Nari Ward, Amazing Grace

As part of its survey of ’90s art titled, “NYC 1993: Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star,” the New Museum presents this ambitious 1993 installation by artist Nari Ward in its adjacent space, Studio 231. Originally mounted in an abandoned firehouse in Harlem, Amazing Grace resembles a kind of post-apocalyptic landscape of discarded baby strollers and fire hoses, all culled from the surrounding neighborhood by the artist. Beyond suggesting that buildings in minority neighborhoods were more prone to fires due the neglect of landlords, the work evokes the social cost of that indifference. It's characteristic of Ward's ongoing examination of race and its relationship to the urban environment.