This spring, Manhattan becomes a canvas of wonder as Charlotte Colbert, the New York-born artist and filmmaker celebrated for her bold, imaginative vision, unveils Colbert’s first art presentation in the US, titled Chasing Rainbows. Stretching across two iconic districts, the Flatiron District and Meatpacking District, Colbert’s installation transforms the urban landscape into an open-air theater of curiosity and play. Towering 30-foot steel sculptures rise like modern totems, inviting passersby to pause, to marvel, and to rediscover the shared delight of imagination in public space. This U.S. debut marks only the beginning: over the course of the year, Colbert’s monumental creations will appear in new locations across the country, culminating in a spectacular presentation at the Venice Biennale in May, where her vision will meet the world stage.

Often referred to as “a natural born magician,” Colbert has long been known for her ability to fuse storytelling, visual drama, and cinematic scale. Her work has been featured at prestigious institutions, from the Victoria and Albert Museum to Montpellier Contemporain, and graced international art events such as Frieze and Art Basel. Yet, her artistry extends beyond the gallery. Colbert is an award-winning filmmaker whose debut feature, She Will, drew critical acclaim from the New York Times, and her latest film, Becoming Capa starring Esther McGregor, Mark Eydelshteyn, Danny Huston, and Clémence Poésy, continues to explore the intersections of narrative, myth, and human emotion. Across mediums, Colbert’s practice is united by a singular ambition; to create experiences that surprise, captivate, and linger, transforming both space and imagination alike. Read all about Colbert’s magician tendencies and her Chasing Rainbows installation below. 

Chasing Rainbows is your first public art installation in the United States. What does it mean to you to bring your work stateside, and what are you hoping New York City audiences will take from this work?

New York is such a mythical city.  It evokes possibility, reinvention, adventure.  I’ve grown up mythologising its writers, characters, theatre, films, architecture… And being able to enter, even on a small level, a dialogue with this city is so thrilling to me.  I am so grateful to New York City, Flatiron Nomad, Meatpacking, DOT NYC and New Public for making it happen!

Showing works in the streets here, where even the wind carries a sense of possibility, will hopefully feed into the magic of serendipity and chance encounters.  I love the idea that someone might stop, pause and speak to a stranger. When two strangers meet, a world opens up. 

In a time when most of our information and interactions are controlled and filtered by algorithms, engaging with randomness, talking to someone you don't know is nearly an act of defiance, an assertion of freedom. 

You’ve been dubbed a “natural born magician.” What does that moniker mean to you, and how do you see it reflected in your work? 

Ha. Pointy hats, fairy tales, alakazoos. 

Chasing Rainbows brings imagination from the mind into public space. How do you approach the relationship between the internal and external in your work?

I'm not sure there is such a clear thing as an internal and an external. Everything is porous, we are what we perceive.  Friendship isn't two people it's the relationship between them. It's the same with mathematics it's not a bunch of numbers it's the way they relate and function off each other. My hope is that people connect not only with the work but also with each other around it. And that feeling exists in the space between inner and outer. 

The most wonderful thing happened the other day - a couple got engaged in front of the sculpture Dreamland Sirens. She is an art teacher in New York and her partner felt it would be meaningful to her and them. For me and the piece that was the most touching, beautiful and magical moment. 

Your eye motif is present in several of your projects, from Dreamland Sirens to Chasing Rainbows to several of your brand collaborations. What intrigues you about this eye, and why is it meaningful to you?

Yes, I use the symbol of the eye a lot in my practice. It's come to symbolise for me the power of imagination.  and when I say that I don’t mean it as a whimsical thing.  We are creatures of language, we live in invented structures, everything around us was invented by someone before.  Collective imagination is the basis of the structures we live in.  We constantly can re-imagine our futures, and the more difficult it seems to imagine positive ones, the more necessary it becomes.

You’re a visual artist and a filmmaker—what draws you to both mediums in your work?

Everything starts with stories for me. I don't think there really is anything else.  I am fascinated in what makes us who/how we are, our identities as humans within society but also as individuals.  The stories we tell ourselves culturally, individually and the stories we tell our children.  Most of my work revolves around a fascination for those through history, psychoanalysis, and fairy tales. 

Do you find that your installations and films inspire one another? Why or why not?

It's really interesting for me taking some elements from one practice to the other, also in terms of methodology. 

You recently finished filming your second directorial feature, Becoming Capa. What can you share about the film, and what are you most looking forward to about sharing it with audiences?

It tells the story of celebrated war photographers Gerda Taro (Esther McGregor) and Robert Capa (Mark Eydelshteyn) and follows a tale of love, audacity and defiance against a world in political turmoil.  We finished filming earlier this year and are now in post-production.  Our amazing cast also includes Danny Huston, Rossy Di Palma, William Gao, Emily Carey and Nabhaan Rizwan.