When Lucy Sparrow creates an installation, she is always all in. No detail is unturned. The British artist, who transforms familiar themed-places into an all felt-object experiences, tranforming the most minute details of everyday life into collectible and almost surreal pieces of art. After a massive museum show she created (all in felt) at M Woods in Beijing this past summer, for which we had Sparrow on the cover of our Spring 2019 issue, Sparrow is returning to NYC with Delicatessen on 6th, where she will create a gallery/shop to resemble a New York City upscale deli, with every single one of the items, from cheese to fish, chocolate to fruit handmade out of felt. The interactive public art project and retail experience will be located at Rockefeller Center, on the corner of 49th Street and 6th Avenue, and opening on October 1, 2019.

Here is the lowdown on the project: Lucy Sparrow’s Delicatessen on 6th will pay homage to the gourmet treasure trove of temptation for which New York is famous: the upscale deli. At Rockefeller Center, Lucy’s on 6th will be a fine food emporium with every counter – from patisserie to confectionary, fancy French fromages to fresh fish and seafood – overflowing with a cornucopia of unique full-felted, hand-stitched, bejeweled artworks. New for this installation, the artwork is adorned with tiny eyes and smiles, encouraging the viewer to examine their relationship with the food they purchase and to consider their own thoughts about consumerism.

Lucy Sparrow’s installation is the latest in the "Art in Focus" series at Rockefeller Center, a multidisciplinary public art program presented in partnership with the non-profit Art Production Fund that showcases exhibits by contemporary artists inspired by the New York City landscape and contemporary life. In addition to Delicatessen on 6th, Sparrow will display works in a number of unique and unexpected public locations throughout Rockefeller Center, including vitrines that will be designed to resemble aquariums and terrariums made of felt, lycra, diamante, sequins, and glass beads. Joana Avillez’s “Rockefeller Center Holiday Map” kicked off the series in December 2018, followed by public art installations by Hein Koh, Portia Munson and LaKela Brown.