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Bensonhurst Gardens

18 Av (D)

Bensonhurst Gardens

Francesco Simeti
Artwork in laminated glass by Francesco Simeti showing colorful imaginary landscapes with plants and flowers.
“Bensonhurst Gardens” (2012) by Francesco Simeti at 18 Av. Photo: Etienne Frossard

About the project

"Bensonhurst Gardens" depicts imaginary landscapes made up of native plants with an unexpected array of flowers growing side by side. The 32 laminated glass panels were created through a process of collage. Simeti selected plants and flowers that are culturally meaningful to the three main ethnic groups currently living in Bensonhurst: Chinese, Italian, and Jewish.

One of these examples includes the rose and lily, which reference the Santa Rosalia Festival. The festival is highly celebrated in the neighborhoods served by the station. Simeti's aim is not to make the individual panels immediately recognizable to a specific culture but to function as a framework, creating surreal compositions that belong to different times, cultures and habitats. In addition, Simeti’s compositions comment on society’s relationship to nature by showing the soil which nurtures the plants also collecting society’s detritus. 

About the artist

Francesco Simeti is a Brooklyn-based artist born in Palermo, Italy. Simeti graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna. He creates site-specific installations using wallpaper, sculpture, and 3D collage. These enchanting scenes explore the environmental crisis and the numerous conflicts and subsequent displacements of people through sculptures and video animations. His work has been featured at the Shanghai Biennial, Palermo Gallery of Modern Art, and MASS MoCA, among others.