Funktional Vibrations

2015 34 St. – Hudson Yards station (7) New York City Transit

Xenobia Bailey’s artwork consists of majestic mosaics suspended above the main entrance of the new 34 St-Hudson Yards station that provide a celebratory welcome. The art crowns the station and features overlapping mandala-like circles and patterns against a cobalt blue background. In the upper right a sun-like form emits rays of color bands. Starbursts of bright light appear through the blue background. The glass mosaic artwork is vibrant, joyous and rich with pattern and texture and among the largest in Arts & Design’s collection of commissioned works in the MTA transit network.

Inside the station mezzanine, the curved recessed ceiling dome contains glittering mosaics, also set against a deep blue background with repeating mandalas and patterns. Xenobia Bailey is a fiber artist who works primarily in crochet and textiles, creating sculptural work and textiles with an architectural harmony that celebrates her materials and forms. Her art for the station began as crocheted pieces, which were transferred to digital images, enlarged and interpreted into mosaic by Miotto Mosaic Art Studio.

Bailey sees the work as speaking to the universal idea of creation and has created artwork that vibrates with energy. She refers to her accumulation of materials as in the tradition of African-American art—reflected in the music of the 1960’s she grew up with—and its material culture and design, where one made do with what was available, and made it into something new and wonderful.