1. Home
  2. Agencies and Departments
  3. MTA Arts & Design
  4. I dreamed a world and called it Love

I dreamed a world and called it Love

Grand Central-42 St (4/5/6/7/S)

I dreamed a world and called it Love

Jim Hodges
A permanent glass art installation by artist Jim Hodges at NYCT Grand Central Station shows light blue mirrored glass transition to dark blue mirrored glass in camouflage like, organic patterns installed above a stairway.
"I dreamed a world and called it Love" (2020) © Jim Hodges, NYCT Grand Central–42 St Station. Photo: Felipe Fontecilla

About the project

Jim Hodges' mirrored-glass artwork "I dreamed a world and called it Love" is nestled above the busiest entrance at Grand Central-42 St. Reflections of riders are a constant but ever-changing element of this public installation. No two visits will ever be the same.

The expansive work is located near the 42 Street entrance on the landing and mezzanine levels of the stairs and escalator that connect Grand Central Terminal with the subway station. It's composed of over 5,000 pieces of glass in more than 70 different colors. The composition inverts the commuter’s visual experience of descending underground. The progression begins with an upper landing rendered in sparkling deep blues that reference the celestial ceiling of Grand Central Terminal’s Main Concourse and contrast the pale stone architecture of the terminal. It then bursts into a kaleidoscope of color on the lower mezzanine, dazzling against the backdrop of black granite in the renovated subway entrance.

Camouflage serves as a representation of nature. The artwork's organic patterning contains a sense of life. Shapes appear fluid and imbue the surface with a swirling visual dynamism that mimics the pulsating energy of the station itself.

About the artist

Jim Hodges was born in 1957 in Spokane, Washington. He lives and works in New York. Hodges’ work explores themes of fragility, temporality, love, and death in a highly original and poetic vocabulary. He frequently deploys different materials and techniques, including ready-made objects, graphite, and ink. Often disarmingly simple or executed with minimal means, Hodges’ works express a sentiment of deeply felt experience and encourage a visceral and communal response.