Artist Xu Bing's 'Phoenix' takes flight at the Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York
Chinese artist Xu Bing’s majestic ‘Phoenix’ installation has spread its wings inside the Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York. The work will be suspended from the building's nave for the next year, having migrated from the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA).
Crafted from workers’ tools and debris salvaged from demolition sites across Beijing, the monumental duet of birds draws on both fenghuang (Chinese phoenix mythology) and the city’s ever-evolving landscape as it continues to reach skywards with a slew of new architectural projects.
Feng, identified as the male of the pair, and the female, Huang, together weigh over 12 tonnes, measuring 90 and 100 feet respectively. As the pair twist and turn through the nave, a closer look reveals the medley of screwdrivers, tubing, shovels and drills that comprise the sculptures. The work is a commentary on the radical economic changes fuelling China. ‘The phoenix of today’s China bears countless scars,’ says Xu Bing. ‘It has lived through great hardship. But it has adorned itself with great respect.’
The creation of ‘Phoenix’ was an arduous process that began several years ago in 2008, when Xu Bing was struck by the low-tech techniques used in construction sites and the high-tech structures that would soon fill them. Inspired by this contrast, the artist teamed up with a crew of migrant factory labourers on the outskirts of Beijing to realise his artwork. ‘The method is unsophisticated, like Chinese lanterns,’ explains the artist. ‘At the same time, it is also in keeping with the Western concept of ready-made assemblage.’
The installation of the sculptures at the hallowed cathedral became in itself part of the art work, as New York residents were treated to glimpses of the process over the course of two months prior to its unveiling. Arriving in sections on flatbed trucks, the works were carried into the cathedral, where over 30 hoists and 140 ft of truss were used to help them take flight.
ADDRESS
Cathedral of St John the Divine
1047 Amsterdam Ave
New York NY 10025
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
-
Step into Francesca Woodman and Julia Margaret Cameron's dreamy photographs in London
'Portraits to Dream In' is currently on show at London's National Portrait Gallery
By Katie Tobin Published
-
Fernanda Dovigi creates a plush Aspen mountain chalet
Fernanda Dovigi’s revamped Aspen mountain chalet brings contemporary art and design to après-ski
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
Space Un celebrates contemporary African art, community and connection in Japan
Space Un, a new art venue by Edna Dumas, dedicated to contemporary African art, opens in Tokyo, Japan
By Nana Ama Owusu-Ansah Published
-
Surreal, uncanny, seductive: step into Graham Little’s world
Scottish artist Graham Little presents his first US retrospective at The FLAG Art Foundation in New York
By Hannah Silver Published
-
The cosmos meets art history in Vivian Greven’s New York exhibition
Vivian Greven’s ‘When the Sun Hits the Moon’, at Perrotin in New York City, is the artist’s first solo exhibition in the USA
By Emily McDermott Published
-
The Met’s ‘The Real Thing: Unpacking Product Photography’ dissects the avant-garde in early advertising
A new exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York explores the role of product photography and advertising in shaping the visual language of modernism
By Zoe Whitfield Published
-
Tony Notarberardino’s Chelsea Hotel Portraits preserve a slice of bygone New York life
‘Tony Notarberardino: Chelsea Hotel Portraits, 1994-2010’, on show at New York’s ACA Galleries, is the photographer’s ode to the storied hotel he calls home and its eclectic clientele
By Hannah Silver Published
-
‘LA Gun Club’: artist Jane Hilton on who’s shooting who
‘LA Gun Club’, an exhibition by Jane Hilton at New York’s Palo Gallery, explores American gun culture through a study of targets and shooters
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Detroit Institute of Arts celebrates Black cinema
‘Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971’ at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) brings lost or forgotten films, filmmakers and performers to a contemporary audience
By Anne Soward Published
-
BLUM marks 30 years of Japanese contemporary art in America
BLUM will take ‘Thirty Years: Written with a Splash of Blood’ to its New York space in September 2024, continuing its celebration of Japanese contemporary art in America
By Timothy Anscombe-Bell Published
-
Todd Gray’s sculptural photography collages defy dimension, linearity and narrative
In Todd Gray’s New York exhibition, he revisits his 40-year archive, fragmented into elaborated frames that open doors for new readings
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published