Last night was an event not to be overlooked attending the monthly 1st Thursday Dumbo Gallery Walk. But that was the theme of our (Stacy and I) favorite installations by artists who reconsidered common objects used for storage, transportation or just discarded. Structured Simplicity at Dumbo Arts Center curated by Felicity Hogan, presented a 5 artist site-specific show that explored the intriguing subtle solutions.
Participating artists gave brief explanations engaging the crowd making all the work much more personal. Berlin artist Mai Braun, who executed her stacked box series while in Houston, Texas on fellowship, explained her process or idea was instinctual being drawn to boxes verses a higher concept.
Either way, the final outcome cleverly elevates materials or purpose of objects we either break down or throw away. A similar theme by artist Yumi Janairo Roth while in a residency in the Philippines, took shipping pallets and hand carved intricate decorative detail creating utilitarian object d’art. Roth’s work is part of Smack Mellon’s Beauty Underfoot exhibition curated by Jeanne Gerrity.
The gallery is also kicking off their Press Play series featuring guest bands on 1st Thursdays. Brooklyn folk and Americana-influenced indie rock band, The Loom performed with Kelso of Brooklyn provided the free tastings of their artisan beers. Multi-disciplinary artist Üla Einstein’s broken eggshell installation shown at Safe-T-Gallery becomes a beautiful texture while communicating emotional messages.
