Photo by Derek Berg
ICYMI: A super-sized replica of Ice Spice on Astor Place today to promote the rapper's Alexander Wang collection.
From there, it went by truck to the art fair in the Hamptons, where some attendees did double-takes. "They can't believe they’re seeing the real 'Alamo,'" Petrie said. "They think they're seeing a new sculpture. Five coats of paint." It had even been painted inside, he said.
The restored Alamo will be on display from July 10-16. Rosenthal is being inducted posthumously into the fair's Hall of Fame, so the city's commissioners voted unanimously to loan the historical piece to commemorate the occasion.
Hamptonites may also be familiar with the similar spinning steel Rosenthal sculpture, "Cube 72," which was made in 1972 and found a prominent spot outside Guild Hall in East Hampton.Hamptons Fine Art Fair founder and Executive Director Rick Friedman says securing the massive piece was no easy feat. "To get this loan from New York City is outrageous," he said. "It's like getting the Statue of Liberty," Friedman added, pointing out that negotiations took about a year, with a lot of back and forth, an army of lawyers and piles of paperwork.But, he said, it was worth the effort.
Given its VIP reception out east, the Cube will likely not return home via the Jitney.
As previously reported (first by THE CITY), the 1,800-pound cube is off to Bethany, Conn., for restoration by Versteeg Art Fabricators — a firm that also restored the cube in 2005.they stole the Astor Place cube! #NewYorkCity pic.twitter.com/hbypJzFgss
— g 🦅 (@aworldaIone) May 9, 2023
Dave Petrie, the director of Rosenthal’s estate, said he was "concerned about the state of disrepair" the cube had fallen into..."The thesis was, we want to do this," he said. "The cost wasn't the issue. We want Tony's legacy to live on."
"To Sit A While" features the figure of Hansberry surrounded by five bronze chairs, each representing a different aspect of her life and work. The life-size chairs are an invitation to the public to do just that: to sit with her and think.