DESIGN DISPATCH

Milan’s Stazione Centrale Gets the JR Treatment, and Other News

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“La Nascita” (2024) by JR. Image courtesy of Jr

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Milan’s Stazione Centrale Gets the JR Treatment

JR has transformed a square outside Milan’s Stazione Centrale into a striking trompe l’oeil artwork titled La Nascita. Forging an Alpine landscape illusion that seemingly creates a gash through the monumental station, the piece is the French street artist’s most ambitious work yet. “It’s the first time [I’ve done] something like this with many layers,” he tells The Art Newspaper. “The building is pretty intimidating—I rarely work on buildings that are this big. It took me a while to really work out how to get through that station.” In a deeper historical context, La Nascita hearkens back to the station’s past, recalling the era of grand rail travel and its inauguration by dictator Benito Mussolini—an image that contrasts with the station’s current reputation as a hangout spot for drug dealers and sex workers. 

“Clara-Clara” by Richard Serra temporarily installed at Tuileries Gardens, Paris. Photography by Tybo

Paris officials are scouting a permanent location for a polarizing Richard Serra sculpture.

Richard Serra’s death has reignited debate in Paris about finding a suitable location for his controversial sculpture Clara-Clara, which has weathered a turbulent history since its 1983 installation at the entrance of the Tuileries Gardens. It created a jarring contrast with André Le Nôtre’s landscape design and was graffitied by locals until Paris officials put the sculpture in storage in 1993, not displaying it until 2008 for a major sculpture exhibition. While some Parisians view the colossal sculpture’s return as a tribute to Serra’s legacy, the city is exploring three potential permanent locations in the historic heart of Paris

Wes Gordon will receive the SCAD Étoile Award at SCADstyle2024 in Atlanta this week.

Wes Gordon, Carolina Herrera’s creative director, will receive the SCAD Étoile Award, recognizing his achievements in the fashion industry. He’ll receive the award at the university’s four-day SCADstyle2024 event in Atlanta, which will bring together leaders in the design and lifestyle sector for a variety of panels and conversations. SCAD president and founder Paula Wallace will deliver Gordon his award before fashion journalist and curator Stefano Tonchi will interview Gordon about his career. Previous honorees of the award include Reese Witherspoon, David Yurman, Pierre Cardin, Jonathan Adler, and Carolina Herrera herself.

A new report finds 309 bridges across the United States are vulnerable to ship strikes.

In the wake of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, the New York Times has published an investigation that 309 U.S. bridges—including major ones like the Lewis and Clark Bridge in Washington and the Crescent City Connection in New Orleans—risk structural failure due to lacking protective barriers against ship impacts. Despite the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s $40 billion allocation, many bridges, which are integral to major routes like I-95 and I-90, won’t see improvements until 2027. The Key Bridge’s replacement is estimated at $400 million.

Gavin Brown donates materials from his gallery to Bard’s curatorial studies program.

Gavin Brown has donated materials from his influential former Manhattan gallery, Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, to Bard College’s Center for Curatorial Studies, preserving the legacy of a space that showcased groundbreaking artists like Arthur Jafa and Laura Owens. The archive, reflecting the gallery’s 26-year impact on contemporary art, includes catalogs and artist documentation, and enhances Bard’s resources for studying avant-garde exhibitions.

An artist’s rendering of the Cotino clubhouse, inspired by “Incredibles 2.” Image courtesy of Storyliving by Disney

Today’s attractive distractions:

Mattel is launching a less intimidating, more collaborative edition of Scrabble. 

Will life in a Disney town with 2,000 themed houses be a dream or a nightmare?

A Beyoncé song from Cowboy Carter has shoppers beating down Levi’s doors

The art collective MSCHF not-so-secretly replaced an entire sink at the Met.

All Stories