Photo by David Plakke
(NEW YORK, NY) -- Debra Simon Art Consulting and Amtrak have announced new, large-scale public art works by Chitra Ganesh and Eirini Linardaki now on display at New York Penn Station. The installations are the latest in the Art at Amtrak series of rotating public art exhibitions, curated by award-winning public art curator and producer Debra Simon. For the first time since the series started at the station, Art at Amtrak has expanded from beyond the Amtrak Rotunda and 8th Avenue Concourse to the Hilton Corridor.
Brooklyn-based artist Chitra Ganesh’s new work commissioned by Amtrak, Regeneration, features natural elements rendered in a graphic style that evokes pop culture and comic books. Some of the flora depicted, such as the Rose of Jericho and Welwitschia plant of Southwest Africa, represent resilience, as these plants can survive for long time periods with minimal resources and regenerate after periods of dormancy. Ganesh also includes common flowers, like dandelions and irises, that one might encounter while walking around New York City, and fruits, such as tangerines and olives, that carry specific cultural significance of peace and longevity. With Regeneration, Ganesh hopes “to remind viewers of the vibrant life that thrives in nature, and to reconnect them with elements that transcend the limitations of humanity, ultimately encouraging a regeneration of perspective and a reset of both the mental and the physical.”
Regeneration complements Ganesh’s Coherence, a video work already on digital screens throughout Moynihan Train Hall, presented in partnership with Moynihan Train Hall and Empire State Development, through October 14. Together, Coherence and Regeneration comprise the largest public art engagement of Ganesh’s career to date. For Ganesh, the Art at Amtrak commissions fulfill a lifelong dream: As a child growing up in early 1980s New York, it was subway art—Keith Haring chalk drawings on black poster paper in the stations, graffiti-covered subway cars—that first made her want to be an artist.
Greek-French artist Eirini Linardaki’s new installation, Working Background, is a dynamic tribute to the people who keep New York Penn Station running. “It’s very important for me,” Linardaki said, “because my dad worked as a bus driver most of his life, and I accompanied him a lot as a passenger, looking at the city through his perspective.” Motivated by her personal connection to public transportation, Linardaki met and photographed the station’s workers, “from electricians to cleaning personnel, conductors to customer service representatives,” to incorporate as the subjects of her murals. Inspired by the energy of the nearby Garment District, Linardaki used fabrics—from Hawaiian shirts to African patterns—reminiscent of the clothing she saw at the station, and digitally collaged and layered these textiles to compose brightly colored tableaus incorporating the workers she met. The large-scale mural panels, while digital, retain a tactile, embroidered texture embodying the “tapestry of the city.” Working Background highlights the people who make Penn Station function, and also embraces the rich textures and fabrics of the adjacent neighborhood, making visible the pride these workers take in their roles and acknowledging the centrality of Penn Station to the city’s fabric.
"With summer ending, and train travel continuing to increase, travelers and visitors can discover Chitra and Eirini's work along their journey for a more inspirational and creative experience,” said Art at Amtrak Director Sharon Tepper. “Combining Chitra's work, which celebrates life, with Eirini’s work that honors the Amtrak employees who help make Penn Station work, their installations will surprise and delight those traveling for leisure or business.”
Art at Amtrak is co-conceived, curated, and produced by Debra Simon Art Consulting. Since Amtrak launched the program in June 2022 at New York Penn Station, it has expanded to Moynihan Train Hall, William H. Gray III 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, and Washington Union Station. More information about Art at Amtrak and a complete list of artists can be found here.
The establishment and rapid evolution of Art at Amtrak is the latest chapter in Debra Simon’s path-breaking career in public art. She was Director of Public Art at the Times Square Alliance and oversaw its Midnight Moment series, the world’s foremost digital public art series; created Arts Brookfield, the largest privately funded public art program in the United States; and co-founded the River to River festival, established to bring audiences back to Lower Manhattan after 9/11.
About the Artists
Chitra Ganesh (b. 1975) received a BA in Art-Semiotics and Comparative Literature from Brown University. She attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and received her MFA in Visual Arts from Columbia University. Ganesh's work has been widely exhibited domestically and internationally and she is the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards. Her work is represented in many collections including: the Museum of Modern Art; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the Whitney Museum of American Art; The Art Institute of Chicago; Smithsonian American Art Museum; The Ford Foundation; Kiran Nadar Museum; the Saatchi Collection among others. She lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.
Eirini Linardaki (b. 1976) is an artist and public art project developer based in New York and the island of Crete. She received her fine arts education at L.I.T. Limerick, Ireland, the Universität Der Kunst of Berlin, and the Ecole Superieure des Beaux-Arts of Marseille, France. Linardaki has developed numerous public art projects in the US, collaborating with various organizations such as the NYC Parks Department, the NYC Mayor’s office for Climate Policy, and the Department of Transportation. As part of her community-based art practice, Linardaki has been an active member of the Newark Artist Collaboration, an initiative to transform Newark, NJ, through public art. She mainly develops community-based projects, particularly through workshops on accessibility and inclusion through art in several other countries like with Handicap International in Liberia and France, where she lived for more than 20 years. Linardaki's activist work was recognized with the 2022 Artivist Award from Sing For Hope. She is the mother of two children.
An award-winning public arts curator and producer, Debra Simon has more than 30 years of experience in visual and performing arts programming for civic organizations, the real estate industry, and other companies. While working at the Downtown Alliance, she created the Music at Castle Clinton concert series, Dine Around Downtown, and co-founded the River to River Festival in 2002. As the Director of Times Square Arts, Simon oversaw Midnight Moment, the world’s largest digital art exhibition on electronic billboards, and the annual Valentine Heart design competition among other projects for the over 300,000 daily visitors to Times Square. As Artistic Director at Brookfield Properties, she led a national arts program that planned and executed multi-disciplinary programming, presenting over 500 free events annually in New York, Denver, Los Angeles and Houston. Collaborations with artists, architects, landscape designers, local arts organizations and presenting partners have contributed to her expertise in creating and reimagining public spaces. Current clients include Taconic Partners, Hudson Yard Hell’s Kitchen Alliance, Fifth Avenue Association, Third Street Music School Settlement.
For more than 50 years, Amtrak has connected America and modernized train travel. Offering a safe, environmentally efficient way to reach more than 500 destinations across 46 states and parts of Canada, Amtrak provides travelers with an experience that sets a new standard.
Art at Amtrak, the official public art program of Amtrak, presents diverse, unique and memorable art projects to enhance, invigorate and humanize the travel experience at Amtrak stations. The art program reflects and celebrates each region's creative preeminence by featuring contemporary artists through rotating exhibitions.
The Moynihan Train Hall Public Art Program was established by Empire State Development, which led the development of the Moynihan Train Hall project with partners Amtrak, MTA Long Island Rail Road, and Vornado Realty Trust. The program features three monumental permanent installations by renowned artists Kehinde Wiley, Elmgreen & Dragset, and Stan Douglas commissioned by ESD in partnership with the Public Art Fund.
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