Light Between the Islands background by Grimanesa Amoros
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IUGO

Grimanesa Amorós IUGO, an 11-foot LED sculpture and light sculpture in the lobby of 176 East 82nd Street, ODA Architecture / Nexus building, Upper East Side, New York, 2021. Made of stainless steel, diffusion and reflective material, and LEDs, the cupola forms are silkscreened with aerial views of Tel Aviv's vineyards, citrus groves, and olive fields, connecting Manhattan and Tel Aviv through shared geography and light. LED sculpture by Grimanesa Amorós.
Grimanesa Amorós IUGO, an 11-foot LED sculpture and light sculpture in the lobby of 176 East 82nd Street, ODA Architecture / Nexus building, Upper East Side, New York, 2021. Made of stainless steel, diffusion and reflective material, and LEDs, the cupola forms are silkscreened with aerial views of Tel Aviv's vineyards, citrus groves, and olive fields, connecting Manhattan and Tel Aviv through shared geography and light. LED sculpture by Grimanesa Amorós.
Grimanesa Amorós IUGO, an 11-foot LED sculpture and light sculpture in the lobby of 176 East 82nd Street, ODA Architecture / Nexus building, Upper East Side, New York, 2021. Made of stainless steel, diffusion and reflective material, and LEDs, the cupola forms are silkscreened with aerial views of Tel Aviv's vineyards, citrus groves, and olive fields, connecting Manhattan and Tel Aviv through shared geography and light. LED sculpture by Grimanesa Amorós.
Grimanesa Amorós IUGO, an 11-foot LED sculpture and light sculpture in the lobby of 176 East 82nd Street, ODA Architecture / Nexus building, Upper East Side, New York, 2021. Made of stainless steel, diffusion and reflective material, and LEDs, the cupola forms are silkscreened with aerial views of Tel Aviv's vineyards, citrus groves, and olive fields, connecting Manhattan and Tel Aviv through shared geography and light. LED sculpture by Grimanesa Amorós.
Grimanesa Amorós IUGO, an 11-foot LED sculpture and light sculpture in the lobby of 176 East 82nd Street, ODA Architecture / Nexus building, Upper East Side, New York, 2021. Made of stainless steel, diffusion and reflective material, and LEDs, the cupola forms are silkscreened with aerial views of Tel Aviv's vineyards, citrus groves, and olive fields, connecting Manhattan and Tel Aviv through shared geography and light. LED sculpture by Grimanesa Amorós.
Grimanesa Amoros video thumbnail for IUGO

Location: ODA Architecture / Nexus | New York, NY, 2021
7 ft 6 in x 4 ft 10 in x 3 ft 4 in (2.28 m x 1.47 m x 1 m)
Stainless steel, diffusion material and reflective material, LEDs, custom lighting sequence, and electrical hardware.

IUGO is an 7.5 foot light sculpture created for the lobby of 176 East 82nd Street in Manhattan, its Latin name meaning “to connect,” expressing a work that unites the spirit of New York City and Tel Aviv through shared geography, light, and the visual rhythms of two cities separated by continents but bound by a common energy.

  • Amorós developed the conceptual foundation of IUGO through a deep study of maps, a practice she began in childhood, finding in the outlines of cities and coastlines a visual language that connects distant geographies through form alone.
  • The silkscreens within IUGO’s cupolas were drawn directly from the landscape Amorós witnessed during her descent into Tel Aviv, where the aerial view revealed vast arrangements of vineyards, citrus groves, and olive fields whose patterns she translated into the work’s final printed surfaces.
  • From the Latin for “to connect” or “joint,” the title IUGO positions the sculpture as a living junction between two distinct urban identities, one defined by the vertical density of Manhattan and the other by the ancient agricultural rhythms of the Mediterranean coast.
  • Commissioned for a building developed by Nexus Building Development Group and designed by ODA New York, one of the city’s most recognized contemporary architecture firms, IUGO anchors its architectural context within a broader conversation about the relationship between public art, residential space, and cultural identity.

    • IUGO, Latin for connect or joint, was created with a specific vision to intertwine New York City’s lights with Tel Aviv’s vibrancy. The inspiration behind this piece stemmed from its location in Manhattan and the essence of Israel itself. Grimanesa Amoros, the visionary artist behind IUGO, recalls her fascination with maps, often studying their structures and drawings during her youth. While brainstorming for this project, she stumbled upon an old map of Manhattan, realizing that the island bore a striking resemblance to the outline of the country of Israel. This intriguing connection between the two locations sparked the inception of a piece that would artfully merge these two cities.

    The silkscreens in IUGO were inspired by a profound moment during Amoros’s plane descent into Tel Aviv. Captivated by her surroundings, she peered out the window to witness breathtaking vistas of vineyards, citrus groves, and olive fields sprawled across the landscape. The mesmerizing arrangement of these diverse crops eventually led to the development of the final print in IUGO’s cupolas.

    Through IUGO, Grimanesa Amoros unites the spirit of two iconic cities, New York and Tel Aviv, creating an artwork that seamlessly weaves their distinct identities.

    Description: IUGO is a light sculpture created for the lobby of the 176 E 82nd Street Building in New York. The building is developed by NEXUS Building Development Group and designed by ODA New York.