Works in Public 2026

Project Description:
UNEARTHED is an installation of three steel forms inspired by the ancient Plain of Jars in Laos. It asks us to consider the inevitable and unexpected ways that history imposes itself on the present. When experienced with its accompanying soundscape, UNEARTHED also reminds us that our shared public spaces are nexus points for an infinite number of narratives that connect individuals and communities across time, those who lived here before us and those who will come after us.

Bio:
Clare Burson (b.1975) is a New York-based interdisciplinary artist working in ceramics, metal, textiles, found objects, and sound. Her practice is rooted in a search for continuity across time and is part of a much larger conversation around what is remembered, why, and through what means. Burson has been awarded fellowships and residencies in Cologne, Germany; New York, NY; and Edgecomb, Maine; and her work has been featured in solo and group shows across the US and in Europe. As a singer-songwriter, she released three full length records, with her last album, Silver And Ash, being released in 2010 by Rounder Records. She received her BA in history from Brown University.

Website: clareburson.com
Instagram: @clarebursonceramics

Project Description:
City in Shapes, City in Fish invites viewers into the artist’s visual language through a cityscape of abstract shapes and color. Inspired by the craft and community of printmaking, the work incorporates images of six fish etched onto selected plexiglass, contributed by fellow printmakers and artists: Laurissa Widrick, Felix Bladbjerg, Kait Waldman, Stan Overstreet, Barbara Ganmen, and Scarlett Patino.

Bio:
Lindsey Frances Jones is an artist and educator based in New York City and New Jersey. She is drawn to socially engaged, craft-based projects that invite participation. Jones holds a BA from NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study and an MA in Art and Art Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Website: lindseyfrancesjones.com
Instagram: @lindsfrancesart

Project Description:
A Peruvian shaman once told Ehni to carry a lemon in her purse, that it brings great harmony in life and in interactions with others. Two fractured pre-Columbian ceramics carry ancient coastal knowledge, opening possibilities to imagine a different future. Balancing reflects on the fragile relationships between people, nature, and the built environment.

Bio:
Alicia Ehni is a multidisciplinary artist who draws from a personal and collective experiences of living in the Peruvian desert of Paracas. Ehni explores sculptural forms through combining distinct and often mutually exclusive cultural references, like superstition, Pre-Columbian iconography and architecture. Ehni was born in Lima, Peru, studied at Universidad Católica Perú, received a BFA from Pratt Institute and an MFA from Hunter College. Ehni is a NYSCA 2026 Support for Artist Grant recipient.

Website: aliciaehni.com
Instagram: @aliciaehni

Project Description:
The Chairs explores family as the foundation through which we understand ourselves and the world. Seen through a child’s perspective, the chairs embody imagination, openness, and freedom from conventional rules. Their human-like forms suggest movement and the ability to change. Ultimately, the chairs speak to the importance of finding balance — within ourselves, within families, and in navigating the challenges and uncertainties of an ever-changing world.

Bio:
Robert Franca is a sculptor and painter from Brooklyn, NY. On a Fulbright fellowship to Italy, he began the practice of drawing with the belief that the forms he imagined and drew could be built — and he began to build them. This is still a guiding principle in his work. Working six years in the studio of muralist Richard Haas, from 1984 -90, instilled in him the value and importance of public art.

Residencies attended include Skowhegan, Vermont Studio School, and Yaddo. Besides weekly telephone conversations with sculptor Louise Bourgeois lasting over 10 years, other influential artists he feels fortunate to have known and studied with are Salvatore Scarpitta, Paul Georges, Philip Guston, Lennart Anderson, Reuben Nakian, Richard Stankiewicz, and Esteban Vicente.

Website: robertfranca.com
Instagram: @robertkfranca