Daru Jung Hyang, Sunbursts in the Garden of Dreams, 2025, organic ink digitally printed on laminated glass, with acid-etched and hand-painted glass, PS 26, Queens​

Sunbursts in the Garden of Dreams is a site-specific artwork created by Daru Jung Hyang Kim for the lobby of the new P.S. 26 Addition, Queens. The artist’s painted collage is digitally printed across five tall glass panels. Twenty textured, hand-painted and hand-blown glass disks float on top of the composition, adding depth and inviting a sense of tactility to the artwork. The artwork depicts circular forms in cheerful blues, reds, oranges and greens bubbling across an expanse of vibrant yellow. These are the artist’s fantastical interpretation of familiar forms in nature—abstracted flowers, seeds and sunbursts. Positioned along the back wall of the lobby, the artwork greets visitors as they first enter the school and can be observed from all angles as students pass through the corridor to the cafeteria.  

The artist took inspiration from P.S. 26’s strong connections to its surrounding greenspaces, like Oak Grove and Cunningham Park. For Jung Hyang Kim, the plants and seeds in these parks are symbolic of the students’ dreams, ambitions, creativity and emotional development throughout their primary education. She explains, “Seeds are small but mighty. They must travel long distances and be resilient to the elements in order to find new places to grow and blossom. They are full of potential and represent the hope we have for the future.”