Grimanesa Amorós Lights Up Printemps New York

O ne Wall Street sits at the heart of New York City’s financial district, at the junction of Wall Street and Broadway. An art deco masterpiece, the 1931 building represents not only a certain time in the history of the city, but a renewed landmark on its contemporary landscape as the location of the first U.S. outpost of the historic French luxury department store Printemps. Extending the Paris stores’ legacy of working with artists, the brand has commissioned an installation by Peruvian-American artist Grimanesa Amorós that responds to the light, architecture and tempo of its dynamic location.

“Perfect Timing” pulses with the rhythm of New York and Paris, its palette reflecting the sky at sunset. Using light as its medium, with sequences arranged like a musical score, the work is situated to inspire passers-by and to act as a sensory gateway, an experience that separates the energy of the streets from the curated atmosphere inside. Its curves echo the lines of the building and the pulse that runs through the LEDs represents the energy of the place. Flowing through the space, and facing towards the street, the work communicates with the surrounding community.

“Collaborating with artists is deeply in our roots, it is in our DNA,” says Thierry Provost, CEO of Printemps America. “Printemps New York has been conceived and realized as—and I’m not exaggerating—a piece of art itself,” he goes on. “It has been fully designed by Laura Gonzalez, who is not simply a designer… I call her an artist,” he says of the Paris-based architect and interior designer who led the redevelopment of the art-filled store that opened in March 2025. Adding to the landmarked mosaiced Red Room by renowned art deco muralist Hildreth Meière, Gonzalez’s new permanent commissions include frescoes from Paris-based Atelier Roma and a sculptural installation by Belgian artist Charles Kaisin. “We think that collaborating with artists is important because it’s about offering the same level of experience to our customers across the board,” Provost explains.

Printemps’ collaboration with Amorós was born out of a chance meeting with Provost, when the two were seated next to one another at a dinner, which grew into a friendship. As he learned more about the artist’s practice, it became clear to him that her work would be a perfect fit for the energy of One Wall Street. Amorós’ passion for light as a medium was sparked over 20 years ago after experiencing the Northern Lights while visiting Iceland in 2001. Awed by the natural phenomenon, she chose not to attempt to photograph it, but simply to take it in. “I was just mesmerized, and I said to myself, how can I share this amazing magic with others?” she recalls.

With “Perfect Timing,” Amorós worked up to 18-hour days studying the space from both inside and outside the building, absorbing the rhythm of the city and how people moved through the streets throughout the day. “I stood in the corner, and I saw how people actually go into Printemps. Some of them run in and very, very quickly. Some others walk slowly. They pause, and so that made me adjust the sequence in order to be universal. I had to respond to time itself.”

While Amorós’ work utilizes technology and engineering, its conceptual basis remains rooted in nature and the natural world. Before creating with the interwoven strands of LED lights, she researched the color and structure of the surrounding environment. Intricate study over time of the architecture, the habits of the people that live in the area and the sunsets allows Amorós to parse these elements into the work that will later exist among it all.

“That’s why I chose the colors and then the sequence of the piece, which basically runs with the pulse of New York. There’s a moment, for example, when the whole sequence becomes red and moves faster and then—boom—there is a moment of calmness again,” Amorós explains. Recreating colors from the natural world is a precise science, she says: “So I start from scratch, right? Nothing, no algorithms, nothing that is already previously made. It’s like a composer creating music, you work on every note. It’s the same thing with when I make my lighting sequences, not only in the timing, but it’s also in the hues.”

Printemps New York has plans to showcase more art in the near future. “We have more artist collaborations in the next coming months,” teases Provost, but he is not rushing. After commissioning “Perfect Timing,” he recalls that the process was very much about supporting the Amorós in realizing her vision. “Our side was really to make sure that, on the technical side, everything would be done properly so Grimanesa could execute what she wanted from the power supply to the humidity and temperature controls,” Provost explains.

It was this freedom that enabled her to embrace the challenge of realizing the work. “They gave me complete, 100% freedom and that’s incredible,” reflects Amorós. “I cannot speak for my fellow artists, but in my case, I respond to that freedom, because that makes me feel the responsibility to make it happen.”

Even a brief encounter with “Perfect Timing” transforms One Wall Street, inviting passers-by not just to look up, but to step inside and experience the work—and the immersive world of Printemps—for themselves. In a city defined by pace and routine, Amorós’ luminous installation offers a rare moment of pause, a spark of wonder that lingers long after leaving the store.

“Perfect Timing” by Grimanesa Amorós can be seen at Printemps New York until mid-March 2026.