Hilma’s Ghost has been selected by a jury of art world professionals to complete a permanent 600 square foot glass mosaic mural for a new subway entrance at Grand Central Station.
Inspired by their piece Cosmic Altar, the mosaic, titled Abstract Futures, fuses magic, abstraction, feminism and more and plays on the idea of a commuter’s journey through a collection of archetypal abstract symbols used in the duo’s collaborative paintings and Tarot Deck.
The Abstract Futures muralis an extension of the feminist collective’s work with the abstract and spiritual potential of tarot imagery. The Abstract Futures Tarot project consists of 5 paintings, 78 drawings, and a tarot deck made from the original drawings.
Acting as a team, the artists created an abstract Tarot Deck that holds itself in conversation to the original manifestation by Rider Waite-Smith, which is not only the most popular deck in worldly distribution today but the origin for American tarot. Illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith, it harbors the occult belief systems that prevailed in both America and Europe throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and is posited to be the first deck used for divination. More than a century later, Brooklyn-based artists Tegeder and Ray apply an abstract lens to the cards’ rich symbolism to access their semiotic potential and surface divinatory meanings harnessed through an interpretation of abstract forms.
Unveiled in May 2025, the mosaic’s colorful designs offer an experience for people of every background, inclusive of ability, race, gender and sexual orientation, culture, etc. The artwork speaks to the shared experience of every commuter and will provide a dynamic, contemporary experience to support the station rehabilitation.
May 15, 2025
