Beacons

2018 167 St (B, D) New York City Transit

Artist Rico Gatson created "Beacons," a series of eight portraits for the 167 St station. The portraits feature renowned figures of history and culture, sourced from photographs and translated into glass mosaic by Miotto Mosaic Studios. "Beacons" is a celebration of the energy and spirit of individuals who have been influential within the Bronx community, and have received positive acclaim for their cultural, political, and artistic contributions.

The eight figures highlighted in Gatson’s artwork are Gil Scott-Heron, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Audre Lorde, James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, Reggie Jackson, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Gatson juxtaposes the black and white portraits with hard-edge geometric lines, using a palette of red, orange, yellow, black, grey, and green, which act as a metaphor for beaming light.

The portraits radiate with beauty and pride of these influential figures, and invite travelers to reflect on the past as well as find inspiration for the future. The station’s mosaic murals are an extension of Gatson’s earlier “Icons” series, showing new ways to present biography and photography in a contemporary, bold, and graphic way.

Gatson’s artwork reveals a mix of influences: performance, conceptualism, minimalism and constructivism, which are combined with an interest in history and representation.