Popular Forest Hills restaurant is ablaze with local artistry
BY TAMMY SCILEPPI
Over in leafy Forest Hills,
which has become home to a
robust Asian population and
recently praised for welcoming
some of the finest and diverse
Asian restaurants in Queens,
one popular spot in particular
– that the New York Times and
other publications have raved
about – is making news.
Spy C Cuisine, located at
72-06 Austin St., has done a
great job connecting with
— and tapping into — the
great resources of the local
community, thanks in part
to their collaboration with
longtime neighborhood
real estate broker Rhona
Magelowitz, who brought in
Forest Hills-based, multimedia
artist Hilary Mance, to
create an eye-catching mural
dedicated to the owners of the
restaurant and their Chinese
heritage. The work honors a
prominent Chinese artist and
was unveiled last Thursday at
an intimate champagne and
hors d’oeuvres event.
“I’m so proud to host this
event to celebrate my hood,”
said Magelowitz (prior to the
gathering), adding, “Hilary
Mance is a dedicated, selftaught
artist; I knew she would
make magic at Spy C.”
The broker, whose family
has been rooted in the area
(owning two buildings since
1930), noted that over the
years, she has supported her
neighbors and local artists,
and strongly believes in both
individuals and businesses.
In a recent interview,
Mance talked about her
massive Spy C project.
“The owners, Nancy and
Lei (the chef), were great to
work for,” said Mance. “They
gave me the keys and I would
let myself in at 11:30 pm after
they closed and work through
the night, for the past 5 weeks.
They showed me photos of
the art of Chinese master
Wu Guanzhong and asked
me to replicate his work on
the walls, then trusted me
to execute it without any
preliminary sketches.
“Images of his towns and
landscapes had to be scaled
from small photos to large
walls. I had to just wing it as
I went along, starting in front
with spring and going through
Photorealistic portrait of David Byrne, lead singer of new wave
punk group Talking Heads. Oil on canvas, 3’x4’
the seasons to winter in the
back. It was a fun job, but the
hours were murder. Every
night, I’d be sitting on top of
the ladder trying to figure
out how to blend one of his
paintings into another, asking
myself: ‘What would Wu do?
The NYC native has been
enjoying a colorful and
adventurous creative life, even
moving to New Zealand, where
she “just chills and paints”
several months a year. But her
career got jumpstarted in a
weird way.
“At 15, I moved to L.A. to
live with my father, and go
to high school. My dad took a
small apartment in Beverly
Hills so I can go to a good
school, though I hated it there,”
she recalled. “I was the first
person to ever graffiti Beverly
Hills High School, as far as I
know, sneaking through the
bushes on prom night with my
best friend, dressed in black,
armed with spray paint. It
made the local papers, but we
never got caught. I moved back
to NY right after high school.”
As a freelancer, Mance has
been taking on myriad projects:
creating commissioned
paintings, murals, and replicas
of the masters for hotels,
offices, lobbies, restaurants
and homes. All the while,
doing makeup and hair for
photo shoots, commercials,
magazines, weddings, and
films; and even a steady parttime
gig doing make up in
some of NYC’s most popular
strip clubs, like the Hustler
Club on the West Side Highway,
where she’s worked for many
years but had to give up her
shift four years ago to move
to New Zealand. When she
returns to NY, she still works
there occasionally.
Read more at QNS.com.
Tues. & Wed. $1895
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Served with Corn on the Cob
and Baked Potato
with Purchase of 2 Cocktails,
2 Wines or 2 Beers
TIMESLEDGER,34 AUG. 2-8, 2019 QNS.COM
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