Paul Fris
Willy Hartland
Akemi Takeda
Mary Westring
April 26 – June 9, 2019
Reception: Friday evening, April 26th from 6-9PM
Our NYC subway system is a constant source of entertainment and frustration. And directly effecting Figureworks in Williamsburg is the notorious L train, which has weathered years of upheaval and, most recently, a projected total closure for tunnel repair to Manhattan. Fortunately, that full closure has been averted so you can still use the L to come enjoy this subway-themed exhibition – TRANSITION, featuring four NYC artists uniquely inspired by our transit system.
World traveling photographer Paul Fris sensitively captures local customs and culture from around the globe. In a rare opportunity, he was able to create Tunnel Vision, a view into the depths of our NYC subway tunnels during construction and repairs. Quoting from graffiti found while shooting on site, he reflects on this series – “deep below with only two ways to go…”
Willy Hartland is a long time Williamsburg resident and multi-award winning animator. In 2016, Figureworks showcased the trailer and drawings for “New York City Sketchbook”- his most recent animated film. Extracting from this film, Hartland has created a short subway film that will be accompanied by his inspirational subway sketches. “Working from my sketchbooks, in a form of visual journalism, the film attempts to document the challenges that NewYorkers face with their hopes and desires as they negotiate the urban matrix of the city itself. I look for patterns of movement in the subway trains, ferries, taxis and pedestrians as they overlap and crisscross each other”.
The inspiration for Akemi Takeda’s ongoing subway series comes from defaced billboards seen along the subway platforms. In this work, her photographed images are heat transferred onto large sheets of paper and painstakingly expanded upon with colored pencil and graphite. Moving from Japan to New York City in 1976, she notes, “I find inspiration in found objects throughout the city, and these moments are where I find creative energy. It is this ‘found energy’ that characterizes my drawings and how the images interact with me and the life force that channels from, through and between them.”
In 2015, Figureworks showcased Mary Westring’s ongoing fascination with subway ridership. Working in multi-media, Westring created a series of etchings, oils and sculpture responding to rider interaction. Expanding on this body of work and relying on her masterful execution of the human hand, Westring has completed a 62” long oil painting of idle and busy hands observed on a crowded subway car. She says “Mass Transit, or rather, the transit of the masses. New Yorkers getting from one place to another. I observe them as they sit or stand, lost in thought, reading, listening to their ipods, eating, staring into space, oblivious to their fellow passengers, strangers who share a brief time of enforced intimacy. The subway, where all of us in our individuality become part of an anonymous whole.”
Figureworks is located at 168 North 6th St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211.
The gallery is open to the public Saturday and Sunday from 1-6 PM and is dedicated to exhibiting contemporary and 20th century fine art of the human form.
For more information please call 718-486-7021 or visit us online at www.figureworks.com
FIGUREWORKS
fine art of the human form
168 North 6th St. (1 block from Bedford Avenue “L” train)
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211
hours: Saturday and Sunday from 1-6PM
