Randall's Island Park Alliance Announces Flow.15 Art Exhibition Kickoff

NEW YORK - May 15, 2015 - PRLog -- On Saturday, May 30 the Randall’s Island Park Alliance, in cooperation with NYC Parks and The Bronx Museum of the Arts, will kickoff FLOW.15, an outdoor art exhibition open through November 2015 and aimed at fostering appreciation of the shoreline through artistic expression. This free public event encourages the entire community to enjoy FLOW – an annual installation of site-specific artworks along the southern waterfront by emerging artists from The Bronx Museum’s Artists in the Marketplace program.

The FLOW.15 pieces are designed to reflect the Island’s colorful history and unique natural environment. This year’s five artists will be in attendance on May 30 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. to discuss their works, inspiration and artistic process, and will offer interactive activities.

“We are so excited to collaborate once again with The Bronx Museum of the Arts to encourage the appreciation of art and the environment by visitors of all ages, and in the middle of one of the world’s greatest cities,” said Aimee Boden, Randall’s Island Park Alliance President.

This year’s exhibition, supported by Made Event, will be on view from May 30 through November, and features five intriguing installations including:

Nicholas Fraser: All Consuming comprises variations on city distance signs along the southern shoreline of Randall’s Island Park, with two critical deviations: the cities named are extinct and the texts are edible cakes of birdseed. As hungry wildlife consumes this birdseed, they transform legible characters into unidentifiable forms, resembling the ruins of cities uncovered by archaeologists; the sculpture is continually in flux, evoking the cyclical nature of cities.

Sharon Ma: hello welcomes Park visitors at the 103^rd Street Footbridge from Manhattan, highlighting the enthusiasm and warmth generated by this simple word. Planted with succulents, this vertical garden evokes familiar “Greetings from ...” postcards of a previous era, and calls upon us to create and share our own digital messages with Randall’s Island Park as background.

Rob Swainston: Who Owns the Sky? takes the form of a large-scale semi-transparent billboard along the southeastern shoreline of Randall’s Island Park, hand-printed with images of clouds inspired by historic woodcuts and engravings of sky motifs. These printed cloud patterns fall in and out of sync with the city’s firmament, and the viewer can observe their constantly shifting relation to cloud patterns both alongside the frame and behind the translucent fabric.

Rica Takashima: El Barrio Comes in All Colors, Shapes and Sizes blends Takashima’s manga aesthetic with Puerto Rican colors and motifs inspired by the artist’s exploration of East Harlem, just across the 103rd Street Footbridge from Randall’s Island Park. A central figure, surrounded by smaller talismans of her life, invites visitors to sit and gaze with her across the Harlem River and reflect upon her past, present and future in El Barrio.

David Wilson: Etherwave Architecture #1 is inspired by the transformation of Randall’s Island into a lush public park. Objects and materials normally associated with urban defensive architecture, such as wrought iron spiked guards and fences, function as an engineered Theremin, acting as antennas that control sound oscillators, directly and specifically inviting visitors to interact and explore production of a range of sounds.

“Randall’s Island is primarily known as a resource to youth, families, athletes, music fans and environmental advocates,” said Sergio Bessa, The Bronx Museum of the Arts’ Director of Curatorial and Educational Programs. “FLOW makes public art more accessible to all Randall’s Island visitors – especially residents of Manhattan, the Bronx and Queens, and we’re looking forward to continuing this popular exhibition.”

About the Randall’s Island Park Alliance: The Randall’s Island Park Alliance (RIPA), founded in 1992, is a public-private partnership with the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation that seeks to realize the unique potential of 480 waterfront parkland acres anchoring Manhattan, the Bronx and Queens.  RIPA works with the City and local communities to provide an innovative and exciting destination through a wide range of sports venues, cultural events and environmental exploration.  As the dedicated steward of Randall’s Island Park, the Alliance sustains, maintains, develops and programs the Park to sup­port the wellbeing of all New Yorkers. The Park offers miles of waterfront pathways, almost 9 acres of wetlands, a track and field stadium, a golf center, a 20-court tennis center and dozens of new playing fields, as well as the Harlem River Event Site.

About The Bronx Museum of the Arts: The Bronx Museum of the Arts is an internationally recognized cultural destination that presents innovative contemporary art exhibitions and education programs and is committed to promoting cross-cultural dialogues for diverse audiences. Since 1971, the Museum has played a vital role in the Bronx by helping to make art accessible to the entire community and connecting with local schools, artists, teens, and families through its robust education initiatives.

Additional Contacts: Meghan Lalor/NYC Parks
         (212) 360-1311
         meghan.lalor@parks.nyc.gov

         Emily Viemeister/Bronx Museum of the Arts
         (212) 561-5177
         Resnicow Associates
         eviemeister@resnicow.com