Leila Heller Gallery, New York, is presenting a site specific monumental new work by San Francisco-based sculptor Alexis Laurent at artMRKT Hamptons, a new modern and contemporary art fair, debuting Thursday, July 14 through Sunday, July 17, 2011, on the grounds of the Bridgehampton Historical Society in Bridgehampton, New York.

The sculpture, entitled BILLBOARD, 2011, forms a U-shaped wall (15 feet long and 10 feet wide) made of more than 600 weathering steel boxes containing more than 1,000 plants including ten varieties of succulents. Seven small windows allow viewers to look though to the other side of the work. The slogan “We need to think outside the box more than ever,” is emblazoned on one side of BILLBOARD.

“I was thinking of the fact that billboards are all over cities but that it would be fun to have just one made out of plants. I am interested in integrating art into the urban landscape and how to use art to make the urban world a better place. This is a fantasy of a billboard by a highway, delivering a message about the environment with its array of flora,” explained the artist.

Alexis Laurent lives and works in San Francisco. He was born in Poissey near Paris, France. His work has been on view recently in Southampton, New York, Houston, and San Francisco, as well as at Art Dubai and the VIP Art Fair.

Also on view at their booth, 101, at artMRKT Hamptons, Leila Heller Gallery will show work by Shoja Azari & Shahram Karimi, Kezban Arca Batibeki, Alexander Calder, Damien Hirst, Rachel Hovnanian, Marilyn Minter, Takashi Murakami, Shirin Neshat, Chris Ofili, Martin Saar, Andy Warhol and Albert Watson.