Phoenix: Xu Bing at the Cathedral

On Saturday I didn't have many plans, so I wandered around for a while and stopped into the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. I was hoping to see their paper crane tree, which I did, but I had forgotten that the Cathedral was playing host to a huge sculpture installation from Xu Bing, called the Phoenix.

Constructed of pieces of discarded construction debris from Beijing, two birds (Feng and Huang) hang suspended in the Nave. They are enormous and really intricate, with bits of curling, twisting metal, fire extinguishers, fans, metal signs and pipes. They are both lit with hundreds of tiny lights, and paired with the already-jaw-dropping scale of the Cathedral it's quite an impressive sight.

I'm not super into installation pieces in historic spaces—especially when I just want to see the original space—but I've been to the Cathedral enough that this is a welcome change. Exhibitions like this are best seen in person so you can really experience the massive scale (like the Kara Walker Domino Sugar exhibit). Phoenix is on display until February and entrance into the Cathedral is free (suggested $10 donation).