Just in time for Healthy Vision Month, Astoria Medical, Dental & LASIK Center proudly presents new work by local artist Rafael O. Gonzalez and his photographic exhibition “In & Out of Time,” which will be held May 10 at the Eleven-11 Lofts, located at 11-11 44th Road, Studio 402 in Long Island City. The show and cocktail reception begin at 7 p.m.
This is a unique way to bring the new Medical Center together with its community of artists in the Astoria and Long Island City area, while tying in the theme of healthy vision and how people “see.” As part of this event, a percentage of sales of art will be donated to a local charity which serves the blind and visually impaired.
Mr. Gonzalez' handmade, mostly large-scale, digital prints take on the grandeur of landscape impressionist paintings, bringing the viewer up close to what is beyond what the eye can see by stitching together multiple images to create a panoramic effect. The vibrant, surreal images play with space and time, perception and perspective. Bringing 360-degree views within one luminescent plane, the artist becomes a part of the scene as he constructs the sphere around him. Taken as a whole, “In & Out of Time” is meant to play off of the idea of travel, impermanence, the eternal quality of memory, yet the illusory nature of time, the desire to remember and to be remembered.
“Memory" and the desire "to go back" are recurring themes in Mr. Gonzalez' work. He returns to the same location, again and again, but this is beyond being nostalgic, reaching real reverence. And so with the wide-eyed, wonder and beautiful innocence of looking at something for the first time, these images unfurl. Each image is a piece of a greater mosaic that maps out a physical journey, crossing time zones, and also the internal landscape of memory, through a convergence of public and personal places and history. These images magnify in a way that creates intimacy in the rich detail of our world.
Rafael Octavio Gonzalez was born in Villavicencio, Meta, Colombia, raised in the Queensbridge area of Long Island City, and currently resides in East Elmhurst, Queens.
“We are proud to introduce Mr. Gonzalez' innovative artwork,” said Irfan Iqbal, President/CEO, AMDLC. “His creativity and his ability to give these photographic images a panoramic view is something that must be seen in person. These images not only introduce another world to those who will attend the showing, but they will show the importance of healthy vision, which we provide to our patients.”
For more information about the event, please contact Ann at (718) ZSTUDIO (978-8346) or email: Ann@Zoescopestudio.com. For more information about AMDLC, call (718) 873-9550 or visit www.astoriamed.com
About Astoria Medical, Dental & LASIK Center
The Astoria Medical, Dental & LASIK Center is a multipurpose center that serves the medical, dental, eye care and LASIK needs of residents from the New York metropolitan area all under one roof, while helping to bridge the gap in health services left by hospitals and medical centers in Queens County that have since closed its doors. The new 10,000- square-foot building features state-of-the art equipment and comprises of three main departments:
