36BY ALEXA ALTMAN art (ART) SHOW MUST GO ON BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO Three months after the 5Pointz building was whitewashed overnight, the artists are still going strong, presenting their artwork at a Long Island not-for-profi t art center. The group of artists, including 5Pointz curator and CEO Jonathan Cohen, known as “Meres One,” have come together for an art show called “WALL WORKS: The Art of Graffi ti” at the Gold Coast Arts Center, located at 113 Middle Neck Road in Great Neck. The opening reception for the show was held on January 19, which marked the two month anniversary of what 5Pointz spokesperson Marie Cecile Flageul calls the “criminal whitewash.” “Today is two months following the criminal whitewash and nothing has happened to the building, so to us it’s a way to keep the light on as well,” said Flageul at the reception. 5Pointz was painted white overnight on November 19, after owners of the property on Jackson Avenue and Davis Street, the Wolkoff family, ordered the action. The artists were invited to present their work at the not-for-profi t group’s site. Organizers thought the location made perfect sense because 5Pointz is also a not-for-profi t group and had child programs, just like the Gold Coast Arts Center, said Flageul. The Long Island art show, which was curated by newly appointed gallery curator and Long Island City resident Jude Amsel, features aerosol art on small to large canvases, walls of the gallery, subway maps, real street signs and more. The show also features a white sculpture by Hunt Rodriguez called “Rest in Power 5Pointz” which people can sign. The body of the scu lpture was molded from Hunt’s body and the sculpture’s face is of Hunt’s daughter. “I don’t think the reach of this culture has fully gotten out to Long Island,” said Cohen, whose pieces in the show include a series of fi ve different canvases, each depicting one of the boroughs. “5Pointz is on a pause state right now, but it will start again. It is a positive program, so it’s good to let people see that there is some artistic ability and talent that go into this and it isn’t the perceived negative thing that everyone thinks.” All the pieces in the show are for sale and 35 percent of the sales go to the Gold Coast Arts Center. The remaining profi t will go towards the artists. “WALL WORKS: The Art of Graffi ti” also features works from Carols “See TF” Game, Luis “Zimad” Lamboy, Shiro, John Paul O’Grodnick, Veronique Barrillot and Kid Lew. The show is on display until March 2. A group of 5Pointz artists, including Jonathan “Meres” Cohen, is displaying their artwork at the Gold Coast Arts Center in Great Neck THE Photos by Angy Altamirano vases,
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