Hello art lovers,

Plenty of exhibitions to see this weekend (and some open calls to submit to!)

Opening reception this Saturday: Small Works Show at 440 Gallery, curated by Arts Gowanus Executive Director Johnny Thornton!

November 17, 2022 - December 16, 2022
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 19, 4-6:00
Masks and social distancing required indoors.

440 Gallery celebrates small-scale creativity and innovation with The 18th Annual Small Works Show currently on display at the gallery. This national juried show, a collection of 85 works submitted by nearly 500 artists, is our annual way to acknowledge that size is irrelevant to awesomeness. Artwork qualified for selection as long as it measured no more than 12” in all dimensions, including framing and any digital media hardware required for display. Johnny Thornton, the 2022 juror, considered over 1,400 submissions ranging from traditional painting and sculpture, to photography and digital works of art.

The Small Works Show is a favorite annual event for gallery followers and art collectors alike. We are pleased to announce several awards that will be given to artists participating in the show. This year, the 440 Gallery Award, selected by the artist-members of the gallery, will be renamed the Jim Manwell Memorial Award, in memory of our dear friend and supporter Jim Manwell. The People’s Choice Award, voted on through social media, and the Juror’s Choice Award, selected by Johnny Thornton, will also be awarded.

On view at Established Gallery!

Established Gallery is pleased to present “Seeking the Sacred,” a solo show by artist Jon Bunge. The show runs from Friday, November 11th – December 4th with an opening reception on Friday, November 11th from 6:30-9pm.

Through his work, Bunge hopes to bring the global climate crisis to top of mind. Trees, which offer one solution to climate change with their abilities to capture carbon, produce oxygen, and cool the planet, are themselves in danger. 30% of the world’s tree species are currently at risk of extinction. Bunge’s practice aims to place the branches in a position of honor and reverence, and the works invite the viewer to appreciate trees and their beauty in greater depth.

“I love to inspect the twigs to see how they send forth new branches. I find the passages where the twigs divide to be beautiful; the new growth suggests hope for the future,” said Bunge.

The movement of the sculptures and the shadows they create also play important roles in the work. This exhibition will be dramatically lit to emphasize each piece’s unique shadow.

“I find the contrast between the sculpture and the shadows to be captivating, and the shadows to be mysterious. They are immaterial and ephemeral; with the flick of a switch, they are gone,” said Bunge.

On view at Sweet Lorraine!

Twinning Aufheben
Saturday, Nov 5th, 6 - 9pm

Lachlan Hinwood, Georgia Hourdas, Liu Kincheloe, Kalil Mitchell, Bonnie Morano, Ryan O’Malley, Noa Raviv, Mark Sengbusch, Vin Stracquadanio, Richard Tinkler, Kalina Winters and Jack Wood

Sweet Lorraine Gallery and Jack Arthur Wood are proud to present Twinning Aufheben, an exhibition of artworks that use symmetry to different ends. The exhibition opens on November 5th from 6pm until 9pm at Sweet Lorraine Gallery located at 183 Lorraine St. Brooklyn, NY, 11231.

Symmetry’s dualities are well represented everywhere you’d want to look. The German word aufheben, meaning to negate and preserve simultaneously, was often used by Hegel to describe dialectics. Symmetrical artwork obliterates the subject through doubling. The image being reproduced internally leads to a weird graphic totality. Limitation is implicit in the symmetrical form because two halves make the whole. The mirroring image becomes the subject and we must know if it is a perfect replica.

Symmetry becomes a space with a lot of room, where things can happen two times. Like Teletubbies, who always do everything twice, using symmetry is novel and mimetic. Symmetry also illustrates binary without difference, a precise doubling or twinning. When we assume two things to be the same it creates tension between the sides. Twinning, especially in our society hell bent on individualism, produces an uncanny eeriness. Hence the twins in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980) or Brian De Palma’s Sisters (1972), and finally Robert Altman’s Three Women (1977) which all employ twinning in different ways, as a sign of schism.

Symmetry can signify wholeness and division. The bisected center provides a gap, crossed over glancing back and forth, where momentum slips through, destabilizing or transcendent. In this exhibition artists count on both.

Two weeks left for teens to submit designs to Books Are Magic!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO AND TO DOWNLOAD THE TEMPLATE AND SUBMIT YOUR DESIGN!

Submit a t-shirt design to GreenThumb!

GreenThumb provides programming and material support to over 550 community gardens in New York City.

Submit up to three original designs based on the 2023 GreenThumb GrowTogether theme, Learning from the Land: Bounties of Wisdom from Community Garden by Friday, December 9, 2022! The winning artwork will appear on the 2023 GrowTogether t-shirts, worn by hundreds of gardeners all over the city. In addition to the 39th annual GreenThumb GrowTogether Conference, GreenThumb will be celebrating its 45th anniversary throughout 2023. The t-shirt will be shared with gardeners all season long.

Click here for guidelines and info on how to submit!

Please consider donating and helping us to continue our work!

Help us with our mission! Arts Gowanus works to support, promote, and advocate for artists and a sustainable local arts community. Please consider being part of the driving force that keeps artists in this community and helps them thrive. Whether you are an artist or art lover, your support makes possible professional development workshops for artists, exhibitions showcasing Gowanus artwork, the annual Gowanus Open Studios weekend, and ongoing advocacy for Gowanus and Gowanus artists.

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We need your help more urgently than ever to keep working artists in Gowanus. Help us develop a vibrant, sustainable arts community! Donate today. Arts Gowanus is an accredited 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions are 100% tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.

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Arts Gowanus is an accredited 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Contributions are 100% tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.

Please stay safe and healthy,
Arts Gowanus