“Dreamer” Gregory St. Armand, Mixed media, acrylics, inks, alkyd 58”x63″ 2013
“Dreamers”, the first in an ongoing series of quarterly exhibitions produced in collaboration with Harlem Properties, is dedicated to celebrating the artistic spirit of Harlem.
“Dreamers” explores the dichotomy between harmony and cacphony, joy and sadness, love and loss. In curating this particular exhibition Art in FLUX founder, Leanne Stella, has chosen works that demonstrate a creative tension in their themes, narratives, and materials. Featuring paintings, photography and sculpture the exhibition epitomizes Harlem’s creative multi-media art scene.
Opening Reception: Wednesday, March 16, 6-9pm
Exhibition: March 16 – May 31, 2016
Location: Harlem Properties, 163 Lenox Avenue, New York
Featured Artists: Gregory Saint Amand, Jordan Baker-Caldwell, Michael Kelly Williams, Ming Smith, Roddy Wildeman, Stan Squirewell, and Stefano Di Cicco
RSVP
Ming Smith is known for her informal, in-action portraits of black cultural figures, from Alvin Ailey to Nina Simone and a wide range of jazz musicians. Her work was included in the Museum of Modern Art’s 2010 groundbreaking exhibition, “Pictures by Women: A History of Modern Photography”. She produces complicated and elaborate images in the developing and post-printing processes. Through experimentation with paint and hand-tinting, Ming continues to expand the role of photography. Her photography is held in collections in the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York; the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum & Center for African American History and Culture, Washington, DC and the AT&T Corporation.
Gregory Saint Amand was born in New York, but raised in Haiti from age one to his early teens when he returned to the US to live again with his mother. While in Haiti he lived with his grandparents who affectionately called him GOGO which has also become his brand.
Gregory works in multiple mediums, including inks, acrylics, charcoal, pen and markers, painting on canvas, wood and even cardboard. Hr juxtaposes figurative and abstract imagery, infusing meaning through complex layering with a diverse assortment of cultural icons. Gregory is a graduate of Cooper Union. His work has been exhibited in Scope Miami 2015 with Castle Fitzjohns Gallery and is held in private and corporate collections including the Red Alder Hedge Fund.
Stan Squirewell, a Washington, D.C. native, currently lives and works in New York City. A graduate of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and an MFA recipient at the Hoffberger School of Painting, he has studied with Michael Platt, Lou Stovall and Grace Hartigan. A painter, photographer, installation and performance artist, Stan is the first winner of the Rush Philanthropic and Bombay Sapphire Artisan series. He has performed with Nick Cave (“Sound Suits”) at the National Portrait Gallery and with Jefferson Pinder with G-Fine Arts. Privately and publicly collected, Stan’s works are in the Reginald Lewis Museum and the Robert Steel Collection, and have recently been acquired by the Smithsonian for the African American Museum (2015). This May Stan will present a “The Odyssey” in Marcus Garvey Park for the May 2016 FLUX Art Fair Public Art Projects.
Jordan Baker-Caldwell was born and raised in New York. He attended Alfred University, where he received his BFA in 2005. A sculptor, working in metals such as steel, bronze and found materials, Jordan’s work explores the usage of shapes, symbols and iconography, bringing together contemporary cultural references and classical ideals of form and balance. His current works are a mixture of figurative and organic forms juxtaposed with modern, neo-cubic abstraction. This year his 9-ft tall steel sculpture, “Ascension” will become a permanent installation in Midtown Manhattan’s new development, Hudson Yards. In May he will present a public work, “Golem” on the East Side of Marcus Garvey Park near 123rd Street as part of the FLUX Art Fair Public Art Projects.
Artist and art educator Michael Kelly Williams works in a variety of media, including painting, printmaking, sculpture and mixed-media. Born in France, he grew up in Detroit, MI and later came to New York to study and live. He has been Artist-in-Residence at The Studio Museum in Harlem, obtained an MFA in Sculpture from Brooklyn College, and has been, for many years, an educator with the NYC Department of Education. Michael has been commissioned for various permanent installations, including two mosaic murals located at the Intervale Subway Station (2/5) in the Bronx as well as several glass murals in P.S. 82 Hammond School in Queens. Michael will present a public work, “Liturgy for Lenox Lounge” on Lenox Avenue and 124th Street for the May 2016 FLUX Art Fair Public Art Projects.
Stefano Di Cicco was born in Italy and moved to New York in 1998. He studied and worked at the Academy of Rome and obtained an apprenticeship with one of his professors who encouraged Stefano’s interest in classical art and leaning towards abstraction. In 1990 he joined a residency at the Academy “Casa mia, casa tua,” that had a profound impact on his art career. Stefano’s proclivities lean towards primitive art, cave paintings, African art and masters like Dubuffet, Burri and Twombly. These influences are seen in his abstract paintings, where he explores the subtle realms of territorial confusion and human contact through simple gestures. In 1990 Stefano earned 1st place in the “The Book of Signs” competition at the International School of Rotterdam, and in 1998 he earned his first solo show at the Puck Building, New York City.
Roddy Wildeman honed his unique wood-working style from his years supporting himself and his daughter as a carpenter. His “Composite Memory” pieces are created from pieces of discarded wood that he assembles into starburst and pyramid shaped compositions. Roddy’s work hangs on the walls of the Rockefeller family private offices and has been donated to support numerous charities, including the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, The Sarcoma Foundation of America and the Kawangware Children’s Center, Kenya. Roddy is an entrepreneur and owns several businesses including Torché Galerie (Belmar, NJ), Torché Galerié at Senses (New York, NY), and Sculpture on the Water (WHERE); he is also director and officer of US+U (Urban Studio Unbound) a non-profit organization based out of New York.
