The Court Wall Mural adds color and flair to Washington Market Park.

Washington Market ART – Tribeca
Chambers Street between Greenwich and West Streets
Court Wall Mural on view through fall; Picnic Tables through April 2016

Community organization Friends of Washington Market Park spruced up this green space with two new art projects. Over by the basketball courts you'll find the Court Wall Mural, a 90-foot rotating canvas for local artists like Todd James, whose vibrant graffiti currently enlivens the space. Meanwhile, the formerly drab picnic tables have been hand-painted by Pam Smilow with pastel renderings of animals and nature.

RELATED: 7 Indoor Art Exhibits for Kids This Summer

Wishing on You – Times Square
On view Monday, August 17-Tuesday, September 1
Broadway Plaza between 42nd and 43rd Streets

Wishing on You reinvents a traditional Asian prayer wheel while exploring the themes of consumption, myth-making and desire.

FAILE, a collaboration between local artists Patrick McNeil and Patrick Miller, designed this public art installation to complement the exhibit FAILE: Savage/Sacred Young Minds, currently on view at the Brooklyn Museum. 

Passersby can turn the wheel, powering bright neon lights. Sounds trippy and perfect for Times Square.

Help fill up Hello Kitty at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza.

Time After Time Capsule – Midtown East
On view through Sunday, September 13
Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, 47th Street near Second Avenue

A must for Hello Kitty fans! This translucent, nine-foot-tall rendering of the pop-culture icon is actually a time capsule of sorts. It's part of a series of see-through statues in cities around the globe that are filled with colorful creations by locals; all the sculptures will ultimately be displayed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The concept is the brainchild of Japanese artist Sebastian Masuda, a pioneer in the kawaii (aka "cute") culture phenomenon. Want to add something to the kitty capsule? It will be open for contributions on Sundays, August 2 from 1 to 5 pm and August 30 from 3 to 6 pm.

Check the artist's Facebook page for additional details.

RELATED: Summer Guide: Beaches, Water Parks & Free Events

Seward Johnson's amazingly lifelike statues will have you doing double takes.

Seward Johnson in New York: Selections from the Retrospective – Midtown West
On view through Tuesday, September 15
Garment District Plazas, Broadway between 36th and 41st Streets

You'll be amazed by 18 life-size sculptures by famous American artist Seward Johnson. The ones from his Celebrating the Familiar collection depict everyday activities, while Beyond the Frame features 3D renderings of well-known Impressionist paintings. But the best photo ops are his realistic statues of American luminaries, such as Marilyn Monroe and Abraham Lincoln in his Icons Revisited series. They're so convincing, I did a double take when I walked by last week.

The whimsical "Organic Growth" pavilion on Governors Island looks like flowers but is made of umbrellas. Photo courtesy of Anthony Collins.

City of Dream Pavilions – Governors Island
Parade Ground on Governors Island
On view through Friday, September 25

Governors Island is always a hot spot for public art, including Figment's artist-made mini-golf course and Interactive Sculpture Garden. We are particularly impressed this season by the two winners of the annual City of Dreams Pavilion Competition: The Billion Oyster Project, an abstract pavilion composed of materials being used to restore New York Harbor, and Organic Growth, a canopy of colorful umbrellas. They're both stunning.

Sari Carel's Borrowed Light in Sunset Park is comprised of three independent pieces.

Borrowed Light – Sunset Park
On view through Monday, October 5
Adjacent to the Sunset Park Recreational Center, 44th Street and Seventh Avenue

This lovely Brooklyn park features a trio of Sari Carel's freestanding, wooden sculptures meant to complement the downtown Manhattan skyline, which is visible in the distance. The local artist added a soundscape of wildlife noises recorded in the park, providing an immersive feel.

Caesura: a forum, the intersection of architecture and sound in Marcus Garvey Park.

Caesura: a forum – Harlem
On view through Saturday, October 31
The Acropolis in Marcus Garvey Park, Madison Avenue between 120th and 124th Streets

Inspired by Harlem's history of activism, this installation aims to gather people together the way this park did in days gone by. Visitors can walk around and through the spectacular steel sculpture, listening and perhaps even feeling the soundscape created from ringing bells and snippets of political speeches. It stands in place of the park's famous Fire Watchtower & Bell, currently absent as it undergoes restoration.

Esther Grillo's "Cricket's Heart and Flowers" sculpture from Highbridge Park's Oh Sit!

Oh Sit! – Washington Heights
On view through Sunday, November 8
Highbridge Park, Amsterdam Avenue and 172nd Street

When is a chair not a chair? Why, when it's a work of art of course. Nine artists from the collective 14 Sculptors designed a series of funky mixed-media statues displayed along the promenade leading up to the recently reopened High Bridge. You've never seen seats like these. You probably won't want to sit on them, but they sure do make for fun photo opportunities.

The 2015 incarnation of Boogie Down Booth features art by local students.

Boogie Down Booth – the Bronx
Outside Seabury Park, Southern Boulevard and 174th Street
On view through June 2016

Chat Travieso's booth streams local music curated by the Bronx Music Heritage Center and includes seating, solar-powered lighting, artwork by local school kids and even a community calendar. It's a remodeled revival of last year's Boogie Down Booth that popped up underneath the elevated 2/5 train tracks.

Top photo courtesy of Anthony Collins. Unless otherwise noted, all photographs are courtesy of the artist.