Public & Private Lives Converge in Urbanity

December 12, 2011 / Flushing / Art Exhibits in Queens / Queens Buzz. I visited the Crossing Art Gallery in Flushing Saturday for their opening of Personal.Spaces. The exhibit theme is about personal space in public places. An example of such is shown in the artwork to your right, where countless people are sharing public space, close enough to touch one another, but all living very separate lives. Living within their Personal.Spaces.

The Flushing art gallery did a nice job of dimensionalizing the theme through a number of different works from a multitude of artists, many of whom either work or live within the NYC area. Click here to view a brief report, including photos of the Personal.Spaces art exhibit at the Crossing Art Gallery in Flushing.

2007 Sea Odyssey Returns Home

New Age Love Seafarers Contemplating Next Mission

July 1, 2011 / Long Island City LIC Neighborhood / Art Exhibits / Queens Buzz. I just returned from one of the more interesting evenings I’ve had in quite a long while. The Flux Factory kicked off a summer long exploration of NYC waterways with an interactive slide show presentation by Sonanya Ahmed of Queens and Reid Stowe, who according to the Ripley's Believe It Or Not, holds the record for being the longest voyager to remain at sea without interruption.

Sonanya was at sea for 306 days and Reid stayed out upon the high seas for another 846 days [Reid was at sea a total of 1152 days]. They sailed the Atlantic, the Pacific and bodies of water in between, charting their journey via a GPS satellite, creating journey path art and other artworks along the way.

The journey bears similarity to the sort of isolated endurance and self sufficiency required to travel to and from the planet Mars. So imagine packing for a trip where you’re not going to go anywhere near land for three years, and you’re going to have to survive with what you bring and nature’s bounty.

Click here to read the rest of our story about the kick off event to the Flux Factory’s Sea Worthy summer in Queens NYC.

Tony Vaccaro WTC Photos In Astoria

September 30, 2011 / Astoria Neighborhood / Art Galleries In Queens / Queens Buzz. Tony Vaccaro, Life Magazine photographer, has a photography exhibit covering the birth, the life and the death of the twin towers of the World Trade Center on display at the Buzzeo Building in Astoria. I went to the opening and this is what I heard.

Tony got his start photographing the action of World War II as a young lad. His photos landed him a job at Life Magazine, providing him with opportunities to photograph famous people and places out of reach to most photographers. Tony photographed famous artists, such as Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollack, as well as famous architects, such as Frank Lloyd Wright and La Corbusier. His interest and work photographing people, art and architecture lead him more deeply into that world.

Click here to read the rest of our story about the exhibit and story as told by Tony Vaccaro through his photos of the twin towers of the World Trade Center covering the period from 1957 - 2001.

Queens Art Festival All Weekend

Queens Art Express Events This Weekend

June 15, 2011 / Astoria / Long Island City / Sunnyside & Woodside / Jackson Heights / Flushing / Art In Queens / Queens Buzz. I just returned from an evening at the Kick Off Party for this weekend’s art extravaganza entitled Queens Art Express [aka QAX]. The reception was held in the main lobby of Kaufman Astoria Studios and attracted a crowd that included people involved in theater, art, history, dance and business in Queens.

The photo to your left shows the lobby of Kaufman Astoria Studios during the Queens Art Express Kick Off Party. Click here to view our story and photos of the Queens Art Express Kick Off Party.

Queens International Art Exhibit 2009

Flushing / Queens Buzz. This a report and review of the fourth bi-annual Queens International Art Exhibit which opened at the Queens Museum Of Art in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in the Flushing / Corona neighborhoods of Queens NY.

Queens Museum Of Art

Reasons Clue

The Reason's Clue Art Exhibit opened at the Queens Museum Of Art in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in the Flushing / Corona neighborhoods in Queens NY. The exhibit features eight Chinese and Taiwanese artists who explore their own culture in today's world.

Queens Museum Of Art

Indian Arts Of The Diaspora

Flushing / Queens Buzz. This is a review of the Indian Arts Of The Diaspora Art Exhibit at the Queens Museum Of Art in the Flushing Meadows Corona Park in the Flushing / Corona neighborhoods of Queens NY. This exhibit is includes some forty Indian emigrant artists who delve into and express the influences of their multi-cultural lives.

Bulova Corporate Center

Queens Was Once On Bulova Time

The Bulova Watch Company & Building

Jackson Heights / Queens Buzz. We had occasion to visit the Bulova Corporate Center recently. The art deco Bulova Corporate Center building caught our interest because of its interesting architecture. And the history of the Bulova Watch Company, which has been a Queens mainstay since the 1950's, is as interesting as the building that was once home to an American icon.

Currently the building is occupied by the offices of a number of organizations including the Queens Chamber Of Commerce and American Airlines. The following piece is a history of the J. Bulova Watch Company and the building they once occupied: the Bulova Corporate Center. Click here to view our report on the Bulova Corporate Center in Jackson Heights. The photo at right was from one of the original murals of the Bulova Watch Company.

Art In JHAC Exhibit A Deal

JHAC Inspires Youth To Create

Metro Poles: Art In Action

Art Exhibit Resonates In Community

Jamaica / January 17, 2009. Metro Poles: Art In Action was a 'live exhibit' sponsored by JCAL and other city art cultural organizations. The exhibit was the brainchild of Heng-Gil, the artistic director [check both name and title for final draft] of JCAL.

We made three visits to this exhibit in an effort to better understand it, as when we first covered the story it was a bit unclear as to exactly what the idea was and how the artists would develop it. It turned out to be something of an experience for us and in the end we became a part of the exhibit itself.

Click here to read the rest of the story, including many more photos of Metro Poles: Art In Action at JCAL in Jamaica Queens.

Jamaica Center For Arts & Learning

Jamaica NY / Queens Buzz. The Jamaica Center For Arts & Learning, also known as JCAL, is a community cultural center that has been serving the Jamaica community for nearly forty years. The center offers classes and performances to help educate children and foster appreciation for the arts and learning.

Space Womb Births New Talent

Color & Gray Exhibit Open Through Friday

July 16, 2011 / Long Island City Neighborhood / Art Galleries / Queens Buzz. I attended the opening reception of a new photography exhibit at the Space Womb gallery in Long Island City. Space Womb opened a couple of years ago on Jackson Avenue on the street level of the 5 Pointz building located across from PS1 Moma.

The exhibit featured nine artists, seven of whom immigrated from Korea. This lent an Asian accent to the opening and provided a different lens through which one could experience NYC through art photography, as many of the photos shown in the exhibit were taken in the NYC metro area.

The exhibit was entitled Color & Gray and was curated by Ung-Jib Park. I had opportunity to meet and converse with Ung-Jib, as well as Jongwang Lee the Space Womb gallery manager, and eight of the nine photographic artists, about their works.

Click here this weekend to read our report and view photos of the Color & Gray photography exhibit at Space Womb in LIC.

Free Things To Do In Queens

Free Movies, Films & Theater In Queens

Queens NY / August 19, 2011. This report includes a list of some of the free things to do in Queens this summer. 

Click here to view a listing of the dates and times of free movies, free films and free theater in Queens Parks 2011.

Queens Art Museums & Galleries

Art Exhibits In Queens Museums

This story provides information regarding Queens art exhibits, art events, art galleries and museums in the Queens neighborhoods of Long Island City, Flushing, Astoria and Jamaica. All for the summer season of 2009.

Queens Art Express 2009

This story contains information about the Queens Art Express which is a program sponsored by the Queens Council Of The Arts. Queens Art Express events have been planned in Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside, Jackson Heights, Flushing, Corona.

Queen Of Angels Art Fair

Sunnyside Fair Becoming Established Art Sales Venue

June 18, 2011 / Sunnyside / Art Exhibits / Queens Buzz. It was a warm sunny afternoon in Sunnyside as I made my way down to the Queen Of Angels Church to view the work of about 30 artists. I went late in the afternoon, as last year there was a large crowd at the opening [after Sunday mass], and the numbers didn’t taper off until the end of the afternoon.

This art fair, like a fine wine, continues to evolve. The fair includes exhibitors from the Sunnyside, Woodside and other Queens neighborhoods, as well as from Brooklyn. The artwork on display is for sale, making it interactive so-to-speak, and it seemed like there was a fair amount of sales this year, although I can’t tell whether it’s because I know the artists better [and they feel more comfortable telling me such things] or because they sold more. In any case it’s for a good cause, as some of the proceeds also go toward the Queen of Angels Church. The eye shown in the photo to your left is the work of Casey Concelmo.

Later today click here to read more about and view photos of the Queen Of Angels Art Fair in Sunnyside.

Queens Of Angels Art Fair - Sunnyside

June 13, 2010 / Sunnyside / QueensBuzz. I just returned from a very diverse and interesting Queen Of Angels Art Fair in Sunnyside. This is the year it seems everything went rather well, with the exception of a few warm raindrops near the end of the day.

I enjoyed the show a bit more this year because they opened up the room so that one could see across the entire room from any angle. This not only helped ventillate the show but also provided for a more interesting experience in terms of crowd watching, while enabling one to view the art from many different angles. And food and wine were served, like on my last visit, adding to the overall art and dining experience.

Click here to read our full report, including dozens of photos, of the Queens Of Angels Art Fair 2010 / Show in Sunnyside.