‘Steel Shards’ is a conceptual visualization of a large-scale installation by artist Gregory Orekhov, featuring composite panels with a mirror-polished stainless steel surface, arranged chaotically on a water surface. The project symbolizes rupture and restoration, reflecting narratives of migration and adaptation, aiming to integrate into the cultural landscape of New York’s Central Park.

Some ideas require time before coming to fruition. When artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude first proposed the installation ‘The Gates’ for Central Park, the project waited 26 years before it was realized. In public art, patience becomes part of the process: a work must not only fit into the space but also navigate a complex path of approvals – from city authorities, environmentalists, and the professional community.

Gregory Orekhov presents ‘Steel Shards’ – a conceptual visualization of a large-scale installation featuring composite panels with mirror-polished stainless steel surfaces, arranged chaotically on the water surface of Central Park. The project symbolizes rupture and restoration, migration and adaptation – stories that intersect but can no longer return to their original state.

‘Steel Shards’ is an installation in motion. Reflecting the sky, clouds, and the silhouettes of skyscrapers, it transforms the water’s surface into a dynamic canvas. Sunlight fractures on the steel fragments; city silhouettes break apart and reassemble, creating an illusion of fragility and resilience simultaneously.

New York is a city where thousands of stories intersect. It is a place where those who have left behind shattered pasts – fleeing crises, wars, personal and social upheavals – arrive in search of a new beginning. It is a city where millions of individuals, existing side by side with those of opposing ideological beliefs, strive to overcome those separating rifts in search of community. Here, fractured destinies find new paths, connections emerge, and disconnection is overcome, forming a new kind of unity. This process is familiar to the artist himself: moving to Paris became such a shard of fate – a breaking point after which new development and adaptation began.

‘Steel Shards’ has already been created and tested on water in the artist’s studio. In addition, photographs were taken in the gallery space, capturing the interaction of the mirrored panels with light and spatial reflections. The polished steel absorbs and transforms the surrounding environment, becoming an extension of it.

The project has been submitted for consideration, and now it is a matter of waiting for the idea to find its place in the park. The artist believes in its realization and is prepared for the long journey ahead, understanding that such processes take time. After all, art is not only about form but also about the energy of an idea gradually transforming into a material object that becomes part of the city’s history.

“Some projects take time. And an artist needs to have patience, like a drop of water that wears away stone,” said Gregory Orekhov.