River Light; The Presence; The Spring; The Sound; The Water's Way

2022 Grand Central Madison (Grand Central Madison) Long Island Rail Road

Since the 1980s, Kiki Smith has been known for her multidisciplinary work that explores embodiment and the natural world. Five individual mosaics by the acclaimed artist are located across two levels of Grand Central Madison. The glass mosaics, totaling over 1,400 square feet, were fabricated by Mayer of Munich, with whom Smith has been creating works over the last 25 years. The artwork builds on the motif of the natural world that Smith has explored for decades.

"River Light" greets riders entering the new terminal’s concourse from the historic Grand Central Terminal. The nearly 800-square-foot mosaic is inspired by the way sunlight glints on the surface of the East River, the threshold between Manhattan and Long Island. There are four mosaic murals located in arched node walls throughout the Mezzanine level: "The Water’s Way, " "The Presence," "The Spring," and "The Sound." These bring flora and fauna into the new terminal and conceptually relate with Grand Central and Long Island. Smith developed the images both visually and narratively by photographing the local landscape and animal life to portray quiet moments found in the Long Island landscape. These were then rendered in exquisite mosaic.