MTA Arts & Design

Simpson Street

Lisa Amowitz

Urban Renewal, 2008

Faceted glass in platform windscreens and station niches

Urban Renewal by Lisa Amowitz expresses the notion that structures, although built to last, are fragile entities, while flowers represent the eternal through renewal, rebirth, and rebuilding. For the artist, flowers help us embrace the beautiful mystery of life pulsing through every person in every building of the city. Flowers can be destroyed and still grow back to bloom another season.

This series of faceted glass panels depicts fallen buildings comforted by blooming flowers to signify New York's resilient spirit. It also represents the Bronx, continuously renewing itself and blooming with vibrancy in expected and unexpected places.