Angie Drakopoulos’ “Liminal” revels in the ways in which travel, particularly the daily subway commute, can serve as a powerful tool for contemplation and transformation. The title is inspired by the Latin word “limen,” meaning a space between one state and another, which reflects the unique position of the station as a threshold between Brooklyn and Queens. For the artist, riders also exist in this same state of transition as they move to and from various destinations, part of the larger cycle of the human experience in a bustling city. Drakopoulos creates a bridge between inner and outer worlds, bringing the earthly landscape of the surrounding Woodhaven neighborhood into the same realm as complex celestial bodies and microorganisms outside of normal view. Fabricated by Depp Glass, the 24-panel printed, laminated glass artwork is installed in the elevated station’s platform windscreens. 

On the Manhattan-bound side of the station, riders are greeted at the top of the stairs with a mural that focuses on the earth from a micro level, with an airy, circular design that refers to cells and molecular forms. In two murals further on the platform, the artist expands her vision outward to center local greenspaces such as Forest Park and Cypress Hills Cemetery, complete with vibrant forests and animals. Closer inspection of one of the murals reveals a depiction of the journey riders take from 75 St-Elderts Lane station to the end of the    line at Broad St in downtown Manhattan. Drakopoulos inserts well-known landmarks such as the Franklin K. Lane Campus and Betty Smith House, which give way to familiar skyscrapers and the New York Stock Exchange building in the Financial District.  

The Queens-bound platform showcases the “macro,” or outer reaches of Earth. A mural installed at the top of the stairs depicts a darkened, pulsating universe, recalling the constant death and rebirth of faraway galaxies and stars. Further down the platform, a kaleidoscopic view of an icy, snow-capped mountain range creates a sense of open space and lightness that evokes the rider’s own placement on an elevated platform. Through this heightened vantage point, the artist invites people to envision the world around them in new ways. The natural landscapes on both sides of the platform also serve as a reminder that things seen from afar can appear legible, but up-close can still produce mystery and wonder.  

Angie Drakopoulos is a New York–based interdisciplinary artist whose work spans mixed-media composition, digital process, and installation. Using symmetry and a systematic approach, she layers digitally modified natural and scientific forms to create abstractions that explore underlying structures, subtle perceptual shifts, and the relationships between microscopic and cosmic systems. Drakopoulos studied design at Vakalo Art & Design College in Greece, earned her BFA from The Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C., and received her MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York. She has exhibited internationally, and her work is held in public and private collections. She is a recipient of an ArtOmi residency, the Special Editions Fellowship at the Lower East Side Printshop, and a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Painting.