Along the Avenue

This June, Albert Paley will install 13 new works on the malls of Park Avenue, at sites starting at 51st Street across from St. Bartholomew’s Church and running uptown to 67th Street. The project, some three years in the making, is the first major outdoor presence in New York for Paley, who received the American Craft Council Gold Medal in 2010. It’s also the first time the eminent sculptor, who works in Rochester, New York, with a staff of 16, has created so many works at once. American Craft asked Paley about the monumental undertaking.

Could you begin by telling us how you became involved in this project?
On Park Avenue, you basically have an outdoor space serving as an exhibition area. In the past, people would submit proposals, but recently that’s changed; now you have to be invited by the steering committee [the Fund for Park Avenue’s sculpture committee and the public art program of New York’s Department of Parks and Recreation].

Based on work I had done, I was approached and asked for a proposal. With all of Park Avenue to deal with, and based on the time frame – these are all new works – I felt that I could do 13 sculptures.

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