DETRITUS: One Man’s Trash is Another Man’s Treasure

Curated by Yuko Nii & Assisted by Germania Reyes

It is important for us to know what we have always taken for granted in those materials that we believe to be eternally available for us, but if we mistreat mother nature, those common products of nature won’t be available in the future. In fact we are creating trash from what nature gives us to live. We need to be humble and appreciate and not waste these precious materials.

And it is also important for us to know the fact that while the world population has been increasing every year, the products of Mother Nature have been decreasing faster than we realized. The question is, how do we preserve the products of Nature so that we humans can share the limited resources and live together on this small planet Earth harmoniously, peacefully and happily. This is the one of the most critical challenges we are facing today.

SVA presents “Plasticulture: The Rise of Sustainable Practices with Polymers,” an exhibition of works by 15 artists from Project Vortex, an artist collective innovating with plastic debris, and curated by founding artist Aurora Robson. By combining artistic expression with scientific exploration, "Plasticulture" aspires to encourage individuals and communities to embrace more sustainable practices and play a part in fostering a healthier planet. 

Operating at the intersection of art and science, the 45 works in “Plasticulture” inspire a rethinking and reinvention of plastic debris. Exhibiting artists include Leticia Bajuyo, Tom Deininger, Ellen Driscoll, Alejandro Durán, Natalya Khorover, Niki Lederer, Pam Longobardi, Kristyna and Marek Milde, Portia Munson, Bryan Northup, Studio KCA, Ian Trask and Tyrome Tripoli. As members of the Project Vortex Collective, their work supports and contributes to efforts to reduce the influx of plastic waste in the environment. Comprised of artists, designers and architects around the globe who are actively intercepting the plastic waste stream as part of our independent practices, the collective is a constantly expanding network.

The SVA Chelsea Gallery is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, from 10:00am to 6:00pm, and closed on Sundays and Mondays. It is fully accessible by wheelchair.

ArtsWestchester presents Futures, an immersive exhibition of large-scale and installation-based artworks that explore the prompt: What can the Hudson Valley look like in 100 years? This project gives artists a seat at the table by inviting them to envision built and social transformation for the future of our region.

Opening reception is Sunday, October 13th, with a member’s preview from 2-3pm and a public reception from 3-5pm.

Participating Artists:

Noelia Abreu, Inez Andrucyk, Sheila Benedis, Mia Brownell, Mike Depasquale, Amanda Dorval, Marielena Ferrer, Natalya Khorover, Martin Kruck, Jessica Maffia, Norman Magnusson, Susan Manspeizer, Eto Otitigbe, Jorge Otero-Pailos, Teresa Pereira, Rachel Sydlowski, VASH

The Loft Artists Association (LAA) is excited to announce its 11th Annual Juried Exhibition, titled [Gasp!].

This year’s exhibition features artworks that defy expectations and provoke astonishment, particularly through their use of innovative materials. These pieces are best experienced in-person as they inspire viewers to take their time and discover the unexpected.

The Awards & Opening Reception will take place on Saturday, September 28, 5-7pm, and is free and open to the public.

Visiting Juror and Independent Curator, Ellen Hawley notes, “These selected artworks elicit a spontaneous response, making us gasp with surprise when we encounter unexpected imagery or materials, such as rawhide, cow bones, Band-aids™, dice, shredded decommissioned U.S. currency, spent shotgun shells, gears, clocks, and various found objects. After examining these works, one may wonder how the choice of material informs the overall concept or design.”

The exhibition encompasses a broad range of concepts, featuring both abstract and representational artworks in 2D and 3D formats, including installations.

Additionally, there will be an Artists Walk+Talk with Ellen Hawley on Sunday, October 6, 2024 at 2pm.

September 21 - December 7, 2024
Opening Reception: September 21, 3pm - 5pm

Curated by Patricia Miranda, Founder of MAPSpace and The Crit Lab, Artist, Educator, Curator
&
Livia Straus, President/Co-Founder Hudson Valley MOCA, Board Member ISC, Curator, Collector, Philanthropist

Artists for the exhibition Crit Ecologies have been participants in The Crit Lab, a graduate-level critique seminar program for working artists after and outside academia. The Lab is an alternate critical community for artists to come together in ongoing, sustained, contact, with empathetic listening, radical optimism and rigorous dialogue, in an act of hope over destruction. The structured pedagogy was developed by Miranda to focus and deepen discussion beyond common subjective reactions, and to support ethical structures in which artists’ practices can thrive. The Crit Lab structure was designed in response to the opinionated and personal nature of much critique, often clouded by the unremarked power dynamics of gender, class, race, etc.

Curated in a competitive juried process from Crit Lab participants from Fall 2023-Spring 2024, selected artists have the benefit of exposure through an exhibition at Hudson Valley MOCA, an institution whose reputation is partially based on a successful record in identifying extraordinary talent early in an artist’s career.

Accompanying talks

September 21, 1pm-3pm
Art Educator Panel

Before the opening reception for Crit Ecologies: Artists, Community, Criticality, art educators Jeanne Silverthorne (Artist + Guggenheim Fellow), Patricia Miranda (Artist + Founder, The Crit Lab), and Carla Rae Johnson (Artist + NYFA Fellow) will be addressing the benefits and the need for artists to create communities for ongoing critique and growth. Join the Art Educator Panel from 1pm-3pm!

Moderator: Livia Straus: Co-Founder, President HVMOCA.

November 21, 11am-8pm
Marks on Paper: A Drawing Marathon

Join us for an interactive day at HVMOCA, with drawing in the exhibition space and black box theater: live model, munchies and wine, and great comradery. 

Special For The Day:
Word Art Workshops with champion Slam Poet Nick Powers 3pm-5pm

Bring your own food, we supply the drinks and the teacher crits - Stay the day!
Non-members: $45.00
HVMOCA Artist Members and Crit Lab Participants: $40.00

After Party is having it’s debut in Putnam County, New York!

It is an outdoor installation of plastic bottle caps and other single use debris trapped in clear resin and organized into forms reminiscent of tree stumps. We’ve had our party with plastics, but now we’re stuck with the awful aftermath. As usual the downside of a party is the mess afterwards. How will we clean up this mess?