A quartet of snails have made their way to Columbus Circle through the snow and traffic (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
Columbus Circle
Convergence of Broadway, Eighth Ave., and Central Park West at 59th St.
Through January 6, free
www.pinksnails.com
four giant red snails slideshow
Making your way through midtown Manhattan might be impossibly slow these days, with all of the tourists and holiday shoppers clogging the streets, but if you think you’re having trouble getting anywhere, there are four giant red snails in Columbus Circle that haven’t moved an inch in weeks. The eight-foot mollusks have actually made it from Central Park to Gaetano Russo’s statue of Cristóbal Colón, but they seem to be stuck there, bringing striking color to an otherwise very white and gray area. Made of recycled plastic from landfills, the snails are part of an international REgeneration Art Project created by Italy’s Cracking Art Group and presented by the Villa Firenze Foundation and Galleria Ca d’Oro’s Gloria Porcella. The Cracking Art Group — Renzo Nucara, Marco Veronese, Charles Rizzetti, Alex Angi, Kicco, and William Sweetlove — is dedicated to “changing the history of art through a strong social and environmental commitment to a united revolutionary, innovative use of plastic materials that evoke a strict relationship between the natural and the artificial,” so what better time to see these Dolittle-like creatures than during the holiday season in New York City?