New LIC exhibit showcases recyclable art
BY TAMMY SCILEPPI
Celebrate Earth Month
at Materials for the Arts
(MFTA) in LIC and explore
how common objects can be
transformed into works of art
and given a new purpose.
“ C ON T EM P O R A R Y
REUSE 2019” gallery
exhibition – now on view
until May 17 – is an annual
show featuring the works of
local artists who integrate
reusable materials into their
creative practice.
“Every day is Earth Day at
Materials for the Arts! We are
the unit of the Department of
Cultural Affairs that saves
millions of dollars of amazing
materials from going into
landfills every year,” said
MFTA Director of Education
and Exhibition Curator, John
Cloud Kaiser.
“We donate those materials
to the arts organizations,
schools, and community
centers of NYC that continue
to make this the creative city
we love.”
Viewers can ponder the
meanings behind several
diverse masterpieces created
by these five artists.
Sol’Sax has transformed
milk crates, cans, and sports
equipment into shrines, while
Ian Trask’s beautifully bound
spheres or “spores” capture
the contrast of plastic colored
chords tangled together with
natural fiber materials in an
intricate display.
“As an artist, I try to find
inspiration in waste,” said
Trask, “and for years I’ve
been using my art as a way to
connect with my community.
Most of the materials I use are
donated by the people around
me….”
Yasmin Gur’s works are
also created from reclaimed
stuff. “In using these
weathered materials, I am
appropriating their histories,
the wear and tear of the
elements, the bending, rips,
flaking, and rust, to create a
wordless connection, a bloom,
a burst, an outgrowth, to evoke
a living process of an organism
or plant,” she explained.
Annie Varnot’s sculptures
are made from repurposed
drinking straws. The material
Matteo Volpi with John and Jean Ives in front of some of the art on
display at Materials for the Arts in Long Island City.
Photo courtesy of Materials for the Arts
and forms address the
negative effects of plastics on
our ecosystem.
“While mulling over the
damaging effects of plastics
and consumer culture on the
natural landscape, I imagine
the scientific production of
a landscape,” she said. “As
an artist playing the role of
scientist, in these sculptures,
the mysterious lab samples
explode into synthetic
wonderlands composed
not only of repurposed
drinking straws, but also of
miscellaneous debris.”
The Volmeur Collection
transforms mold-damaged
35mm slides from the CERN
labs in Geneva, one of the most
prestigious in the world, into
amazing multi-colored prints
of abstract scenes.
“Alongside around 450
000 perfectly preserved
photographic snapshots, a few
hundred slides illustrating the
remarkable construction of
the electron-positron collider
(LEP) had been forgotten,”
artist Matteo Volpi noted.
“This exhibit is about the
living nature of the materials
that we make art with; their
past, present, and where
they go in the future,” said
Kaiser. “This is all the more
important to think about in
terms of sustainability during
Earth Month.”
MFTA is located at 33-00
Northern Blvd., third floor, in
Long Island City.
CATERING MENU
Buffet Menu Sit Down Dinner
Minimum 40 Guests 3 Hour Function
(Mon.-Sat. 12-3pm or 1-4pm)
Assorted Breads & Rolls
All Unlimited
Large Tossed Salad
Fresh Cooked Turkey and Roast Beef Platter
Potato & Macaroni Salad
Choice of Five Main Dishes
Baked Ziti Penne a la Vodka Chicken Marsala
Sausage & Peppers Eggplant Rollatini
Meatballs Chicken Francese Shepherd’s Pie
Minimum 25 Guests 3 Hour Function
(Mon.-Sun. 5-10pm)
Assorted Breads & Rolls
House Salad
Choice of Three Main Dishes
Served with Potato & Vegetables
Broiled Filet of Sole Chicken Marsala
Penne a la Vodka Shrimp Scampi
Chicken Francese Spinach Ravioli
Shepherd’s Pie 16 oz. Black Angus Certifi ed
Shell Steak $4 extra / per person
Buff et Only...........................................................$18.95/pp
Dinner with Soft Drinks...................................$21.95/pp
Dinner w/ Domestic Tap Beer, Wine & Soda...$23.95/pp
Dinner w/ Mixed Drinks, Domestic Beer
(Bottle & Tap) Wine & Soda..............................$26.95/pp
Dinner w/ Top Shelf Liquors, Imported &
Domestic Beer (Bottle & Tap), Wine & Soda...$37.95/pp
Dinner w/ Domestic Tap Beer, Wine & Soda..$24.95/pp
Dinner w/ Mixed Drinks, Domestic Beer
(Bottle & Tap) Wine & Soda................................$27.95/pp
Dinner w/ Top Shelf Liquors, Imported &
Domestic Beer (Bottle & Tap), Wine & Soda...$37.95/pp
FRESH COFFEE, BREWED DECAF & TEAS
DESSERT
Chocolate Truffl e Cake
214-22 41st Ave., Bayside, NY 11361 718-224-9898 maggiemaysbayside.com
TIMESLEDGER,32 APR. 26-MAY 2, 2019 QNS.COM
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