Living With Bee Art

Bee Gate
Artist: CHRISTOPHER RUSSELL
PHOTO: STEFAN HAGEN

Fences can be ugly or works of art. No insect biologist or apidologist can be on the fence about this work of art by Christopher Russell. The gate can be seen at the Ninth Avenue Subway station in New York. The station is an historic landmark and calls for art proposal in 2009 had to fit the period and not alter the structure.  Russell proposed his artistic piece to complement the architecture and be located as part of a fence that is separate from the structure.

Russell created the pieces for the gate by carving bees and honey comb out of beeswax. The comb was carved in similar fashion. He sculpted 15 unique bee designs that were used to make moulds for bronze casting. The bees and honey comb dominate the main gate. The tops of the fence posts are adorned with bees pollinating flowers. The piece gives a playful touch to the area to those who like bees. For those who don’t like bees, the bees reinforce the “do not enter” message of the fence.