FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, June 5, 2012 Contact: Tamara Greenfield at tamara@fabnyc.org or call (212) 228-4670
Saints of the Lower East Side
June 5, 2012 – September 5, 2012
Works by Tom Sanford Curated by Keith Schweitzer & Presented by FABnyc Exhibition Location ArtUp Scaffolding Bridge, 70 East 4th Street Cultural Center Between Bowery and 2nd Avenue Artist Reception Tuesday, June 26 / 6:00-8:00PM @ FAB Café, 75 East 4th Street
The Saints of the Lower East Side by Tom Sanford
NEW YORK – Fourth Arts Block (FABnyc) presents “Saints of the Lower East Side” by artist Tom Sanford, the latest in a series of exhibitions produced through FABnyc’s ArtUp public art program. The outdoor exhibition features seven painted portraits mounted 14 feet above street level on a scaffolding bridge at the 70 East 4th Street Cultural Center. ArtUp is generously supported by the 70 East 4th Street Cultural Center, future home of Downtown Art and Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company. Project management services for this exhibition have been provided by Republic Worldwide.
This exhibition is Tom Sanford’s first outdoor public art project. The array of large gilded paintings are intended as an homage to the cultural icons who lived and worked on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. In the artist words, “These seven artists, along with many hundreds more, made the Lower East Side the crucible of the American avant-garde and a neighborhood that captivates my imagination as a New York artist.”
Tom Sanford is a Harlem-based artist whose work has been exhibited all around the world. His paintings, which range from historical works depicting celebrity assassinations to portraits of cultural icons such gangsta rappers and Mao Zedong to elaborate cosmologies weaved together from Hollywood movies, reflect a deep ambivalence about the American cultural condition. He is currently preparing for an exhibition of drawings that will open this New Years Eve at BravinLee Programs in the Chelsea district of New York City.
A reception for the artist will be held on June 26th, 2012 at 6pm at FAB Café. An indoor installation of artwork by Graham Preston, who worked closely with Sanford on the scaffolding bridge exhibition, will be presented inside of FAB Café during the reception. Both exhibitions will remain on view through September 5th, 2012. The indoor exhibition, entitled “Our Ladies of Grandeur”, consists of a series of paintings honoring the exploits, undertakings and legends of lost cultural heroines from the historical Five Points.
This exhibit is the latest in a series of temporary art installations in atypical locations in the Lower East Side through FABnyc’s ArtUp program, which is produced in collaboration with MaNY Project and directed by Keith Schweitzer. Through ArtUp, FABnyc seeks to reinvigorate underutilized spaces through public art and community partnerships. The exhibit is funded, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
FABnyc was founded in 2001 as the nonprofit leadership organization for the East 4th Street Cultural District, a historic and vibrant arts corridor in Manhattan between 2nd Avenue and Bowery. Now a neighborhood-wide coalition of arts and community groups, FABnyc drives community and economic development, while also preserving the Lower East Side’s rich heritage and creative energy.
MaNY Project produces outdoor murals and public art exhibitions to enhance NYC’s visual landscape through community engaging work.