Ellsworth Ausby created eight triptychs for the station's platform windscreens. Their designs explore the relationship of man to the universe. In a subtle way, the brilliantly colored forms evoke the feeling of the swirling cosmos. For this commission, the Ausby produced a series of drawings which were translated into a faceted glass. For this project, Ausby was particularly attracted by "the idea of traveling in infinite space, which is as a passenger on the Earth Express line, experienced through the cycle of the seasons." He was particularly pleased to work with faceted glass windows, "a new and exciting medium for me to work with... These windows have allowed me to expand my understanding of the possibilities that this concept has as public art... It is my hope that these windows express what I feel is the spirit of New York, the hustle and bustle, the fast pace of the city." 

Ellsworth Ausby (1942-2011) was an artist dedicated to reflecting a deeply rooted African aesthetic and cultural heritage. In one of his earliest exhibitions, Ausby wrote “Blackness is the source of the colors, which is the Light.” Born in Portsmouth, Virginia, he moved to New York City to attend the School of Visual Arts and Pratt Institute. After school, Ausby established himself as an important Afrofuturist abstract painter – introducing the forms and palettes of traditional African art into the geometric sensibility of American hard-edge painting. Later, Ausby’s style incorporated the post-minimalist sensuality of the Pattern and Decoration art movement. In addition to his studio practice, Ausby was a beloved educator at the School of Visual Arts from 1979 until his death in 2011. His work is in the Menil Collection, Houston, Texas and The Saint Louis Art Museum, Missouri, among other institutions.