By Stephen Stirling
Pao opened an exhibition of sculptures and paintings at Queens Crossing last week and was tapped by Michael Lee, chief executive officer of the F & T Group, to create a sculpture from one of those paintings to be a centerpiece in the plaza outside of the building. Lee selected a painting that depicts a golden circle with a group of people playing musical instruments inside it in front of a waterfall. Pao uses the circle as a centering point for much of his work. “Roundness is a dream, symbolizing harmony and completeness, as well as the universal and the thousand things. It represents a kind of will, providing people with peace and security. The circle provides development and growth; it goes east, west, south, and north in the four directions, leading to the infinite realm ahead,” Pao said in a statement. Pao said the sculpture will be formed out of stainless steel and be centered around two 8-foot tall circular pieces that will weigh upwards of 7,000 lbs. Pao said he hopes to use the money from his commissioned sculpture to go toward his next project, a film that he plans on making in Japan. He said he does not see commissioned work as a business deal, but rather a means of exchange that allows him to perpetuate a cycle of creating art and giving it back to the people. “The art and the culture should belong to the people,” Pao said. “I feel the money collected [from this project] should return to the people, so the money collected is going towards making the film. Then the film will be given back to the people. All the money goes to everyone.” Though the majority of the floors of Queens Crossing, located at 136-20 38th Ave., have been occupied for about a year, the finishing touches are still being placed on more than 110,000 square feet of retail space. Pao's sculpture will be unveiled as part of the grand opening ceremony, tentatively scheduled for late March or early April. Pao is most commonly known as the “penny artist,” a name he acquired after completing his “Penny for Peace” project, a hulking sculpture he created using one million pennies in 1997. The sculpture is now permanently on display at Hiroshima University in Japan. An exhibition of Pao's work is being held at Crossing Art, located at on the fourth floor of Queens Crossing, through Feb. 16. The gallery is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information on the exhibition, call 212-359-4333. Reach reporter Stephen Stirling by e-mail at Sstirling@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 138.
