Marcel Dzama depicts the hopeful beauty of the sun and the moon’s illuminated mysteries in four mosaic panels at the Bedford Av station. Inspired by Walt Whitman's "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry," the sun and moon rise and set on the city and its constant flow of people throughout time. Depicted in radiant gold and dazzling blue, 400 square feet of glass mosaic, fabricated by Mayer of Munich, appear in locations at the mezzanine and new stairways at the Driggs Avenue end of the station.  

The artwork draws upon the artist’s early experiences coming to New York and living in Williamsburg, with scenes of graceful dancers, whimsical characters, and a radiant sun and moon. Employing different illustration styles, the work presents a timeless tableau celebrating New York’s history and its people.

In each theatrical composition, an arabesque patterned curtain adorned with fairy tale figures provides an enchanting proscenium stage setting for these tableaux. The scenes are populated by elegant ballet performers that appear throughout Dzama’s oeuvre of drawings and paintings. Mischievous characters pop up throughout, and representing historical Brooklynites such as Bugsy Siegel and Captain Jonathan Williams, founder of Williamsburg.  

"In these works it is my intention to bring the sun, the sky, and the moon to the underground," Dzama said. "What I love most about New York is its people, and for me it was important to represent them and all of their wonderful complexities and diverse beauty in the piece. People looking and quietly observing together. In the subway, it’s always a togetherness that bonds us uniquely like no other place in the world."

Marcel Dzama was born in 1974 in Winnipeg, Canada, where he received his BFA in 1997 from the University of Manitoba. Since 1998, his work has been represented by David Zwirner. Dzama has exhibited widely in solo and group presentations throughout the United States and abroad. In 2016, the artist created the costume and stage design for New York City Ballet’s "The Most Incredible Thing," a performance based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale and an installation in the Promenade of the David H. Koch Theater as part of the New York City Ballet Art Series.

Work by the artist is held in museum collections worldwide, including the Dallas Museum of Art; Musée d’art Contemporain de Montréal; The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Tate, London; and the Vancouver Art Gallery. Dzama lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.