NEW YORK, NY.- Pink Lotus, a large-scale, site-specific light sculpture by artist Grimanesa Amorós, has been installed on the façade of
The Peninsula New York in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October. On view from October 1 November 15, 2015, the light sculpture is part of The Art of Pink, an international, Breast Cancer Awareness Month arts initiative sponsored by The Peninsula hotels worldwide.
In keeping with the initiatives pink theme, Amorós used LED lights to create a pink lotus flower that has been attached to The Peninsula New Yorks landmarked facade, located at 5th Avenue and 55th Street. The installation activates the entrance to the hotel with a focus on the Palladian window above the door and the carvings of Ceres, Roman Goddess of agriculture and abundance, and Diana, the Roman Goddess of the hunt, the moon and childbirth. By placing the installation on the main facade, Amorós is supporting Breast Cancer Awareness Month by drawing attention to both the Roman Goddesses, who represent the power of women worldwide, and to the lotus flowers symbolic associations with creation, enlightenment and rebirth.
As in all of her work, Amorós Pink Lotus light sculpture creates a dialogue with the existing architecture and the history of the site. The dramatic composition provides the public with a unique visual experience created by the LED lighting. The beauty and spiritual symbolism of the Lotus Flower are certain to make the Pink Lotus one of the highlights of Art of the Pink.
Grimanesa Amorós was born in Lima, Peru and lives and works in New York City. She is an interdisciplinary artist with diverse interests in the fields of social history, scientific research and critical theory, which have greatly influenced her work. Amorós researches the locations, histories and communities of the installation sites. Her process remains organic and instinctive. This intuitive relationship to technology is a distinctive feature of Amorós practice. Her works incorporates elements from sculpture, video, lighting, and technology to create site-specific light installations to engage architecture and create community.
Grimanesa Amorós has often drawn upon important Peruvian cultural legacies for inspiration for her large-scale light-based installations, which she has presented around the globe from Mexico, Tel Aviv and Beijing to New Yorks Times Square. She continues to be inspired from Perus history for her art but she does not hold an essentialist or nostalgic view of her subject. She often gives talks at museums, foundations and universities where her lectures not only attract future artists but students and faculty engaged with science and technology. It feels somewhere in the art of Grimanesa Amorós, the past is meeting the future. Amorós has exhibited in the United States, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Latin America.