Tree Canopy

2018 Avenue P (F /Culver) New York City Transit

For the Avenue P station, artist Jackie Battenfield reflects on Brooklyn’s trees. These trees provide a canopy of shade on the walk to and from the subway, shelter during an unexpected rain shower, and soften the urban geometry. Similarly, the subway and sidewalks provide the public with a path to jobs, adventures, and visits with friends. The artist chose branching trees that are found on the sidewalks and yards of the neighborhoods surrounding the Avenue P station including beech, dogwood, and maple trees.

Battenfield’s paintings of twisting boughs, and flowering and leafing trees, are set against a pristine white sky to explore the dynamic between abstraction and figuration. Her selection of color is intentionally atypical of nature, providing a wide palette of pigments. Fabricated in laminated glass by Depp Glass and placed above the platform stairs, the bright and welcoming tree canopies unfold as subway riders enter and exit the station. The colorful trees animate the station’s environment like the liveliness of nature itself.