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"Out of the ashes the phoenix rises, as the old myth goes. Or, in the case of Chinese artist Xu Bing's massive phoenix sculptures, out of the salvaged debris. Comprising two monumental bird sculptures made of discarded materials found at some of the many construction sites that dominate the Chinese landscape, Xu's Phoenix installation officially took flight last week at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Weighing over 12 tons and measuring more than 90 feet long each, the pair, called Feng and Huang after birds that figure throughout various Asian folktales, hang from the ceiling of the nave as if soaring through the air.\n\nPinterestFacebook2014 Andrew Toth\n\nLike the storied phoenix, the artist's relationship to the country of his birth has gone through many cycles. Born in 1955 in the Chinese city of Chonqing, Xu was exiled to the countryside as part of Mao's \"re-education\" during the Cultural Revolution and later graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1981. The artist created a sensation in his home country with A Book from the Sky an installation of scrolls inked with gorgeous, but illegible calligraphy that mimicked the Chinese alphabet. Following the public reaction to his work, Xu moved to the U.S. in 1990 and received a MacArthur genius grant in 1999. He has since taken up partial residence in China, maintaining studios in both Brooklyn and Beijing.\n\nPinterestFacebook2014 Andrew Toth\n\nThe Cathedral's stunning stained glass windows provide the perfect backdrop for Xu's glittering and colorful installation. Combining a sense of timeless fantasy with present-day materials, Phoenix adds a unique cultural component to one of New York's most spectacular spiritual venues.\n\nOn view throughout 2014 at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York, NY; stjohndivine.org\n\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/xu-bing-cathedral-of-st-john-the-divine-new-york>