Backed By Real Estate Developer Mitsui Fudosan America Inc., New York’s Largest-ever Apple Sculpture is Set to Shine Through Fall 2023
Enrique Cabrera is a multidisciplinary and award-winning contemporary artist, photographer, and public art advocate from Veracruz, Mexico. Museums and exhibitions dotting the globe are witnesses of the influence of his creations, most notably his iconic silver, copper, and bronze skull that toured twenty-eight countries, Palmarius. It concluded its tour in the Fall of 2022, landing inside the main lobby of 30 Rockefeller Center––becoming the first sculpture presented on its interior ground floor. It was displayed nearly a century after painter Diego Rivera unveiled a mural there––a profound accomplishment for the intercontinental visual craftsman highly regarded for positioning Mexico as a cultural power.
His latest Empire State fixture arrived to allure a few months after his acclaimed million-dollar cubism-inspired solid bronze bull El Toro Oro, a collaboration with Gansevoort Hotel, was revealed in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District last spring and his gleaming East Hampton summer exhibition of The Platinum Bull, arriving on the grass of Herrick Park, inaugurating Art in the Park ––the first temporary art installation program since the founding of the village four centuries ago.
The apple was unveiled by Mitsui Fudosan America Inc., on December 7, 2022, in front of their high-traffic Art-Deco skyscraper. Its striking crimson hue complimented the holiday ornamentations of the area, which is the headquarters of the Radio City Rockettes, Christie's, and NBC Studios, plus the Top of The Rock observation deck.
Located at 1251 Avenue of the Americas in front of its famed fountain, a tourist focal point, La Gran Manzana quickly became a superlative photo opportunity, garnering millions of snaps from revelers. The nearest train station sees more than 37 million annual passenger stops, representing more than 470,000 daily visitors to Rockefeller Center —a number that climbs towards 800,000 during the holidays.
The duality of the fruit, expressed in art, religion, and cultures throughout time––sweet with an exterior representative of durability and opportunity for growth––resonates with those who love New York.
The catchphrase "The Big Apple" was coined in the early 1900s by African American stablehands describing the grandeur of New York City's racetracks. Black jazz musicians furthered the term when pronouncing its bustling music scene, all articulating the wealth of opportunities the East Coast giant offers. By the seventies, it entered mainstay when it became a tourism ad slogan, intending to reimage perceptions.
“Art should be accessible to everyone. With each design project, my goal is to captivate the wonderment of the viewer, and I’m pleased to see that result with La Gran Manzana. Exhibiting a third sculpture in New York in less than a year is indeed an opportunity that has allowed me to touch the world,” stated Cabrera.
“Public art is an integral element to strengthening cities, and the beautification of urban landscapes, which is why we’re pleased to present La Gran Manzana in front of our U.S. headquarters for our first collaboration with Enrique Cabrera,” said Slater Traaen, Senior Director of Asset Management and Leasing at Mitsui Fudosan America Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Japan’s largest real estate company.
“Achieving transcendence without having to die is a great privilege that few can achieve, and these works are seeds of great things to come. I have dedicated years of effort to harnessing public art purposefully to enhance societal progress and spreading joy with the environments I create," added Cabrera.
Cabrera has had the privilege of being a fundamental part of prominent auctions that support beneficiaries of philanthropic efforts that use art to inspire and empower children through education and creativity, including Pope Francis founded Scholas Occurentes, UNICEF, and amfAR, among others.
After its presentation, ending September 7, 2023, Cabrera will expand the bearing of La Gran Manzana with the limited release of 7,777 miniature replicas, sharing with fans, and collectors a meaningful slice of New York art history. Visit www.enriquecabrera.art and follow @escultorcabrera for information.
Janice Isabel Torres
The Brand Phoenix
janice@thebrandphoenix.com