Fine Art Installation & Handling in NYC

Our team of experts sets us apart.

Client Reviews

INSTALLATION

Rigging NYC Contractors provides crane and rigging services for art work, sculptures, and statues of all shapes and sizes. We pride ourselves in providing excellence every time we handle a work of art! It is an absolute honor that our customers trust us with their priceless art and sculptures, which is why we go over and beyond to make each project an astounding success. Whether it is a public or private setting, our best foot is always put forward. Our team works closely with our clients to understand their vision for the placement of each piece, whether it’s in a gallery, public space, or private residence. We then use our skills and experience to make that vision a reality. We treat every challenge as an opportunity and strive to make the impossible, possible.

Services

  • Cranes of all sizes
  • Rigging equipment for indoor applications
  • Rigging equipment for outdoor applications
  • Relocation to any floor/level
  • Hanging, anchoring, or suspending of artwork
  • Specialized Rigging
  • Transportation
  • Flatbeds of all sizes
  • Specialty rigging equipment
  • Temperature controlled storage
  • Crating
  • Uncrating
  • Steel fabrication
  • Licensed Specialty Riggers
  • Custom steel fabrication to create pick points

How a Fine Art Installation Actually Runs

Every piece is different. The plan behind the lift isn’t.

1. Free site survey. We come look first. Where the piece sits now, where it needs to land, and everything in between: doorway widths, stairwell turns, elevator dimensions, ceiling heights, and whether the street can take a crane or a boom truck. Most surprises on an art install are access surprises, and they are all avoidable if somebody measures early.

2. Weight, dimensions, and pick points. Before we rig anything we need to know what we are lifting and where it can be touched. Some pieces take a strap anywhere. Some allow contact at four specific points and nowhere else. When a sculpture has no safe place to attach, our shop fabricates custom steel to create the pick point.

3. Protection and crating. Padding and wrapping sized to the piece, and crates built when a piece needs one. If it arrives crated, we uncrate on site once the path is clear and the crew is ready, not before.

4. The rigging method. This is the real decision: mobile crane, boom truck, window hoist, stair rigging, or a slow interior move on skates. A licensed specialty rigger writes the method for anything going through a window, over a roofline, or into an occupied building.

5. The install. Hanging, anchoring, or suspending, depending on what the piece calls for. Our crews handle relocation to any floor, indoors or out.

6. Set, level, sign off. The piece goes exactly where the client, artist, or curator wants it. We level it, secure it, walk it with you, and clear the site.

That is the whole of it. No handoffs to a second company halfway through, because the crane, the riggers, the truck, and the storage are all ours.

Recent Art Installations

The pieces below went up around New York over the last few years. Same crew, same city, completely different problems each time.

Some of these were a single crane pick. Others started at the port. We receive the open-top container, offload it in our yard, hold the piece in secure storage until the site is ready, then reload and deliver it on the install date. That is the fine art logistics side of the job, and it is usually what a gallery or a producer is really asking about when they call.

Rigging crew guiding a steel truss during a private event crane lift in NYC

Coca-Cola VIP Private Event

Long Island City, NY

Year: 2023

Scope of Work:

• Custom Table Fabrication
• Crane Lift
• Trucking & Transportation
• On-Site Rigging
• Precision Placement
• Event-Ready Setup

Crane lift of a custom structure at the Coca-Cola VIP event in Long Island City

Private Event Installation

New York City

Year: 2023

Scope of Work:

• Crane Lift
• Structural Placement
• Event Coordination

Antony Gormley Blockworks sculpture installed at a private New York residence by Rigging NYC Contractors

Antony Gormley – “Blockworks”

Private Residence | New York, NY

Year: 2024

Scope of Work:

• Crane Lift
• White-Glove Handling
• Protective Preparation
• Precision Placement
• Fine Art Installation

Columbus Circle (Mall + Restaurants)

Manhattan, NY

Year: 2024

Scope of Work:

• Sculpture Installation & Assembly
• Crane Lift
• Interior Placement
• Exterior Placement
• Logistics Coordination
• Final Presentation

Sculpture relocation and crane lift at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in DUMBO

DUMBO / Brooklyn Navy Yard

Brooklyn, NY

Year: 2024

Scope of Work:

• Sculpture Relocation
• Crane Lift
• Rigging Operations
• Flatbed Transport
• Offload & Elevator Delivery
• Commercial Installation

Oren Pinhassi – “Tower of Babel”

NYC Private Apartment

Year: 2024

Scope of Work:

• Crated Delivery
• White-Glove Handling
• Protective Wrapping
• Apartment Placement
• Final Set

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)

Manhattan, NY

Year: 2026

Scope of Work:

• Controlled Rigging
• Secure Handling
• Logistics Coordination
• Lobby Placement

Rockefeller Center – 2026 Olympics Display

NYC | Ralph Lauren Exhibit

Year: 2026

Scope of Work:

• Crane Lift
• After-Hours Rigging
• Secure Placement
• High-Visibility Activation

John Pomp Studios – “Monolith” Dining Table

NYC High-Rise Residence

Year: 2025

Scope of Work:

• Transportation
• Street-to-Residence Rigging
• Elevator Transfer
• In-Home Final Placement

The Wild Table of Love

Sculpture by Gillie and Marc
140 Broadway, New York, NY

Year: 2026

Scope of Work:

• Open-Top Container Receiving
• Yard Offload
• Secure Storage
• Reload & Scheduled Delivery
• Site Rigging & Placement

The Sesame Experience

Sculpture by Gillie and Marc
590 Madison Avenue, New York, NY

Year: 2026

Scope of Work:

• Open-Top Container Receiving
• Yard Offload
• Secure Storage
• Reload & Scheduled Delivery
• Site Rigging & Placement

Joga Sinistro - Nike Soccer

Client: UPG
1560 Broadway, New York, NY

Year: 2026

Scope of Work:

• Engineering Coordination

• Studio Pickup & Freight Handling

• Specialized Trucking to Times Square

• Crane & Rigging Operations

• DOT Permit Acquisition

• Traffic Control & Street Management

• Electrical Coordination & Hookup

• Sign Installation

• Final Set & Placement at Pelé Store (Times Square)

Fine Art Installation FAQ

Yes, and we carry top-tier coverage for exactly this kind of work. For an exceptional piece we will review the coverage against its value before the lift, so nobody finds a gap afterward.

All the time, and we prefer it. They know the object, we know the rigging. The best art installations happen when both are in the plan before the truck shows up.

Yes. Window hoists and stair rigging are standard work for us in Manhattan buildings, where the front door is rarely the answer. Send photos of the opening and of the piece and we will tell you which way it is going in.

Yes. We receive, crate or uncrate, and hold work in temperature controlled storage until your site is ready, then deliver on the scheduled date. It is a common ask when a building is not finished but the artwork has already shipped.

Photos, dimensions, weight if you know it, and both locations. That is usually enough for a straight number. For a complicated one we will do a free site visit before we quote, because a guess helps nobody.

Yes. Lobbies, malls, and occupied buildings almost always mean after-hours rigging, and we have done plenty of it. The Rockefeller Center display went in that way.

Church Statue Removal and Handling

Work from several New York parishes. Facade and bell tower pieces taken down, padded and slung on site, then loaded out for transport.

Riggers wrapping a stone statue in protective padding before removing it from a church facade in New York
Padding and slings go on before anything moves.
Padded stone statue suspended from a knuckle boom crane above a New York church
Clear of the facade and under control.
Crew landing a wrapped statue onto a flatbed truck on a New York street
Landing on the flatbed, guided by hand.
Stone statue standing secured on a flatbed truck deck after removal from a church
On the deck, upright and intact.

QUOTE

Contact Us Today!

Whether you need to bring a small painting through a window or a large sculpture into a museum, we are the choice for you! Our fleet of pristine cranes, boom trucks, and specialized rigging equipment are exactly what's needed to make sure your artwork gets handled the way it should. We, at Rigging NYC Contractors, know how priceless these works of art are, so we carry top of line insurance. If you're looking for a turnkey, seamless experience, Rigging NYC Contractors is the choice for you. Reach out to our team today, and we will be happy to perform a free site visit, as well as provide a proposal for your project.

Contact Information

Does this project require crane services?
Are you a returning customer?
Select which services you require: (Required)
Attachments
Please attach any images and/or documents that describe the items associated with this estimate in greater detail. File must be no larger than 5MB one of these formats: .png | .bmp | .jpg | .jpeg

Contact Us For more Details