Spray Paint Transforms an Abandoned Beach House into a Painting | Insta of the Week

A photo posted by Klaus Biesenbach (@klausbiesenbach) on

May 27, 2016 at 6:16am PDT

This lone beach house in New York is marked for demolition, but it's going out in a blaze of spray painted glory. As part of MoMA PS1's ongoing series, Rockaway!,  Berlin-based artist Katharina Grosse is covering it in fiery red and pink pigment, not unlike the orange-soaked home she submitted to New Orleans' 2008 Prospect.1 biennial in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. MoMA PS1 Director Klaus Biesenbach uploaded a rendering to Instagram of Grosse's plans for the building.

Severly damaged by Hurricane Sandy, much of Fort Tilden's iconic coastal architecture is to be razed, and the surrounding area will be restored with wind-stopping dunes and beach flora. Biesenbach writes in his Instagram post that Grosse's contribution to the landscape will, "one last time emphasize the fragile beauty of the Rockaways." Biesenback continues in another Instagram post, "Nature wins…but I will visit these buildings many times this summer before they're gone."

Grosse's participation in Rockaway! brings her into the company of illustrious previous participants. Patti Smith, who helped conceive of the series with Biesenbach, also contributed two installations, a photography series, and a gallery dedicated to Walt Whitman. Adrián Villar Rojas added a series of small sculptures inspired by the nests of an Argentine bird species, and the MoMA donated Janet Cardiff's The Forty Piece Motet, to be hosted at Fort Tilden's military chapel. Rockaway! has been underway since 2013, established as a large-scale reaction from the art community to the catastrophe that was Hurricane Sandy. Check out what the house looks like now from Biesenbach's Instagram posts below.

A photo posted by Klaus Biesenbach (@klausbiesenbach) on

May 26, 2016 at 12:57pm PDT

one of the most iconic buildings in the rockaways are the former aquatics in fort tilden. built when the fort was a military base they have been abandoned for many years and they were already more or less a tear down before hurricane sandy. in autumn they will make way for restoring the natural beach habitat and vegetation in one of new york city's most unique inner city nature reserves directly on the atlantic ocean. protective dunes and vegetation will be there where the ruins are now. nature wins…but i will visit these buildings many times this summer before they're gone

A photo posted by Klaus Biesenbach (@klausbiesenbach) on

May 26, 2016 at 11:42am PDT

one of the most iconic buildings in the rockaways are the former aquatics in fort tilden. built when the fort was a military base they have been abandoned for many years and they were already more or less a tear down before hurricane sandy. in autumn they will make way for restoring the natural beach habitat and vegetation in one of new york city's most unique inner city nature reserves directly on the atlantic ocean. protective dunes and vegetation will be there where the ruins are now. nature wins…but i will visit these buildings many times this summer before they're gone

A photo posted by Klaus Biesenbach (@klausbiesenbach) on

May 26, 2016 at 10:22am PDT

Learn more about Rockaways! on the MoMA PS1 website.

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