Cara Enteles
“Commuting Through Nature”
A permanent public art project commissioned by MTA Arts and Design, 2020
These artworks pay homage to the Monarch butterfly. This impressive creature flies 3,000 miles each year. Enteles chose them since Merillon Avenue is located on their yearly migration path. Her hope is that they inspire their human counterparts as they pass through the station. The artwork, in hand painted laminated glass, defines the structures of the station. These include the guardrails, the walls of the elevator towers and the waiting shelter area. The Merillon Avenue LIRR Station is located in Garden City, Long Island.
Enteles’ work is a good fit for translation into glass. She has developed her own hybrid method of combining painting and silkscreening on acrylic or aluminum sheet. Her paintings play with transparency and reflection as a way to mimic atmospheric changes in natural light.
Enteles’ paintings were translated into the 50 hand-painted, laminated glass panels that are located throughout the station by fabricator Glasmalerei Peters Studio. A metal decorative fence depicting Enteles’ kaleidoscopic pattern of butterflies is also installed at the station, via the Nassau Avenue pedestrian bridge.
Photos by William Mebane
“The Bounty of Yakima” is a permanent public art project made possible by the Washington State Arts Commission.
The 2 large paintings are inspired by the natural beauty of the Yakima Valley. The goal of the artwork is to bring the local landscape, flora and hidden animals into the main lobby area of Apple Valley Elementary.
The aim is for this installation to be a daily reminder to the students of the beautiful nature of the Yakima Valley. The artwork adds color and light to the main hall of the school, enhancing the atmosphere of the space. The students particularly enjoy finding the animals hidden in the paintings.
The paintings depict sweeping views of the local landscape along with a colorful sky, Shrub Steppe Cliffs, and the river valley. Local wild flowers which including Blanket Flower, Cushion Phlox, Lupine, and Sagebrush Violet are in the foreground of the paintings. Local animals are hidden in the foliage, including a Cougar with cubs, Great Horned and Barred Owls, rabbits and Painted Lady butterflies traverse the landscape.
