Ruby Onyinyechi Amanze’s mosaic “May Your Road Be Light and Fun” (2026) is installed in the Borough Hall subway station corridor connecting the 2, 3, 4, and 5 lines. The work spans a 110-foot leg of the route and is produced through a collaboration between Amanze and Miotto Mosaic Art Studios. Glazed and matte ceramic pieces translate drawings into tiled underground walls. The mosaic draws from about 50 drawings made since 2012, combining collage-like fragments rather than a single subject. Seven recurring motifs appear: swimming, aliens, birds, bikes, architecture, leopard-headed humans, and paper itself. A white background mimics blank parchment, while colors include algae green, ocean blue, grays, and fuchsia. Figures reference physical activities such as diving and lunging, reflecting themes of movement shaped by transit experience.
"In the corridor connecting the 2, 3, 4, and 5 subway lines, Ruby Onyinyechi Amanze's "May Your Road Be Light and Fun" (2026) will now envelop passersby across a 110-foot leg of their journey. MTA Arts & Design announced the new installation on May 28, as a joint project between Amanze and Miotto Mosaic Art Studios, a workshop based 50 miles north of New York City. In an array of glazed and matte ceramic pieces, Amanze's drawings are brought from the paper to tiled underground walls."
"There is no singular subject to "May Your Road Be Light and Fun." Instead, the mosaic plucks excerpts from around 50 of Amanze's drawings, dating back to 2012. Part mosaic, part collage, the artwork captures seven of the artist's most beloved motifs: swimming, aliens, birds, bikes, architecture, leopard-headed humans, and the medium of paper itself. Set against a white backdrop that mimics a blank sheet of parchment, these motifs emerge in colorful patchwork smatterings of algae green, ocean blue, grays, and fuchsia."
"Many of the figures throughout the piece reference various physical activities, such as diving or lunging. Born in Nigeria and straddling England and the United States for much of her artistic career, Amanze is familiar with much larger themes of movement. During the 10 years she lived in New York City, she noticed how the public transit system facilitated countless relocations on a smaller and more frequent scale, with commuters and tourists hustli"
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