You love art and you love the outdoors— isn’t it great when the two come together? With outdoor-art season in full bloom, here are some public art installations all across the city you won’t want to miss:
Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Roof Garden Commission: Imran Qureshi
No question, the blood red splashes of paint across a large swath of the Met’s roof garden are shocking: The work of Imran Qureshi is meant to evoke the bloody violence in his native Pakistan. But look closer and you’ll see delicate flowers emerging from the carnage — symbolizing, according to the artist’s notes on the exhibit, “a dialogue with life, with new beginnings and fresh hope.” Against the lush green backdrop of Central Park, that message becomes even more powerful. And where else are you allowed to walk on art? Through Nov. 3. Free with suggested $25 admission. metmuseum.org
New York Botanical Garden, Philip Haas’ Four Seasons
A gourd for a nose? Peaches for cheeks? Cherries for ears and a beardmade of moss? Taking inspiration from the natural world, Philip Haas cleverly arranges fruit, vegetables, twigs, leaves, flowers, ivy and other organic materials (that are actually painted fiberglass) to craft four monumental “portraits” representing the four seasons. The 15-foot tall busts line the courtyard of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory at the New York Botanical Garden in The Bronx through Oct. 27. Free with the purchase of an All-Garden pass, from $20.
nybg.org
Socrates Sculpture Garden, Do it (outside)
Let’s say you get a set of written instructions from an artist, and you’re asked to “interpret” them to create a unique work. And let’s say that artist is Ai Weiwei, who tells you “how to make a spray device to block a surveillance camera.” Or Paul McCarthy, who states, “In your backyard, paint the dirt silver.” Such is the innovative exercise behind curator Hans Ulrich Obrist’s “do it (outside)” exhibition, which runs through July 7 at the Long Island City park. Experienced artists, art students, performers and even the public will help bring the 60 “instructions” by the likes of David Lynch, Yoko Ono and Sol LeWitt to life. Free, socratessculpturepark.org
Randalls Island Park, Flow.13
A small forest of 4- to 7-foot high, two-dimensional trees based on telephone-book ads (“New Growth”); a bench that frames both the Manhattan skyline and a painting of bacteria from a nearby salt marsh (“View”) — these are among the five site-specific installations rising along the southern shore of Randalls Island Park. On June 15, opening festivities will take place with all the young artists present — look for the Nigerian-American Eto Otitigbe to perform alongside his “Looping Back,” a 20-foot-wide circular sculpturemade of tree bark that pays homage to the jazz musicians who played on the island in the 1930s. June 15 to Nov. 15. Free, flowartnyc.org
Governors Island, Figment
What wacky sculptures will turn up on the Parade Grounds of Governors Island this summer? Expect about 11 sustainable, interactive projects — including “Marimba Wheels,” on which you’re invited to spin wheels to make different harmonies, and “Tilt,” where several “players” must work together to complete a maze. Perhaps the coolest installation is Jason Klimoski and Lesley Chang’s “Head in the Clouds” crafted from thousands of discarded plastic bottles; from the outside it resembles a cloud, inside, you can gaze up into the blue sky. Ahhh . . . June 8 to Sept. 22. Free, figmentproject.org