By James DeWeese
Jaime Arredondo, a Texas transplant who donated artworks to a fund-raiser for the Sunnyside-based community center in October, will turn over 20 percent of the profits from limited-edition botanical prints sold between March 15 and May 15, said Sue Fox, associate executive director of communications for the center.Fox said the prints, available for purchase on the artist's Web site, www.jaimearredondo.com, would make great gifts for special occasions. “We've talked about Mother's Day and Easter,” Fox said. “Give a permanent flower instead of one that will go away.”The prints, created with a special pigment-based archival process known as Giclee, come in limited series of 200. Giclee prints , printed on archival paper or canvass, are long-lasting and reflect vibrant detail and color.Fox said Arredondo's prints “deal with the sensual aspects of nature and with hope, love and remembrance.”Arredondo moved to New York in 1989 after completing a master in fine arts and painting from Yale University, Fox said. Today, the Hispanic artist best known for his oversized paintings of flowers making use of vibrant color and light, teaches art at New York University and New School University.Arredondo's new commitment comes on the heals of another donation he made to the Sunnyside Community Service's 30th anniversary celebration fund-raiser. Benefits from the auction, which was sponsored by Citibank, Consolidated Edison and Dial-a-Mattress, helped finance major improvements at the agency, which since 1974 has provided health, educational and recreational programs to more than 12,500 children, teenagers, adults and seniors in Western Queens.More than 35 Queens-based artists contributed work to the anniversary art auction, Fox said.”I focused on Queens and the tremendous diversity of the area,” Fox said of helping to put together the event.Arrendondo's ongoing commitment to Sunnyside Community Services' capital improvement projects has earned him a special place in the center's heart, Fox said.”I just feel delighted when I have the chance to promote any of the artists, but some of them are special and he was special,” Fox said of Arredondo.Capital improvements planned for the 39th Street facility include renovations in the main building, a modernized senior center, a youth center with meeting rooms for college and financial aid counseling and a family computer center.Reach reporter James DeWeese by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 157.
