Sandra Vucicevic Sandra Vucicevic is a multidisciplinary artist and painter, and her work spans from two-dimensional paintings and drawings to conceptual, audience-participatory performances, to her very own jewelry line. With a focus on nature and reality, Vucicevic’s art blurs the line between the real and the imagined. Her abstract paintings require the participation of the viewer’s eye to create a sense of landscape or cityscape within the canvas. Vucicevic is inspired by impressionists such as Monet and Matisse, but her work straddles the abstract-surrealist line, sort of like Dali kissing Kandinsky on the mouth. Vucicevic started creating jewelry as a way of promoting her art. “The jewelry I make is based on my original art. It includes pendant necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rings, which feature images of my original paintings, drawings and mixed media. However, I also create tiny paintings and collages directly inside the pendant blanks,” she explained. Her unique pieces can be found on Etsy (www.etsy.com/shop/ARTBYSANDRAV). Each of these miniature masterpieces are one-of-a-kind originals and are created with acrylic paint, resin, found objects (fish-net, crushed glass), etc. Originally from Belgrade, Serbia, she came to New York in 2005, soon after graduating from law school. Given the opportunity, she went back to school and received her art degree from Hunter College in 2011. Her studio is part of the STUDIO 34 Art Community and is located in Long Island City. Wanting to be in the center of an artistic atmosphere and close to Manhattan, Vucicevic found LIC the perfect choice for her studio and work. She believes the art community in Queens is on its way to becoming “real.” “Compared to other neighborhoods in NYC, it has been mostly unrecognized and underrepresented until recently,” she said. “However, there are many art movements and organizations now who are trying to bring big changes. Their aim is to unite Queens’ artists through festivals, lectures and events and help them recognize themselves as a part of one distinctive art community.” A few such organizations are the Queens Art Council, Queens Museum, Long Island City Arts Open, JCAL, Astoria Festival and Kew Gardens Art Council, she said. Vucicevic is currently working on a new series of paintings that are created on found materials and on a group of round paintings. An independent filmmaker, Jessica Fejos, is shooting a documentary about Vucicevic’s work, which will be aired on Queens Public Television at a later date. sandravucicevic.com Ellen Day A New Year message of “May you turn your can’ts into canisters and your plans into planters” greeted me as I entered the Brick- House Ceramic Art Center in Long Island City. Ellen Day’s ceramic sanctuary, which she founded in 2007, is an integral part of the LIC arts community. She works out of this studio, and BrickHouse also offers classes. “Many artists from the community take classes or rent space here,” Day said. “Brick- House supports collaborative programs and is well established in the New York City ceramic art community.” On a tour of the fully equipped facilities, I got to see a potter wheel in action along with a wide array of glazes, kilns and recycled clay slabs all at the ready. I lingered at the gift shop, which includes one-of-a-kind pieces made by Day and other ceramic artists from the studio. Day first learned ceramics at Springfield Gardens High School in Queens. There, her Photos courtesy of Sandra Vucicevic ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT 16 FEBRUARY 2017
BM022017
To see the actual publication please follow the link above