Earth Day Reflections & Artist Talk: April 22, 11:30am-1pm
PRESS
Summer Wheat, BOMB Magazine
Lina Puerta, ArtNews
Summer Wheat
Inside the Garden Summer Wheat’s exhibition transforms Smack Mellon’s main gallery into an interior garden space that serves as a respite from the harsh realities of the outside world. Inspired by the gardens of ancient civilizations and cultures, Wheat’s art environment elicits contemplation and a feeling of solace. Light filters through the botanic imagery of her window installation, creating an ethereal stained glass effect. During these troubling times, Wheat’s exhibition becomes a hopeful rumination on the garden as a symbol of our connection to nature and its role in generating and nourishing life. See here for the press release.
Lina Puerta
Tapestries
Created during a residency at Dieu Donné, Lina Puerta’s paper and mixed-media works are inspired by Renaissance tapestries, investigating the trappings of the ruling elite of 15th and 16th century Europe but reworking this decorative tradition to speak to the excesses of contemporary culture. Portrayed in a state of decay and disintegration, the imagery in Puerta’s work represents the tenuous balance between the natural and the built environments and ultimately the temporality of our own existence.
Image caption:
(LEFT) Untitled (Pink + Gold/Tapestries Series) (detail), 2016, 54” x 36”, cotton, linen and abaca pulp, lace, sequins, appliqués, velvet ribbon, faux fur, feathers, and found insect wings. Courtesy of the artist. (RIGHT) Image: Sketch for Inside the Garden, 2017. Courtesy of the artist.
These exhibitions are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, New York City Council Member Stephen Levin, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and with generous support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Robert Lehman Foundation, Iorio Charitable Foundation, Select Equity Group Foundation, many individuals and Smack Mellon’s Members.
Smack Mellon’s programs are also made possible with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and with generous support from The New York Community Trust, The Roy and Niuta Titus Foundation, Jerome Foundation, The Greenwich Collection Ltd, Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation Inc., Brooklyn Arts Council, and Exploring The Arts.
Space for Smack Mellon’s programs is generously provided by the Walentas family and Two Trees Management.
