Global Health Nexus, Winter 2004

30,000 Pounds of Marble and Limestone Later, Susan Abraham’s “River Bedroom” Adorns Yonkers Waterfront

On October 7, 2003, the City of Yonkers formally unveiled “Sculpture Meadow on the Hudson,” a permanent public sculpture park on the Hudson River waterfront featuring four individual marble and limestone “outdoor rooms” embodying the artists’ personal feelings about Yonkers, the Hudson, and art itself. One of the “rooms,” “River Bedroom” weighing 30,000 pounds, is the creation of NYU Dentistry’s Susan Abraham, Executive Assistant to Executive Associate Dean Steven Donofrio.

Susan’s “River Bedroom,” reflective of waves and water, was inspired by the Hudson River and created over a two-year period of weekend sculpting. It consists of an undulating “River Bed,” weighing 25,000 pounds and two end tables, “Endtable Embankment,” fashioned as swirling pools of water. At the foot of the bed sits the full-length frame of the “Wave Mirror,” an illusory mirror that beckons children and adults to walk through it. Like the other rooms in the permanent installation, the “River Bedroom” is family friendly, functional, and interactive.

Susan is hopeful that her next commission will be to carve marble seats in an outdoor Jacuzzi on a beach in the Caribbean. When it’s suggested that working full time as an administrator at NYU Dentistry and carving massive works of stone art on weekends sound a bit overwhelming, Susan says, “It’s just the opposite. While the two activities in some ways are very different, they manage to nourish one another and to energize me by allowing me to tap into different skills. As a result, I feel balanced and more accomplished in both areas.”