George Segal‘s Subway (1968) is a significant environmental sculpture in the collection of The Margulies Collection at the Warehouse. Segal (1924–2000), an American sculptor associated with the Pop Art movement (though often classified as a key figure in the related “figurative” or “assemblage” wave), is renowned for his life-sized plaster casts of human figures. He created these by wrapping models in plaster-soaked bandages, capturing realistic poses and everyday anonymity while leaving the surfaces white and ghostly. He frequently placed these figures in real, found environments to heighten the sense of isolation, alienation, or quiet observation of modern life.

Subway exemplifies this approach on a grand scale: It incorporates parts of an actual vintage New York City subway car that Segal salvaged from a junkyard. The work integrates this real metal subway car element with his signature plaster casts (including at least one seated figure, often described as evoking a contemplative or marginalized presence). The piece evokes the everyday urban experience of 1960s New York public transit — crowded yet isolating — with themes of anonymity, social distance, and the human condition in industrial/modern settings. Some interpretations note racial or social undertones (e.g., seating rights or exclusion in the late 1960s context, shortly after civil rights advancements), though Segal’s work generally focuses more on universal human solitude than explicit political messaging. The work is part of the Margulies Collection and currently featured in the Pop Art exhibition at The Margulies Collection at the Warehouse in Miami (until April 4, 2026).

George Segal: Subway (1968) / The Margulies Collection at the Warehouse. Miami (USA), December 1, 2025.