Christopher Myers Creates Art on Ice in Brooklyn

Temperatures were chilly in New York over the winter holidays. But at 99 Scott in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the vibe was hot. That was courtesy of Studio Skate, a pop-up ice rink curated by Zoe Lukov featuring a site-specific commission by interdisciplinary artist Christopher Myers. Titled Feathers on the Waves, the installation’s colors recall Myers’s stained glass, yet his inspiration came from such trailblazers as Surya Bonaly, whose backflip during the 1998 Winter Olympics defied conventions. “The history of Black athletes on ice is long and complicated,” Myers says. “Feathers consists of images of bodies suspended between here and there, like those in the myth of Icarus, filled with aspiration, freedom, and sometimes failure.” Speaking of bodies, that of singer Alicia Hall Moran was outfitted in a costume by Myers when she performed at the rink. 

Studio Skate wrapped last month. But a solo exhibition of stained-glass light boxes by Myers is on view in Charlotte, North Carolina, as will be his monumental textiles at the Biennale of Sydney, from March 9 to June 10.