The mosaic artwork at 53 St is by Mickalene Thomas, a Brooklyn-based contemporary artist best known for her mixed-media, rhinestone, and enamel paintings that have been exhibited around the world. The collage-like design juxtaposes textile patterns with images of plants found in New York, bringing the beauty of nature and domestic interiors into the station. A repeating geometric pattern of emanating concentric rings carries throughout the piece like a photo flash or solar flare. 

Mickalene Thomas lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, and makes paintings, collages, photography, video, and installations that draw on art history and popular culture to create a contemporary vision of female sexuality, beauty, and power. Thomas received a B.F.A. from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, and an M.F.A. from Yale University School of Art. Thomas has been awarded multiple prizes and grants, including the USA Francie Bishop Good & David Horvitz Fellow (2015); Anonymous Was A Woman Award (2013); Brooklyn Museum Asher B. Durand Award (2012); and the Timerhi Award for Leadership in the Arts (2010).