and blossoming—in some cases literally. In Madison Square Park, Lily Kwong has teamed up with Madison Square Park Conservancy to plant Gardens of Renewal (2025), a two-part installation populated with native and endangered plants, pollinators and herbs. In the Garment District, Steve Tobin has erected New York Roots, a series of monumental steel sculptures of tree roots. Also in Midtown, three late sculptures by John Chamberlain (1927-2011) resembling giant follies crafted from aluminium foil are at Rockefeller Center.
And for visitors to Frieze New York, a stroll along the adjacent High Line will yield striking rewards—from Iván Argote’s majestic monument to the humble pigeon, Dinosaur (2024), and Teresa Solar-Abboud’s otherworldly floral sculpture Birth of Islands (2024) to Mika Rottenberg’s grotesque Foot Fountain (pink) (2024) and Alex Da Corte’s playful Pink Panther, Soft Power (2025).
The Colombian artist Iván Argote’s Dinosaur (2024), a High Line Plinth commission on view at the Spur, at 30th Street and 10th Avenue. The 21ft sculpture is cast in aluminium Photo: Timothy Schenck; courtesy the High Line
The Los Angeles-based artist and landscape designer Lily Kwong’s Gardens ofRenewal (2025) at Madison Square Park Rashmi Gill
The Spanish artist Teresa Solar-Abboud’s Birth of Islands (2024), on the High Line at 20th Street, is part of a series of zoomorphic shapes inspired by animals and prehistoric life forms Photo: Timothy Schenck; courtesy the High Line
The Pennsylvania native Steven Tobin’s New York Roots sculptures are on the Broadway plazas in the Garment District between 39th and 41st Streets Photo: Alexandre Ayer @ DiversityPics for the Garment District Alliance
The Argentina-born, New York-based artist Mika Rottenberg’s Foot Fountain (pink) (2024) is on the High Line at 30th Street. For walkers who need to cool off, the fountain is activated by the pedals nearby Liz Devin
Chamberlain Goes Outdoors at Rockefeller Center is an installation of three works bythe renowned American sculptor John Chamberlain (1927-2011) in the Center Plaza Courtesy Tishman Speyer