EXHIBITIONS
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Artist Reception: Sunday, 7/17/16, 3-6pm
Workshop/Talk: Saturday, 7/30/16 & Sunday, 7/31/16, 2:30-5:30pm REUSE, REDUCE, REPURPOSE: THE ART OF REFUSE, curated by Anne Trauben, features Thai artist Thammakit Thamboon’s sculpture outdoors on the front lawn and April Ford, Barbara Lubliner, Jodie Fink, Kate Dodd, Laura Petrovich Cheney, Linda Byrne, Maggie Ens, Robert Lach and Tyrome Tripoli sculpture and installation in 9 gallery rooms. The artists of REUSE, REDUCE, REPURPOSE: THE ART OF REFUSE make their work with trash, junk and other recyclable materials to give these objects new life, while others speak of the impact these objects have on the environment as well calling attention to other environmental concerns.The term "junk art" was first coined in the early 1960’s to describe Rauschenberg’s 1950’s works made from scrap metal, broken-up machinery, cloth rags, timber, waste paper and other "found" materials. Other early works include art made by Picasso, Duchamp and Schwitters, junk art has analogies in Dada, the works of Alberto Burri and later Arte Povera artists, and the Californian Funk art movement. Junk Art incorporates the use of banal, ordinary, everyday materials which force the viewer to see objects beyond their initial intended purpose, and trash beyond a garbage pail and landfill. April Ford’s work is “an attempt to bring back together our body of trash with our body of flesh and transform the landscape of trash, offering the materials of our life, love and redemption”. In Barbara Lubliner’s Puppy Powwow, the blight of plastic waste is transformed into a playful scene of socializing dogs. Plastic bottles that would take at least 450 years to biodegrade are fashioned into an installation that evokes transitory soap bubbles, glowing light sticks and balloon animals. As stand-ins for humans, Barbara imagines the powwow puppies getting together in the spirit of cooperation and goodwill to discuss proactive, sane measures to keep our planet healthy. Jodie Fink’s art is made from recycled materials found mostly in Hudson County. Trained as a photographer, Jodie uses her keen eye to make spontaneous, whimsical and often ironic creations from the world around her. She hopes to “build from our ruins a place that cannot be destroyed or neglected”. Kate Dodd’s “Overbooked”, a site-specific installation in response to the Art Book Reading Closet at Drawing Rooms, will be composed of hundreds of books scattered about the room. The installation is born out of her personal dilemma of having to get rid of books she has collected “and worshipped” for decades. Kate wonders, “will it be a life without books? As I have less physical space, and spend more time in digital space, what kind of space can be set aside for these objects? And if I physically manipulate, or disappear them, are they objects, or information, or nostalgic encumbrances?” After the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, Laura Petrovich Cheney began collecting the castaway wooden debris from domestic spaces. Her hope was to restore some order, meaning and sense of place to the ravaged landscape by creating something with the wood. Inspired by the geometry of American quilts whose “simplicity belies their conceptual underpinnings”, Laura pieces together the salvaged wood into something meaningful and orderly, while “exploring ideas rooted in the repetition of life– birth, growth, death, and regeneration”. Linda Byrne’s “Ghost Net” comments on the overfishing and depletion of an important food source, and the masses of abandoned or lost nets that pollute our waters and cause damage to wildlife and coral reefs. Linda uses recycled plastic 6-pack rings from soda and beer cans to weave the giant net and the various types of empty bird nests. Linda’s work examines the uneasy relationship that exists between nature and synthetics. Maggie Ens's works recycle commonly discarded objects. Detritus, while retaining its identity, is transformed. The works are dense with both man-made and natural objects that interact with one another. Robert Lach creates sculpture that reference the design, form and structure patterns of birds, bees, and insect homes using found objects, trash, and gathered detritus. According to Thai artist, Thammakit Thamboon,the water buffalo is a popular icon in Thailand, yet people’s feeling for the water buffalo range from the romantic view of a past time when life had rural slowness, to using the term “buffalo” as an insult to a person’s character as being stupid. The 5 feet buffalo foot made from rice paper, is an allegory for the disappearance of the water buffalo in the Thai rice fields. No longer is there a need for the water buffalo as a working animal on the farm, so the water buffalo has disappeared from the Thai landscape and is currently in crisis of near extinction. Tyrome Tripoli’s pre-existing objects, materials and space become transformed as the referential information of the object’s past life is obscured. Engaged in this process of transformation and reinterpretation, he hopes to discover something new and possibly more meaningful. Victory Hall DRAWING ROOMS is a contemporary arts center for drawing, painting, 3-dimensional works and print by emerging and mid-career artists in a former convent building in Downtown Jersey City. With 10 rooms for individual artist or group exhibitions and the TENTH ROOM GALLERY SHOP, we are dedicated to providing a space where the arts communities and the public can gather, interact and enjoy new artistic experiences. Our innovative and exciting exhibitions, public programs and publications enrich the lives of our community through an appreciation of and involvement with contemporary art. DRAWING ROOMS is operated by Victory Hall Inc. a 501c3 non-profit organization producing exhibitions, programs and public art projects in the NJ/NY area since 2001. Other projects include RAINBOW THURSDAYS* art classes for developmentally disabled adults, THIRD FLOOR ARTIST WORK SPACES, VICTORY HALL PRESS, and exhibition development for SHUSTER'S ART PROJECT* at Art House, The Oakman, Hamilton House and Gallery at 109 Columbus. James Pustorino, Director Anne Trauben, Curator / Exhibitions Director |
