#roynicholson

"I was referencing the original landscape and also the idea of the train moving quickly across the landscape...One side is the morning commute and the other is the evening commute.” - Roy Nicholson on his MTA LIRR​ artwork at the Hicksville station.

As the sun sets on August, LIRR travelers return home to Roy Nicholson’s newly installed artwork "Hempstead Plain, Morning & Evening" at the LIRR Hicksville station. The 72 laminated glass panels bathe four platform waiting rooms with vibrant light and color, capturing the feeling and excitement of a train swiftly rushing through the open Hempstead Plain at dawn and dusk. Expanding on the artist’s colorful mosaic landscapes installed at the station ticket office in 2002, these sprawling transparent vistas are inspired by the historic writings of naturalist Henry Hicks, whose grandfather, Isaac Hicks developed the first plant nursery in the area, with each waiting room named after a tree representative of early 20th century writings on the bucolic area: oak, sumac, cedar and maple. As a long time Long Island resident, the artist stated "I wanted to connect today’s commuters with the landscape they are passing through and to echo the historic prairie with its indigenous plants, sweeping vistas and colorful morning and evening light.”