A face and belly that have become familiar to many New York City residents have returned to the Upper West Side for the first time since 2017.
Hippo Ballerina, part of The Magis Sculpture Exhibition, is currently on display at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus on West 62nd Street. Created by Bjørn Okholm Skaarup, the sculpture has popped around Manhattan over the last several years, most recently in Midtown East at Second Avenue and East 42nd Street.
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The bronze sculpture weighs two-and-a-half tons and stands 15 feet tall. Skaarup was inspired by Disney’s “Fantasia” in developing Hippo Ballerina, who has also popped up at Pershing Square and in front of the Girl Scouts of America Building. The statue will be accompanied by ten other works from Skaarup, Jim Rennert, Bruno Lucchesi and Jane DeDecker.
A press release states that Skaarup’s pieces–which also include The Frog, The Majestic Lion, The Giraffe, and The Ostrich–present “a whimsical story or allegory to decipher, with sources ranging from ancient fables and art history to music and modern animation.”
Rennert’s sculptures–Timing and Inner Dialogue–represent the “meeting between the business world and the everyday lives of ordinary people.”
“Skaarup’s sculptures invite us to see the familiar in extraordinary ways,” said Ron Cavalier, president of Cavalier Galleries, which has partnered with Fordham on the exhibit. “We are honored to collaborate with Fordham on bringing this remarkable exhibition to life.”
The exhibit is currently open to the public from Monday to Friday between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Each piece features a QR code linking to more information. Learn more about the exhibit here.
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