Visitors to Frieze New York who pause to stroll along nearby High Line Park will be struck to find, amidst the verdant foliage sprouting from the former industrial elevated railroad, a bright red and pink tree. The 25-foot tall sculpture, old tree (2023) by Swiss artist Pamela Rosenkranz, is the third work in the series of High Line Plinth commissions. “It’s funny to think that we put this fake tree here among so many real trees,” says Cecilia Alemani, Director and Chief Curator of High Line Art. “But maybe that’s the future that awaits us – an environment with only synthetic plants.”
Rosenkranz originally came up with the sculpture before the Covid-19 pandemic hit in late 2019, but with its fleshy surface, visible drips of paint, and bare branches that evoke the insides of human lungs or the circulatory system, it’s hard not to not see the work as a commentary on global environmental and health crises. “Covid’s reflection is something Pamela could never have predicted, but that’s part of what makes public art so powerful – that it can adapt to so many changing interpretations,” says Alemani. . “It shows how timely this piece is.”
Rosenkranz will also feature prominently in Frieze New York. Sprüth Magers and Karma International dedicated their joint stand to a solo presentation of his new mirror works.
