Now on view at the Park Avenue Armory is a fantastical installation by Ernsto Neto called anthropodino which acts as an otherworldly playground for children and adults.  The giant piece is composed of layers of sheer fabric stretching from the ceiling to floor with hanging sacks of sheer fabric filled with wieghts and even cinammon.  Weaving our way through the “hallways” created by the caterpillar-like forms of the work  (sheer fabric stretched over what look like bones) we reached numerous endzones such as a giant beanbag for lounging and a pit of aqua balls recalling a swimming pool.  Neto, a contemporary Brazialian  artist, chose this biomorphic form (which is itself a space) to recall the physical connection between artwork/architecture and the viewer, as if the installation itself were both body and architecture.  While there were a few adults partaking in the fun the children seemed to have the most fun of all.  This piece is the first art commission at the Park Avenue Armory which is now a not-for-profit institution designed to use the historical armory space for arts programs.

Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue (at 67th Street) New York, New York 10065.   Installation on view through June 15, 2009.