“Laced Canopy” has over 100 decorative glass mosaic panels - over one million fragments of glass - installed in the skylight of the subway control house, the first above-ground station house built in New York in over a century. The work's light and lacy effect is achieved from trapping the mosaic fragments between two sheets of specially fabricated glass. The knots interwoven into the composition are also representations of musical notes from Giuseppe Verdi's opera “Rigoletto,” referencing Verdi Park, in which the station is located, and the nearby Metropolitan Opera. Robert Hickman describes the sparkling canopy as "a delicate covering of crushed diamonds." Nineteenth-century English sources inform the work, which is conceptually based on: the 1851 London Crystal Palace, William Morris fabric and wallpaper designs, and Greco-Roman knot patterns. 

Artist and educator Robert Hickman creates installations, sculptures, and works of public art that embrace the play of light against industrial materials. An Ohio native, Hickman lives and works in Brooklyn. His works are widely exhibited in solo and group shows, including past exhibitions at numerous New York City venues, including MoMA PS1 and the SculptureCenter.