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www.qns.com I LIC COURIER I JANUARY 2020 39
beauty of everyday stuff and explores
the (perhaps universal) desire to keep
things tightly bound or complete, when
they so easily can become unraveled.
Stop by and engage with these
amazing sculptures that were conjured
up during her Fall 2019 residency at
MFTA when she was granted unlimited
access to the supplies in their 35,000
square-foot warehouse of donated
materials to incorporate in her exhibit.
“Oldenburg is able to show how
the shapes and textures of modern,
human-made materials reflect
beautiful, natural occurrences. Her
sculpture of giant orange tubes forms
a massive, 31-foot-long organic
sea creature, humanoid form that
interlaces wall pieces that feel like
they could be fossils or a coral reef,”
said MFTA Director of Education John
Cloud Kaiser, who oversees the Artist-in-
Residence program, which provides
support and studio space for creatives
whose practice involves the out-of-the-
box reuse of materials.
“MFTA has been exceedingly
supportive and the resources have been
incredible. There’s a really strong sense
of community that can sometimes be
difficult to find,” said Oldenburg. “I feel
very grateful for being able to participate.
I also love being able to access an
enormous quantity of supplies without
feeling a financial burden.”
Her masterpieces, many of which
include complex configurations of knotted
ropes and string, range in size from 13
inches to 31 feet. Made from ventilation
tubing and rope, that humongous
(aforementioned) sculpture called “Shoe
Lace” – which extends the length of one
gallery wing – is the largest work to be
installed in the MFTA gallery to date.
“Whitney Oldenburg truly
transformed the materials from our
warehouse to make works that are
powerful examples of and advocates
for creative reuse and sustainable art
making,” said MFTA Education Associate
Omar Olivera, who helps coordinate the
residency program. “Even though the
materials that the works are made of are
still apparent – rope, rock, paint – the
pieces are beings unto themselves, with
their own internal structure and logic.”
Kaiser added: “Thanks to the MFTA
Artist-in-Residence program, we are
able to showcase how top artists can
transform reused materials into the
highest works of art.”
Oldenburg has a Masters from Rhode
Island School of Design. Her work has
been shown in New York City, Chicago,
Richmond, Houston, Miami, and Ottawa.
Loose Ends will be on view at the
MFTA gallery (33-00 Northern Blvd.,
3rd Floor) until Friday, March 6. Gallery
hours: Mon. through Fri. from 10 a.m. to
4 p.m. 718-729-2088
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