Good Bye Kitty, Hello Queen

A cat burglar did not in fact strike at New York's Lever House. Work by artist Rachel Feinstein swapped in for Tom Sachs's unapologetically cute Wind Up Hello Kitty sculpture, which occupied the building's courtyard since 2008. The artist's similarly youthful installation is G-rated, relative to the work of husband John Currin. The piece was commissioned by Lever House and its real estate mogul owner, Aby Rosen.



STUDIO SHOT COURTESY RACHEL FEINSTEIN



Feinstein's exhibition, "The Snow Queen," takes as its starting point the eponymous Hans Christian Andersen fairytale. Like a pop-up storybook in the lobby of the building, the installation, which opens on Jan. 27, includes a white-paneled period room with niches featuring sculptures of characters from the story. Toy soldier silhouettes made of wood stand guard nearby. Another room that visitors can enter is lined with mirrors on which the artist has painted a grisaille landscape dotted with architectural ruins.

On the plaza, a broken-down gilded carriage offers the fantasy of a romantic escape, even as honking taxis go lurching by. Feinstein's show is on view through Apr. 22.