While at Brooklyn Commons, you may come across a number of sculptural artworks on Myrtle Promenade and in the Park that are permanently on view at the property, and are meant to surprise and delight! 

Tony Matelli, Stray Dog
Tony Matelli’s hyper-real sculptural work challenges established perceptions of American icons, often creating a disconcerting tension. At MetroTech Center, Matelli (b.1971, Chicago, IL) presents the ultimate stray—a lost seeing-eye dog that seemingly wanders about without his blind master. Stray Dog, a golden Labrador retriever fitted with a leash for his blind master, is seen alone in Brooklyn Commons, wondering where his dependent owner could be. The missing blind person, Matelli proposes, is another potential “stray” lost without her/his guide dog. The artist considers this incredibly detailed, eye-catching rendering the perfect anti-monument—“forever on the move and either endearing or hopeless, perhaps lost for good.”

Originally part of the “Beyond the Monument” exhibition, presented at Brooklyn Commons in 1998-1999 by Public Art Fund.

Tom Otterness, Alligator
Tom Otterness, Visionary
Along the busy thoroughfare of Myrtle Promenade, discover the Lilliputian bronze figures of sculptor Tom Otterness (b.1952, Wichita, KS). Otterness creates an intriguing storybook world of underdogs and overlords, cops and robbers, exuberant hybrid animals, utopian dreamers and happy-go-lucky revelers. Commenting on his use of materials, the artist states, “bronze gets polished where people touch it. It’s like democracy. You can see what people like the most.” Otterness’s combination of dry humor, political satire, and social tableaux presents a uniquely accessible and engaging public sculpture exhibition.

Originally part of the “Tom Otterness: On the Commons: Recent Sculptures” exhibition, presented at Brooklyn Commons in 1995-96 by Public Art Fund.

James Angus, Basketball Dropped from 35,000 Feet at Moment of Impact
James Angus (b.1970, Perth, WA) created Basketball Dropped from 35,000 Feet at Moment of Impact as part of the Public Art Fund’s New Urban Sculpture group show at MetroTech Commons in Brooklyn, New York. The sculpture consists of a partially deflated basketball squashed against the concrete floor—presumably because it was dropped from 35,000 feet. The solidity of the bronze sculpture contrasts with the mental vision of the basketball falling conjured by the work’s title.

Originally part of the “New Urban Sculpture” exhibition, presented at Brooklyn Commons in 1999-2000 by Public Art Fund.