On New Year’s Day of 2021, the artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset revealed their permanent site-specific installation titled The Hive (2020) at the Pennsylvania Station in New York. Presented in celebration of the opening of the new Moynihan Train Hall—a major feature of the recent expansion undergone by the station—the work is suspended from the ceiling of the 31st Street Mid-block Entrance Hall. By offering a contemporary interpretation on the history and grandeur of the original Pennsylvania Station, Elmgreen & Dragset’s monumental installation, which depicts a kaleidoscopic overview of an imagined urban landscape inspired by iconic high-rise buildings from metropolises around the world such as New York, captures the multiplicity and synergies of these global megacities, bringing a sense of wonder at the extraordinary progression of technology and artistic vision. The title of the installation refers to the complex relationship between natural and human-built structures, which resembles the constantly evolving architecture of a beehive.

The Hive, which consists of 91 buildings that weigh over 1.3 tons and measure up to 2.7 meters, maintains a surreal and anti-gravitational appearance due to its inverted structure. Integrating more than 72,000 LED lights that outline the tightly clustered skyscrapers, the installation illuminates the entrance of the station day and night, evoking a sense of “interconnectedness” that symbolizes the station and the city itself. Rendered as post-architectural archetypes, the iconic buildings of The Hive construct complex layers that pay tribute to the diversity modern cities, prompting viewers to envision their very own imaginary cities. Along with The Hive, the station welcomes visitors with a series of public art installations commissioned through a partnership between Empire State Development and Public Art Fund, as part of New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s visionary transformation of the nation’s busiest transportation hub.