The Roman Maison transformed one of Manhattan’s most recognizable public spaces as Serpenti Infinito arrived in New York through art, architecture and High Jewelry.
Bvlgari’s unmistakable Serpenti has moved beyond the jewelry box and into the New York skyline.
For its latest chapter of Serpenti Infinito, the Roman Maison commissioned Berlin-based artist duo Marco Canevacci and Yena Young of Plastique Fantastique to create auruBOROS — Urban Memory and Collective Dream, a monumental golden installation that transformed New York’s High Line from September 10 through September 20, 2026.
The project marked Bvlgari’s first public art commission in the United States and followed previous chapters of Serpenti Infinito presented internationally.
A Serpent Moves Through Manhattan
Positioned along the High Line at Little West 12th Street, auruBOROS appeared to rise through the surrounding architecture in a series of massive intertwining golden forms.
But despite its monumental appearance, the installation was remarkably light.
Measuring approximately 30 meters long and 10 meters high and wide, the work was a pneumatic structure held entirely by air. Its mirrored golden surface continuously absorbed its surroundings—from buildings and vegetation to changing weather, sunlight and the people walking beneath it.
The installation’s name combines aurum, the Latin word for gold, with the ouroboros, the ancient symbol of a serpent consuming its own tail.
Plastique Fantastique opened that traditionally closed circle, allowing the serpent-like form to move outward and interact with New York itself. Instead of existing separately from its environment, the artwork became part of the city through reflections.
It was temporary by design: something that appeared substantial and permanent but depended entirely on air to exist.
Serpenti Beyond Jewelry
The installation continued Bvlgari’s ongoing exploration of Serpenti, an emblem the Maison has repeatedly reinterpreted through jewelry, watches, accessories, art and design.
For New York, that exploration also returned to High Jewelry.
Bvlgari unveiled five one-of-a-kind High Jewelry creations drawing inspiration from different chapters of American art history. Among them, Serpenti Falling Drops referenced the expressive movement associated with Jackson Pollock, while Serpenti Flag incorporated tanzanite, coral and diamonds in a palette informed by the American flag.
The Maison also introduced new creations within the Serpenti Tubogas universe, including a bracelet, earrings and brooch, alongside a Serpenti minaudière that revisited design codes found throughout Bvlgari’s archives.
The result was more than an exhibition of jewelry. New York became another environment through which Bvlgari could interpret what Serpenti represents: transformation, movement and continual reinvention.
From Rome to New York
Serpenti Infinito has traveled through different cultural landscapes, with previous iterations reaching cities including Shanghai, Seoul and Mumbai.
New York offered a distinctly different setting.
The High Line’s collision of architecture, landscape, infrastructure and constant human movement gave Bvlgari and Plastique Fantastique an environment where Serpenti could exist at an entirely different scale.
For ten days, visitors were not simply looking at the serpent.
They were walking through it.
And as its mirrored surface continuously changed with the city around it, Bvlgari’s most recognizable emblem became something larger than an object of luxury—a temporary piece of New York itself.
photos downloaded from the LVMH/Bvlgari story you supplied,
