ARTIST GRIMANESA AMORÓS UNVEILS NEW PUBLIC ART PROJECT IN TRIBECA NEW YORK – Terrarium is a new, permanent, site-specific, public art project located at 54 N. Moore St., in Tribeca, New York City created by Grimanesa Amorós. The unique, interior installation is intended to provide lighting for the lobby of the 110 year-old, landmarked building that houses residential and commercial lofts. The term “terrarium” refers to a glass enclosure used for sustaining plant and animal life in an unnatural atmosphere–most often indoors. Although intending to reproduce a natural environment, these terrariums are a far cry from the fields and forests of the countryside. Instead, they are isolated, veritably existing in an artificial world of in-betweens. From dusk to dawn, shifting patterns of light radiate from an assortment of acrylic bubbles mounted on the walls. The work is an organic space within the city and a simultaneous extension of the urban surroundings. The spherical shapes and colors evoke an almost amphibian quality, yet displayed within these bubbles are photographs showing us the past and present life of this building. The installation represents a middle ground between the private and public, a compromise between the tranquility of the indoors and the din of the hectic city. Terrarium is meant to inspire reflection. The contradictions embodied therein evoke a feeling of elements taken out of context, rearranged, and reconstructed to form something entirely new. To passers-by on the street, it is an alteration of a familiar landscape, a moment to re-imagine their daily world. Grimanesa Amorós is an interdisciplinary artist with diverse interests in the fields of social history, scientific research and critical theory, which have greatly influenced her work. She often makes use of sculpture, video, lighting and sound to create works that illuminate our notions of personal identity and community. Amorós utilizes her art as an agent for empowerment to involve viewers from all different backgrounds and communities. Amorós was born in Lima, Peru and is currently living and working in Peru and New York. ###