46 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • JULY 25, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
buzz
Photo courtesy of the Materials for the Arts
MFTA artists rock off beat works in new LIC exhibit
BY TAMMY SCILEPPI
With all the crazy stuff going on in the
world, thank goodness for art, and the
artists who remind us of our humanity…
Last Th ursday, Materials for the Arts
(MFTA) in Long Island City – NYC’s
largest reuse center – hosted the opening
of its newest free exhibition. “Th e
Artists of Materials for the Arts” features
non-traditional creations by MFTA
Teaching Artists and staff , showcasing
MFTA’s commitment to the practice of
sustainable art-making. MFTA Teaching
Artist and Curator Omar Olivera, as well
as Executive Director Harriet Taub, were
among the uber-talented NYC-based creatives.
Take a break from life’s harsh realities
and enjoy this fun, quirky show –
now on view in the MFTA Gallery until
Friday, Sept. 6 (at 33-00 Northern Blvd.,
3rd fl oor).
Th ere’s so much to take in: paintings,
sculptures, collages, and large-scale installations,
like Olivera’s striking pixel masterpiece
made of neon-colored Post-it
notes, along with MFTA Teaching Artist
Julia Clauss’ whimsical and colorful coff ee
cup sleeves. And don’t miss MFTA Spring
2019 Artist-in-Residence Roberto Visani’s
eye-catching laser-cut cardboard geometric
sculptures … plus much more.
“Many of us who work at arts organizations
and creative spaces are artists ourselves.
So, when an opportunity comes to
show our own work, it’s interesting to see
how what we do outside of our personal
practice infl uences our artwork,” said
Olivera.
He added: “We are aware of the many
diff erent communities that come to
MFTA, whether they are from the art
world, educational communities, or the
broader NYC community, and we are
showing a wide audience works that are
very personal.”
Get inspired, think sustainably and
explore the creative potential in commonly
found objects, just as MFTA’s artists
have done. A few weighed in about
their submissions.
Brooklynite Avani Patel has been a
teaching artist for MFTA for three years.
“It has been a wonderful experience
teaching the community about recycled
art projects and reusing materials to create
diff erent art craft s, etcetra,” said Patel,
who works through MFTA in a Brooklyn
pre-school program, teaching budding
artists.
“Music evokes the body to respond to
a rhythm and become an embodiment of
exuberance, expression and movement.
My idea of painting is a rhythmic performance
with music that creates a whole
new language of abstract harmony, as
a means of expressing music in visual
form,” she added.
Her paintings invite the viewer to wander
through a universe of color and pattern
in motion and she creates an environment
of “joy and passion, conveying
a feeling of organic nature and festivity,
while using the psyche’s imagination.”
Art has been an integral part of Patel’s
life since she was a young girl.
“I used to go to the theater with my sister
for rehearsals and her dance shows.
Looking at all the colorful costumes, fl owing
dresses and festivity around, I felt that
the colors are speaking to me. It made me
joyful, and painting became entertainment
for me,” she recalled. “I have always
admired diff erent art forms and techniques
but my culture and the experiences
I have lived through have a great infl uence
on what I present through my drawings/
paintings.”
Another imaginative art form is meant
to mirror the ones and zeroes of data.
Julia Ladds Clauss used coff ee cup sleeves,
MFTA fi nds, paint and oil pastel to create
her “Th inking about data…” piece.
Viewers are invited to move the pieces
as they wish and ponder these questions:
Who makes data? What are the sources?
What are the dimensions? What senses
are engaged? What will data do, going
forward?
“My experience at MFTA has been literally
awesome and full of beauty in endless
ways. I am so grateful for everything
MFTA does and is,” said Clauss, who lives
in Manhattan and travels to LIC.
“Making things … with mud, grass,
eggs, paper, tiles, thread, paint, cardboard,
etcetra, has always been part of my life.”
Astoria-based artist Jairo Toro, has participated
in important art shows in his
native Colombia; his pieces were on display
at distinguished galleries and museums
in Europe and South America. Aft er
moving to NY in 1991, he continued to
teach art and exhibit his work across the
U.S.
Toro calls his unusual MFTA creation,
“Illuminated Connective Device” (phone
case/LED lights/aluminum wire).
“MFTA is a laboratory of medicine
where artists fi nd their own pills, to
explore new materials for the arts,” Toro
noted, pointing out that to him, being an
artist in Queens, means “interacting with
a global interdisciplinary group of art
thinkers and cultures.”
During “Th ird Th ursdays,” the general
public is welcomed into the warehouse
for free programs, including craft making,
artist talks, performances and gallery
openings.
By Jairo Toro
/WWW.QNS.COM
