Walking Tour | Nivola in New York: Figure in Field

[Rain date: Sunday, October 27th – 10am]

Please join The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture of The Cooper Union for a walking tour of works by Sardinian-born artist and sculptor, Costantino Nivola, on Saturday, October 26th at 10am. The tour will begin at Louis Brandeis High School, located at 145 West 84th Street in Manhattan. This event is being held in conjunction with the upcoming exhibition of Nivola works set to open at The Cooper Union in January 2020.

Costantino Nivola was a unique figure who bridged art and architecture by creating site-specific artwork for buildings, most of them publicly accessible and many in collaboration with prominent architects. He occupies a largely unexamined but important place in the post-war modern movement, and his artwork communicates to a broad audience using a symbolic language he created with materials and methods often shared by the buildings he embellished.

For his pieces that adorned architecture, Nivola worked mostly in concrete and explored a wide range of techniques including cast and sculpted concrete, frescoes, bas-reliefs and scrafitto. He placed free-standing sculptures in and around buildings, affixed cast panels to facades and inscribed wet concrete with designs on-site.

New York City is home to the largest gathering of Nivola’s public artworks – 21 pieces across all five boroughs, at least 17 of which still exist. The tour will include visits to six sites in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

This event is being organized in association with Archtober, Architecture and Design Month New York City, October 2019.

Nivola in New York  I  Figure in Field will be on display in Cooper Union’s Arthur A. Houghton Jr. Gallery from January 23 – March 15, 2019. In parallel with the exhibition, The Cooper Union will organize onsite events, including a public panel discussion and gallery tours.