Vertical Highways V03; in front of The Rockefeller Center, New York, 2026
Vertical Highways V03; in front of The Rockefeller Center, New York, 2026
Guardrails, steel
595 (h) x 180 x 234 cm
234¼ (h) x 70¾ x 92¼ in
234¼ (h) x 70¾ x 92¼ in
Photo: Guillaume Ziccarelli
In spring 2026, Rockefeller Center presented Vertical Highways V03 (2025), a monumental sculpture by Bettina Pousttchi, in the Channel Gardens from March 18 through April 17, 2026.
Installed at the Fifth Avenue entrance to the Channel Gardens, the sculpture marks the first public presentation of Pousttchi’s Vertical Highways series in the United States. The work has previously been shown internationally, including at the Jardin des Tuileries, outside Berlin Central Station, and at the Istanbul Modern.
Vertical Highways V03 is constructed from highway guardrails that Pousttchi bends, presses, and reconfigures into a powerful sculptural form. By transforming these familiar elements of urban infrastructure, the artist removes them from their everyday regulatory function and reimagines them as symbols of movement, change, and shifting boundaries within the modern city. The work draws conceptually on traditions of Minimal Art as well as the ready-made objects pioneered by Marcel Duchamp.
Installed at the Fifth Avenue entrance to the Channel Gardens, the sculpture marks the first public presentation of Pousttchi’s Vertical Highways series in the United States. The work has previously been shown internationally, including at the Jardin des Tuileries, outside Berlin Central Station, and at the Istanbul Modern.
Vertical Highways V03 is constructed from highway guardrails that Pousttchi bends, presses, and reconfigures into a powerful sculptural form. By transforming these familiar elements of urban infrastructure, the artist removes them from their everyday regulatory function and reimagines them as symbols of movement, change, and shifting boundaries within the modern city. The work draws conceptually on traditions of Minimal Art as well as the ready-made objects pioneered by Marcel Duchamp.
