Walter Martin and Paloma Muñoz turned the Canal St Station into a subterranean aviary. There are dozens of birds — 174 grackles and blackbirds, in a number of different poses, and seven crows, all cast in bronze and given a glossy black patina. They are seen roosting on railings and perched in groups, like people waiting for the train, watching, lost in thought, or chatting. Birds, the artists note, are very social creatures — just like New Yorkers — and riders may find echoes of themselves and other subway riders in their lively expressions. Canal Street is a busy commercial thoroughfare, devoid of nature. “A Gathering” compensates for this by enlivening the space and providing respite from the dense traffic and bustling commercialism above. 

Artistic collaborators Walter Martin and Paloma Muñoz are known for their detailed photographs of miniature snowbound environments. To create these wintry scenes, Martin first builds figures from clay and arranges them into snow globes which Muñoz then photographs and meticulously combines into complex digital compositions. These tiny vignettes take on monumental qualities as photographic prints, revealing hidden worlds. These works — and their subtext about loss, environment, waste, lives left behind — were inspired by the duo’s move from New York City to the Pennsylvania countryside.