Anish Kapoor’s sculpture Cloud Gate, affectionately known as “The Bean,” was unveiled in Chicago in 2006 and went on to become one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks. But not a lot of people know that a similar sculpture was commissioned in New York City just two years later. That is because the NYC version was revealed for the first time this week.
The sculpture still remains unnamed, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up called “Mini Bean” due to its smaller size compared to Cloud Gate. It sits at the base of Jenga Tower at 56 Leonard Street in Lower Manhattan. The unusual placement means that only the residents of the tower to see all of its sides.
The developers of Jenga Tower commissioned Kapoor to design a sculpture similar to Chicago’s Cloud Gate in 2008. Construction on the building started the same year but ended up being put on hold due to a financial crisis. It only resumed in late 2012 and finished in 2017.
The work on Kapoor’s sculpture, which reportedly came at the cost of $8 million, began in 2018. However, the complexity of the piece and the consequences of the global pandemic resulted in the piece being completed only recently. The official unveiling and naming of the sculpture are now expected to take place in the spring.
