Best public art installation

Being able to carry fine art with you has gotten the stamp of approval from curators at the Brooklyn Museum and the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, both of which recently exhibited Takashi Murakami’s high art alongside gift shops selling his handbags. The Louis Vuitton Maison is now tempt­ing us with art you can’t carry away: Teresita Fernández’s Hothouse (Blue). Vuitton commissioned the ethereal and beautiful piece for its Union Square locale, one of six Louis Vuitton stores worldwide to house perma­nent artwork. The 36-foot installation is made of translucent glass overlaid with rows of about 20,000 silver cabochon mirrors that look like oversize raindrops. The piece hovers between floors; stand close, and your immediate surround­ings are reflected thousands of times—but step away, and you become part of an environment reflected back at you.
233 Geary St., 415-391-6200

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