Laura Owens, I 🍕 NY, 2020
Handmade glazed ceramic tiles and grout.
Commissioned by LaGuardia Gateway Partners in partnership with Public Art Fund for LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B.
All images courtesy of the artist; Sadie Coles HQ, London; and Galerie Gisela Capitan, Cologne.
Fireclay Takes Flight!
Our handmade mosaic tiles cover nearly 25,000 square feet of LaGuardia Airport's newly renovated Terminal B. Designed by critically acclaimed painter Laura Owens, this monumental ceramic Tile mosaic, titled I 🍕 NY, features 80 iconic references that capture the spirit of NYC, including the Apollo Theater, the Stonewall Inn, a MetroCard, and of course, pizza.
Design: Laura Owens // Images: Tom Powel Imaging // Installer: BRB Ceramic Tile Marble and Stone
When Laura Owens and her team brought her vision to us in 2018, we jumped at the opportunity to collaborate with such a renowned artist, on such a large scale. Projects like this showcase the customization tradition that has made us the makers we are today and allow us to expand on our knowledge and perfect our process for the next big idea. Here's a peak into the process behind the project!
Fast facts about LaGuardia:
- The new Terminal B was constructed by the oldest black-owned and female-run construction company in the U.S., McKissack & McKissack.
- The project broke ground four years ago and was commissioned by LaGuardia Gateway Partners in partnership with Public Art Fund.
- The chosen four artists of Terminal B include three women; two from Europe, two from America and one of whom identifies as a woman of color. You can see all of the featured artists and their installations HERE.
- Three of the four artists had to work on their installs remotely due to COVID-19.
The Artist: Laura Owens
Each artist chosen for La Guardia was tasked to dream up installations that would stand the test of time and Laura Owens, a Los Angeles-based painter, used tile as her medium.
Adding to the challenge of such a large-scale project, was that a great deal of this install occurred during COVID-19 and Owens was working remotely. She worked closely with installers through photos and videos to approve each and every tile (keep in mind we're talking 625,000 tiles).
The Numbers: 9 months. 25,000 sq/ft. 625,000 tiles.
Our collaboration with the artist was roughly nine months and included the development of custom glazes, along with many, many mosaic maps that were sheeted by our team to help bring Laura Owens' vision to life.
This installation features 625,000 hand-laid ceramic tiles.
At 25,000 sq. ft, I🍕NY is one of the largest mosaics in the world, taking up the largest interior wall in LaGuardia.
The clouds are made of 3x6 subway tiles and mosaics are used to create the shading.
136 glazes were used to produce this large-scale mosaic, 100 were standard and 36 were custom developed.
Want to see more? Head to the gallery. Working on a large-scale commercial project? Get in touch!
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Laura Owens, I🍕NY, 2020
Handmade glazed ceramic tiles and grout
Commissioned by LaGuardia Gateway Partners in partnership with Public Art Fund for LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B.
All images courtesy of the artist; Sadie Coles HQ, London; and Galerie Gisela Capitan, Cologne.
