The 167th Street B/D station has some new artwork. These beautiful works pay a poignant tribute to iconic community figures. As reported by Gothamist: “The murals, called Beacons, are by Brooklyn-based artist Rico Gatson, who incorporated portraits of the subjects— Gil Scott-Heron; Tito Puente; Celia Cruz; Audre Lorde; James Baldwin; Maya Angelou, Reggie Jackson; and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor—with strong lines in red, orange, yellow, black, grey, and green.”
The MTA press release adds:
The portraits radiate with beauty and pride of these influential figures, and invite travelers to reflect on the past as well as find inspiration for the future. The station’s mosaic murals are an extension of Gatson’s earlier Icons series, showing new ways to present biography and photography in a contemporary, bold and graphic way. Gatson’s artwork reveals a mix of influences—performance, conceptualism, minimalism and constructivism, to name a few—which are combined with an interest in history and representation.
The murals are simply magnificent.
If you aren’t familiar with Rico Gatson, check out some his other art below. And, take a subway ride to the Bronx Museum and you’ll get to experience his larger-than-life murals in real time.