In five exhibitions on view this summer at Central Library, patrons can experience the journey of disused MTA subway cars to the Atlantic Ocean, the striking and unexpected beauty of the Gowanus Canal, the transitory nature of Brooklyn’s most beloved public spaces, a modern reimagining of familiar fairy tales and a behind-the-scenes look at artist Leonard Ursachi’s Fat Boy sculpture.
“Brooklyn Public Library is proud to present summer exhibitions that explore the creative process, modern conceptions of familiar stories and the relationship between city and nature in our borough,” said BPL president and CEO Linda Johnson.
The artistic process for a unique series of sculptures and installations comes to life in Behind Fat Boy, a companion exhibition to Leonard Ursachi’s Fat Boy sculpture currently on view in Prospect Park. Behind Fat Boy features original sketches and maquettes of the work, along with other materials that illuminate Ursachi’s acclaimed bunker series. On view in the Lobby Gallery.
Stephen Mallon’s American Reclamation: Next Stop Atlantic documents the journey of retired subway cars on their way to sea as part of the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s artificial reef-building program. As Mallon notes, “The change from seeing steel lying on a barge out in the Atlantic to watching water rush in as it hits the ocean is quite dramatic.” Mallon’s photos, curated for BPL by Michele Jaslow, capture that drama as it plays out far from shore. On view in the first floor foyer cases.
Leah Oates marks the transformation of urban and natural locations due to time, altered natural conditions and human influence in the Transitory Space series. In her exhibition at Brooklyn Public Library, Oates turns her lens on Prospect Park, Brooklyn & Beyond, documenting, in the artist’s words, “endlessly interesting, alive places where there is a great deal of beauty and fragility … temporary monuments to the ephemeral nature of existence.” On view in second floor balcony cases.
Gowanus Wild is “a personal exploration of nature and wilderness in the paradoxical setting of a contaminated industrial environment,” says artist Miska Draskoczy. The photographs in the exhibition reveal the beauty in what most consider a man-made environmental catastrophe. Draskoczy’s work explores the tenacity of nature in the face of human assault. On view in the Grand Lobby.
In Fairy Tales, the artists of the Children’s Book Illustrators Group reinterpret familiar childhood tales for a contemporary audience. In a variety of techniques, from traditional watercolor to digital and mixed media, the exhibition showcases the creativity and originality of the illustrators working in children’s publishing today. Fairy Tales is curated by Donna Miskend. On view in the Youth Wing.
All five summer exhibitions will be on view in Central Library through September 25.
About Brooklyn Public Library
Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) is an independent library system for the 2.5 million residents of Brooklyn. It is the fifth largest library system in the United States with 60 neighborhood libraries located throughout the borough. BPL offers free programs and services for all ages and stages of life, including a large selection of books in more than 30 languages, author talks, literacy programs and public computers. BPL’s eResources, such as eBooks and eVideos, catalog information and free homework help, are available to customers of all ages 24 hours a day at our website: www.bklynlibrary.org.
About Leonard Ursachi
Leonard Ursachi is a Romanian-born artist who defected in 1980. He was granted political asylum in France, where he also received a scholarship to study art history and archeology at the Sorbonne. Ursachi has exhibited internationally, including a solo exhibition in 2008 at MNAC, Romania’s National Museum of Contemporary Art in Bucharest. Fat Boy is Ursachi’s fifth temporary public artwork with NYC Parks. His installations include Open House in Tribeca Park, Manhattan in 2002; Refuge in Duarte Square, Manhattan in 2004; Hiding Place in Prospect Park, Brooklyn in 2007; and Well in Cadman Plaza, Brooklyn in 2011.
About Stephen Mallon
Stephen Mallon’s photos have been honored by Communication Arts, Photo District News, The New York Photo Festival, the Lucie Awards, International Color Awards, and Photo Lucida’s Critical Mass top 50. In 2010 Stephen’s solo exhibition Next Stop Atlantic was received with great praise from the likes of The New York Times, National Public Radio, GQ, The Atlantic, and Fast Company. This body of work has been shown at the Look 3 photo festival in Charlottesville, Miami, St. Louis and Rome. Since 2002, he has been a board member of the New York chapter of the American Society of Media Photographers and served as president from 2006 to 2009.
About Michele Jaslow
Michele Jaslow is an independent art curator based in Brooklyn. Through her efforts curating art shows in conventional gallery spaces and alternative settings, she has developed a reputation for supporting emerging and established contemporary artists who ask tough questions and pursue the perfection of their work’s vision.
About Leah Oates
Leah Oates has a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and is a Fulbright Fellow for graduate study at Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland. Oates’s work is in the private collections of Susan Bode-Tyson, Lise Curry, Bill Groom, Natalie Domchencho and Mark Waskow, and her works on paper are in many public collections, including the National Museum of Women in the Art, the Brooklyn Museum Artist Book Collection, the British Library, the Walker Art Center Libraries, the Smithsonian Libraries and Franklin Furnace at MoMA.
About Miska Draskoczy
Miska Draskoczy has a BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts/Tufts University. He fell in love with cameras at age 14 and has been behind them ever since. His photography has been widely exhibited in the U.S. and abroad, and he has been the recipient of numerous awards. Draskoczy was recently named a Photolucida Critical Mass finalist and his work has been featured in the press by The New Yorker’s Photo Booth blog, Time Out, PDN, Gizmodo, Featureshoot, Hyperallergic, Brokelyn and many others. He currently works as a director, editor, and animator through his production company snow23, and is an avid rock and ice climber.
About Donna Miskend
Donna Miskend has a BA in Art History from NYU. She exhibits nature illustrations, fine art and photography throughout the U.S. Donna works in commercial design and illustration projects, and is currently writing and illustrating projects for children’s books. She has curated a number of recent illustration exhibitions, including Dragons & Magic (NYPL Jefferson Library), Aesop’s Fables (on-line), Dickens: A Celebration in Pictures, (Yonkers Riverfront Library and Poe Park Visitor Center), Mother Goose Re-Imagined (Flinn Gallery) and Master Storytellers (Poe Park Visitor Center).