Charlotte Colbert’s ‘Chasing Rainbows’ Arrives Across Two Manhattan Neighborhoods

Kicking off our 2026 public art season, New Yorkers and visitors alike will have something big to talk about when multidisciplinary artist Charlotte Colbert brings two monumental sculptures to the city. ‘Chasing Rainbows’, the two-site installation unfolding across Manhattan’s Meatpacking District and Flatiron NoMad neighborhood, marks the global premiere of these 30-foot pieces and Colbert’s first public art presentation in the United States.

“In a city that never sleeps, I hope to create moments of pause and personal connection with the sculptures and spark conversations among strangers,” said Colbert.

Public art has been a part of this neighborhood’s momentum. From large-scale installations in our plazas to unexpected moments along the cobblestones, these works turn everyday movement through the district into something worth pausing for.

The exhibition is curated by New Public, in partnership with the NYC Department of Transportation Art Program, the Meatpacking District Management Association, and the Flatiron NoMad Partnership alongside celebrated art figure Simon de Pury. Together, the partners bring large-scale contemporary art directly into the public realm, activating two neighboring districts through a shared cultural moment.

‘Where Angels Live’ 

14th Street Square - West 14th Street and Ninth Avenue

In the Meatpacking District, ‘Where Angels’ Live rises above our cobblestones as a towering reflective steel tree adorned with votive-like charms inspired by relics, amulets, and talismans. Set within a neighborhood defined by reinvention, from its industrial beginnings to its history as a haven for the LGBTQIA+ community and its evolution into a global destination for art, fashion, dining, and culture, the sculpture reads as a contemporary shrine to the many stories that have shaped this district.

Moments like this are exactly what our plazas are meant for. In the Meatpacking District, art, history, and everyday city life meet right out in the open.

‘Dreamland Sirens’ 

Flatiron South Plaza - 23rd Street and Broadway

In Flatiron NoMad, ‘Dreamland Sirens’ takes the form of a watchful, dual-colored eye balanced atop a column of tears. Positioned near the iconic Flatiron Building, one of New York’s earliest steel-framed skyscrapers, the sculpture reflects the surrounding city back onto itself, bridging inner vision and shared public space. The installation sits at the center of a bustling plaza traversed daily by hundreds of thousands of residents, workers, and visitors, reinforcing how thoughtfully placed public art can shape the rhythm and identity of a neighborhood.

About Charlotte Colbert

Charlotte Colbert is a multimedia artist and multi-award-winning filmmaker whose work spans cinema, sculpture, and photography. Her debut feature film, She Will (2021), won the Golden Leopard for Best First Feature at the Locarno Film Festival and was named a New York Times Critic’s Choice. Often described as blending surrealism with philosophical depth, Colbert’s work explores narrative, time, identity, dreams, and the unconscious.

She has exhibited internationally at institutions and platforms including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Montpellier Contemporain, Frieze, and Art Basel, and has collaborated with global brands and cultural figures across art, fashion, and film. Across mediums, Colbert uses the surreal and fantastical as portals - inviting audiences to question, reimagine, and experience the world anew.

With ‘Chasing Rainbows’, she brings that singular visual language to New York City’s public realm at monumental scale. She is offering moments of reflection and wonder in the midst of daily life.