With the exhibition Miscreant Matter, artists Katherine Earle and Carol Paik pose the question, “Can we capture all the discarded, rejected, degenerate, degraded and miscreant matter and repurpose it through these small acts of creation?” It appears so ~ today, Earth Day, is the perfect day for this post.
At first glance, a walk through the exhibition is a colorful, eclectic, artistic wonder. You are looking at what amounts to recycled objects ~ things we normally would toss away ~ trash turned into objects of art.
Below, Carol Paik during the installation of this exhibition. Her goal is to “create art out of unappreciated, overlooked, landfill-destined stuff.” Her weaves are made with materials, reimagined.
Textile, fiber, and recyclable art is favored by the curator, Connie Lee, with her last collaboration at this gallery, the exhibition Up-Close, featuring artwork created with sand (from all over the world), paper, and discarded fabric and rope.
Below, the artists take a moment to view the final installation of their work for this exhibition. From left to right, Katherine Earle and Carol Paik.
This timely exhibition shines a light on the fact that New York City residents produce 12,000 tons of waste every day, buried in landfills, with a portion of recyclables. A not-so-well-known fact is that many landmarks in Manhattan are located on landfill, including the World Financial Center, the Staten Island Ferry Terminal, Battery Park City, the FDR Drive, the South Street Seaport, Ellis Island and Rikers Island.
Below are a few more installation views from the exhibition, Miscreant Matter, which opens Sunday, April 24th ~ or join the East Harlem Business Crawl on Saturday. This exhibition is the first stop.
Above and below, Katherine Earle explores “the intricacy of the natural world and its ecosystems.”
Miscreant Matter related programming includes ‘Rag Rug Workshops‘ by artist Carol Paik. The workshops will be held on Thursdays 2:00 to 4:00pm on April 28th; May 5th; May 12th and May 19th. Attendees will learn to use the technique of braiding fabric to create abstract wall hangings and traditional Rag Rug or an abstract wall hanging. All are invited to continue on their own or join the artist every Thursday at the gallery throughout the exhibition. Bring: any fabric that is not too thick and can be cut into strips like t-shirts, shirts, bedsheets, dishtowels – and bring scissors.
In addition, related programming includes ‘What Is Fiber Art?‘ an artist talk with Stacy Bogdonoff, Katherine Earle, Naomi Lawrence and Carol Paik – 4 contemporary visual artists who work with fiber-based materials, moderated by the curator of the exhibition, Connie Lee, which will take place on Friday, May 13th from 6:30 to 7:30pm.
Miscreant Matter is the second time that JVS and Art Lives Here have collaborated to bring an exhibition and supportive programming to the street level gallery space in East Harlem. The exhibition will be on view from April 24 to May 22, 2022 at JVS Project Space, 181 East 108th Street, Ground Floor, NYC. An Artist Reception will be held on Sunday, April 24th from 2:00 ~ 5:00pm.
Gallery hours are Thursday through Sunday from 2:00 to 6:00pm.
Want a sneak-peek? On Saturday, April 23rd, JVC Project Space and the exhibition Miscreant Matter will be the first stop on a five-stop Business Crawl Tour sponsored by Union Settlement Business Development and Buy Local East Harlem. Join the Crawl at 3pm. It is a Free event with Registration.
Follow Connie Lee and Art Lives Here on Facebook, Follow the curator back to her gallery, Living With Art Salon, for current exhibition ‘A Conversation Between Women’, works by twenty collaborating artist members, on view through May 31, 2022.
More from Living With Art Salon.