ROBERT HICKMAN
SYMBOLIC CROSSING OF THE 1ST KRASNENKY BRIDGE
(Brooklyn, New York, USA)
In 2014, as part of the Art Prospect Festival, Robert Hickman initiated the St Petersburg Bridge Tour. Hickman spent 7 days pedaling 194 kilometers to cross 178 bridges on a unicycle. The tour promoted alternative types of transportation and safe cycling. Bridges overcome obstacles to connect communities. Once celebrated, bridges are now taken for granted and overlooked. St. Petersburg boasts a world famous collection of bridges, and has 342 culturally significant spans. Hickman collects bridges and for him they are like hidden treasures waiting to be crossed. For the 7th Art Prospect Festival, Hickman will add an honorary bridge to the St Petersburg Bridge Tour. On Saturday October 17, he will ride his unicycle across the Koscuiuszko Bridge in New York City to symbolically cross the 1st Krasnenky Bridge in in the Kirovsky district of St Petersburg. The ride will be livestreamed on instagram. Connecting Brooklyn and Queens to span the industrial Newtown Creek, the recently re-rebuilt Koscuiuszko Bridge boasts a new bike lane. Like the 1st Krasnenky Bridge, it adjoins a cemetery. The 1st Krasnenky Bridge crosses the Krasnenkaya River, and the first span at this location was built in 1710. The new Koscuiuszko Bridge span opened in 2019 and this will be Hickman's first time across it on a unicycle. While Hickman's crossings are physical feats, his enthusiasm continues virtually on his blogs featuring maps, statistics, and extensive historical and engineering research: http://stpetersburgbridgetour.blogspot.com and http://unicyclenycbridgetour.blogspot.com
Robert Hickman’s work been exhibited in solo and group shows at New York venues PS1, Sculpture Center, Exit Art, White Columns, Socrates Sculpture Park, Smack Mellon & Saint Peters Church. His permanent public commissions are at 72nd Street & Broadway subway station in New York; Capital Community College, Hartford, CT; Roosevelt Island Station, New York; & Woodhaven Select Bus Service stations, Queens, NY. He has been reviewed in publications such as Art News, Sculpture Magazine, Time Out, New York Magazine, The New York Times, The New York Post, New York Daily News, & The Miami Herald. Hickman’s work has been recognized by many national and international awards, among them two CEC Artslink Project Grants & a New York City MASterwork Award for Best New Public Art from The Municipal Society. He has been awarded residencies at Yaddo, the Hambidge Center, & the Vermont Studio Center. Hickman is an Assistant Adjunct Professor at Hunter College and a part-time Lecturer at The New School.