Living room built around NYC Columbus statue

NEW YORK (CNN) - Here's a Columbus Day riddle for you - how do you get a 13-foot statue of Christopher Columbus inside a New York City apartment? A crane? Giant elevator? Tear a hole in the side of the building?

How about building the living room around the statue.

That's right, this is the 120-year-old statue in the middle of New York's Columbus Circle.

A Japanese artist designed and built this contemporary living room on top of scaffolding around the statue.

The director of the Public Art Fund, which helped pay for the installation, says it gives people a chance to experience art in a completely new and more intimate way.

Visitors are invited to lounge on the furniture and get a good look. The exhibit runs through November 18 but tickets are already sold out.