Natalia Nakazawa, The Bronx Through Time, 2022, ceramic pigment on porcelain tile and smalti glass, El Corazon del Bronx Avenue, Bronx ​

The Bronx Through Time is a site-specific artwork created by Natalia Nakazawa for the lobby of the new El Corazón del Bronx. It is comprised of digitally-printed porcelain tile installed across two intersecting walls at the entrance of the building. The artwork celebrates the Bronx River, the borough and its history with two scenes. The first features an exhilarating, Bronx-inspired cityscape made of collaged architectural structures. Ornate patterns and textiles referencing cultures from around the world adorn the buildings, walkways, stairs, domes and windows that form the fantastical collection of buildings. The second scene centers on a dramatic aerial view of where the Bronx River meets the East River at Hunts Point. Emphasizing the cyclical nature of time are various canoes, the waters of the Bronx River and seven sparkling monarch butterflies made of smalti glass fluttering throughout the composition. The monarchs hint at histories of migration and the pattern of human movement and community building, inscribed in the geography of the Bronx.

Nakazawa imagines her artwork and the lobby space to be a welcoming, familiar place that bridges inside and outside, and one that inspires students to become life-long learners and appreciators of nature, history and the power of imagination.