Queens and the outer boroughs shine at this ongoing art exhibit in Manhattan.
The Lodge Gallery, located in Lower Manhattan at 131 Chrystie St., is showing “The Outer Boroughs: Brooklyn, Queens & The Bronx” until Dec. 17. An opening reception was held on Nov. 17.
Curated by Jason Patrick Voegele, the group exhibition features urban landscape paintings from artists Derek Buckner, Todd Gordon, Valeri Larko, Tun Myaing, Laura Shechter, Pamela Talese and John Wellington. The art on display speaks to “the blight of urban decline and the variant results of urban renewal,” according to a release.
Gordon, Myaing and Shechter each are featuring pieces that depict different areas of Queens.
Shechter, a cityscape artist, is currently focused on exploring the city’s graffiti and its relationship to local neighborhoods. While riding the subway and walking the city streets, she looks out for interesting sites, snaps a photo from a street or rooftop level and uses it as a reference for her paintings.
In the exhibit, Shechter has six paintings that give visitors glimpses of Forest Hills, Corona and Long Island City’s 5Pointz, a beloved outdoor art exhibit space that was whitewashed in 2013 and later demolished to make way for apartment buildings.
“I’m working the five boroughs of New York City looking for graffiti,” Shechter said. “And actually, the first time I really got excited about graffiti was in 5Pointz.”
The Brooklyn-based artist says the “Outer Boroughs” exhibit’s showcase of contemporary realist paintings makes it unique.
“The artists in this show are fantastic,” Shechter said. “This show is really extra special because it’s very high quality, and it holds together very well as an exhibit.”
Artist Todd Gordon is exhibiting a painting of the loading dock at the old 5Pointz in Long Island City, while Queens-based Tun Myaing features a series of paintings of the lesser-known interior basement levels of the former building.
“Many of the real locations represented in these paintings no longer exist or have been transformed by development or decline; others are represented as they can been seen today,” curator Jason Patrick Voegele said. “All together, we get a sense of the creative energies that endure over time here on the streets and up in the studios of New York.”
The gallery is open to the public Wednesday through Friday from 2 to 10 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 10 p.m. Visit the gallery’s website for more information.
