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Artist Daniel Valero’s Mexico-based studio Mestiz and Brooklyn’s Powerhouse Arts created Twenty Petal Flower, a seven-tier Día de Muertos altar in Manhattan’s Flatiron North Plaza. Commissioned by the Flatiron NoMad Partnership, the public installation invites visitors to leave remembrances and is scheduled to remain on view through Nov. 3, 2026.
Mestiz, the Mexico-based design studio led by artist Daniel Valero, has installed Twenty Petal Flower, a seven-tier Día de Muertos altar, in Manhattan’s Flatiron North Plaza. Created with Brooklyn-based Powerhouse Arts and commissioned by the Flatiron NoMad Partnership, the public artwork invites visitors to gather and leave remembrances; it is scheduled to remain on view through Nov. 3, 2026.
The installation reimagines an ofrenda, or altar, as a public place of remembrance. Its large, rounded floral forms are made primarily from handwoven wicker and arranged across seven tiers. Warm, candle-like lighting illuminates the orange composition, drawing on the color and form of cempasúchil, the marigold associated with Día de Muertos.
Mestiz developed and made the woven elements at its fiber workshop in Tequisquiapan, Mexico. Powerhouse Arts worked with the studio on a supporting structure for the outdoor plaza. According to the project account published by Design Milk, the Brooklyn team developed a slim-profile steel frame, color-matched to the flowers, and attached the woven forms with stainless-steel ties intended to withstand wind and weather.
The altar is designed for visitors to approach and contribute their own remembrances. The project also has a planned future beyond this display: Powerhouse Arts developed a modular structure that can be disassembled, stored and reinstalled. The source does not specify where or when it may appear again.
A Public Place for Remembrance
Placing an ofrenda in an open Manhattan plaza makes the work accessible to people encountering Día de Muertos as part of their everyday routines, as well as to those who observe the tradition. Visitors are invited not only to view the installation but to leave a memento, making participation part of the work’s intended use.
The project also directs attention to the labor behind the tradition’s floral displays. Valero said he wanted the altar to honor people involved in the journey of cempasúchil, from growing the flowers to transforming them into offerings. That emphasis broadens the installation’s focus beyond the person being remembered to include the growers and makers whose work helps sustain the ritual.
Its construction links a Mexico-based weaving workshop with a Brooklyn fabrication organization and a New York neighborhood partnership. The collaboration shows how a public artwork can bring together distinct forms of expertise while presenting a culturally specific tradition in a shared civic space. The project’s modular design may also allow the work to return for future celebrations, although no later installation has been announced.
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From Cempasúchil to City Plaza
The title, Twenty Petal Flower, refers to cempōhualxōchitl, a Nahuatl term meaning “20-petal flower” from which the Spanish name cempasúchil is derived. The source describes marigolds as more than decoration in Día de Muertos observances: their color and scent are associated with guiding the spirits of loved ones home.
Valero’s design translates those floral forms into a large-scale structure while retaining visible handwork. The flowers were woven in Mexico; the supporting system was developed with Powerhouse Arts in Brooklyn to meet the practical demands of an outdoor installation. The Flatiron NoMad Partnership commissioned the project for Flatiron North Plaza, where it is scheduled to be on view through Nov. 3, 2026.
““This time, I wanted to honor the many hands behind the cempasúchil, from the people who grow it to those who transform it into an ofrenda.””
— Daniel Valero, artist and designer
The Altar’s Future Locations
The project account gives an end date of Nov. 3, 2026, but does not provide daily visiting hours, accessibility details or guidance about what kinds of remembrances visitors may leave. It also does not say whether offerings will be collected, preserved or removed during the display.
Although the altar was built to be disassembled and reinstalled, no future site or date is confirmed. The available material describes the frame’s intended resistance to wind and weather but gives no information about operating procedures during severe weather or any maintenance schedule.
Public Display Through November 3
The confirmed next milestone is the close of the installation’s scheduled display: Nov. 3, 2026, at Flatiron North Plaza. Until then, the project is intended to remain open for visitors to approach, spend time with and contribute remembrances to the altar.
Powerhouse Arts says the modular construction allows the work to be stored and installed again, but organizers have not announced a subsequent presentation. Any future dates, locations or plans for the collected offerings remain unconfirmed.
Key Questions
Where is Twenty Petal Flower installed?
It is in Flatiron North Plaza in New York City’s Flatiron District.
How long will the altar be on view?
The installation is scheduled to remain on view through Nov. 3, 2026. The source does not list daily hours.
Who created and commissioned the altar?
Artist Daniel Valero’s Mexico-based studio Mestiz created it with Brooklyn-based Powerhouse Arts. The Flatiron NoMad Partnership commissioned the project.
Can visitors leave offerings?
Visitors are invited to leave mementos honoring loved ones. The project account does not explain how offerings are managed or whether there are restrictions on what may be left.
Will the altar appear somewhere else after November 3?
Its modular frame can be disassembled, stored and reinstalled, according to Powerhouse Arts. No future location or date has been announced.
Source: design-milk.com
