NYCT Seneca Av (M), Forest Av (M), Fresh Pond Rd (M)

Dom (Variations)

Laura F. Gibellini
Artwork in glass and mosaic by Laura F. Gibellini showing clothing and home interiors.
“Dom (Variations)” (2013) by Laura Gibellini at NYCT Seneca Ave station. Photo: Stephen S. Gross

About the Project

The imagery in "Dom (Variations)" at the Seneca Avenue and Forest Avenue stations, printed and hand-painted on glass, is of clothes hanging on clotheslines. Lovingly rendered, the clothing speaks to residents and domesticity, bringing a human scale to an otherwise everyday subway passage. Natural elements and branches and trees can be seen through the semi-translucent glass, echoing the imagery found within the Fresh Pond station mosaic mural.  

"Dom (Variations)" appears as an apparition at the Fresh Pond Station – a warm and inviting bedroom welcoming commuters to their home station. A neat bed, wallpapered wall, firm pillows and shiny furniture complete the scene. The artist’s intent is to reflect the path that flows from within the interior space of a cozy home to the exterior world, tracing the daily commute to work and the return home. Based on the concept of “home”, the mosaic mural, located across from the mezzanine entrance, depicts a lived in domestic interior scene, complete with scattered garments, books and a floor lamp. The pattern of the wallpaper on the bedroom’s back wall derives from a map, while natural elements like tree-leaves and branches invade the room – and seem to themselves form into wallpaper. The image of a window within the mosaic emulates the real windows in the Seneca Avenue and Forest Avenue stations. It is an innovative use of materials, in the techniques used to print on tile and the combination of subway tile and mosaic to represent depth and texture. Overall, the work seeks to inspire an ethereal and dreamy atmosphere that evokes memories of the past and of a dreamed home. 

About the Artist

Laura F. Gibellini is a process-based artist and researcher working between Madrid and New York City. Her drawings reflect on the intangible and imagining the irrepresentable: Air, water, time, atmospheric conditions and colors are at the core of her research. Laura F. Gibellini has been a fellow at the Spanish Academy in Rome, as well as an artist in residence at The Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity, ISCP, and the Aldrich Foundation. Her work has been shown widely in national and international venues.