By Sherry Sung
The Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts has opened its third, two-month biennial art exhibit of works by 16 members of the organization at Flushing Town Hall.
The 99 works of art at the exhibit, held at 137-35 Northern Blvd. in Flushing until April 1, includes paintings, drawings, photographs, prints, and sculptures from multiple artists such as Hilde Sigal, Natalia Tamayo, Fred Adell, and Zhu Wei.
“I like the way it's set up,” said Domenick Affatato, a visitor to the gallery.
The contents inside the wooden display of Hilde Sigal's “Belongings” ranges from furred animal paws to an infant sock to metal collar bells to antique plates. The artist's “Self Portrait Seven Times,” on the other hand, is an oil painting, designed with a black angora frame, depicting seven different facial expressions of a person.
“I think what she has shown here is magnificent,” said Marion Netter, a retired art teacher. “Her work has really blossomed forth. This is the best work I've seen.”
Jose Dario Rojas' paintings, all of which stand at a minimum of 65 x 41 inches, portray nude men. His black-and-white “Untitled” piece illustrates an unconscious male, bound with ropes across his face, flayed from head to toe. Rojas' colored oil painting “Espiritus” depicts a cowering naked man, using the right arm to cover his lowered head, as if protecting himself from harm.
Fred Adell's “Cheetah” is a colored sculpture of the animal, yellow with black spots, preparing to pounce on its next prey. The artist's “Black Panther Bust” shows the cat hissing, with four white fangs in plain view, while faint traces of blood are found on its teeth.
The three subjects in “Unamor,” one of Natalia Tamayo's etchings, contrast one another with its black-and-white setting. Dark colors are used on one side of the piece, as if hinting at despair and hopelessness, while sunlight is found spilling over a banister on the other side.
“Love Story (Folk Tales),” a set of black-and-white drawings by Zhu Wei, is rich with camouflaged images, seen through close observation, such as goats, a dancing couple, and a trumpet player.
“I would have to look very closely,” said Eleanor Nyilas, a friend of artist Sigal, “because from afar, I don't see them at all. There's content in it. It's very real, mysterious and mythical. I like it.”
“There's depth,” she said, referring to “Black and White Village Series,” another one of Wei's drawings. “There's so much illusion here that you can create images from them.”
“This is really, really tough work,” Nyilas added. “It's fascinating and magnificent.
“It tantalizes you, doesn't it?”
Reach reporter Sherry Sung by e-mail at timesledgr@aol.com, or call 229-0300, Ext. 139.
