New York City’s Most Instagrammable Public Art (That’s Not the Vessel)

Despite—or perhaps because of—the Vessel’s savage reviews, it’s become a hit on social media. Currently, there are 45,000 #thevessel entries on Instagram alone, and it’s not even high tourist season yet. (The idea of families dragging themselves up those staircases in the August heat is borderline #unthinkable.)

For anyone interested in avoiding the physical strain or ticketed entry, or for anyone who’s interested in great art, a wealth of spectacular public art around New York is waiting to be discovered. Most recently, Frieze Sculpture, an outgrowth of the Frieze New York art fair, unveiled 14 works across the Rockefeller Center Campus for viewing through June 28. The Public Art Fund, a nonprofit founded in 1977, installs contemporary art in New York’s five boroughs and will unveil a series of new projects over the summer.