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Jan Peeck’s Vine

Peekskill

Jan Peeck’s Vine

Joy Taylor
Artwork in painted steel by Joy Taylor showing vines, flowers and plants on the platform railings and elevator entrances.
“Jan Peeck’s Vine” (2012) by Joy Taylor at Peekskill. Photo: Ken Shung

About the project

"Jan Peeck’s Vine" was inspired by the natural beauty surrounding Peekskill station, recreating local indigenous bindweed plants as imaginative structures that morph from rigid girders into flowing, soaring leaves and flowers. 

The artwork is named for the area’s first European resident, after whom Peekskill is named. It begins with a pair of painted steel sculptures on the southbound platform that echo the historic elements of the existing station and free them to run riot in a flowing, whimsical overhead design. From their bases, they grow to the canopy roof surrounding two supporting columns in a zig-zag pattern that replicates the lacing of the historic northbound canopy. As they climb up the columns, they begin to curve and twine, transforming into vines. Their stylized forms twist around the upright columns, finally breaking free into an organic design that fills the space above the entry. 

The vines proceed from each side in a roughly symmetrical pattern, meeting over the stairs like a huge arbor welcoming visitors to a vast local garden. Elements of this sculpture are repeated in the two Peekskill monograms atop the elevator entrances and in railing inserts on the northbound platform. The vivid colors and repeating shapes provide a modern, stylized take on historic elements of the station and surrounding architecture. Symbolizing the flowering of the contemporary arts in this historic city, "Jan Peeck’s Vine" welcomes commuters to their historic station. Joy Taylor’s artwork was fabricated by KC Fabrications. 

About the artist

Joy Taylor is an artist primarily inspired by nature. Taylor uses a variety of media (especially painting, drawing, frottage, collage, and sculpture) to explore the viewer’s perception of nature, to question their assumptions about it, and also to linger their attention on its unusual features. She earned a BS in Studio Art from Skidmore College, and was a student of artist Romare Bearden's from 1981 to 1985. Taylor lives and works in Red Hook, New York.