Surface 7 opens at ARENA at Brooklyn Dermatology – 440 Atlantic Ave., Brooklyn
Surface 7: Jennifer Deppe Parker, Mayuko Fujino, Katherine Mojzsis, Marcy Sperry and Melissa Staiger is the seventh in a series of exhibitions curated by Renée Riccardo at a contemporary art gallery that she has developed within a dermatology space called ARENA at Brooklyn Dermatology. There will be a reception for the public Friday, September 28th from 6 – 8 p.m. and the exhibition will be on view to the public for the next four months and a half months. Riccardo is continuing the mission of presenting new work by emerging artists that she had developed in her previous gallery, ARENA. This is one of the many unique venues that Riccardo has presented contemporary art exhibitions in over the years.
Melissa Staiger will present a large group of paintings in Surface 7. She states, “In 2013, I was nominated to attend the Robert Rauschenberg Artist Residency. The staff graciously took us to the massive metal scrap yard where Rauschenberg would find materials for his works. I started playing with scraps that I hadn’t thought of using before. A green metal piece became a major key player in my understanding on how found objects can give the surface of a painting so much 3D texture. This put me on a path of creating many assemblages with various materials.
All of these experiences I took back to the studio and my work. Combining physical objects with paint adds another dimension to my art. From the most expensive tubes of paint to a broken tile found on the floor, both hold an energy and vibration of color. I carefully arrange objects, shapes, lines, and colors. I pay attention to the relationships, patterns, and shifts of movement. I arrange them in my works and play around with it. I need time to immerse, experiment, listen, and draw in my sketchbook to push my work further. In this creative process, I control what I produce and can deem myself authentic as the creator. In my creative process, circles, mark making, collage, painting, assemblage, and texturizing are taking me to a path of color, structure, and layering. I love the hard edge, and making marks and using color as the structure in my work opens up a glimpse of understanding that I crave within my inner self. When I am able to use my entire body and make sweeping marks on the floor, I am reaching for a composition to form. Then suddenly, the work feels right and then I have a moment of accomplishment right before I release it into the world.”
Staiger has exhibited internationally with several solo exhibitions including Kent Place Gallery, Summit, NJ (currently on view), Trestle Projects, Brooklyn, NY and Janet Kurnatowski, Brooklyn, NY. Her work has also been featured in group exhibitions including Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY, Articulate Gallery, Australia, Cuchifritos Gallery, NYC, Schema Projects, Brooklyn, 500X Gallery, Dallas, TX, Momenta Art, Brooklyn, NY and The Bruce High Quality Foundation, NYC. She has been awarded several residencies including The Robert Rauschenberg Artist Residency, Captiva, FL, The Puffin Foundation Artist Grant, Teaneck, NJ and The Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY. She lives and works in Brooklyn.
Brooklyn Dermatology was started in 2005 by Dr. Sourab Choudhury. It is dedicated to world class dermatology in a modern friendly environment. The practice now consists of multiple dermatologists and physician assistants who handle all facets of dermatology including adult, pediatric and cosmetic dermatology. Brooklyn Dermatology has recently moved to a brand new facility to accommodate the growth of the practice to this location. The new office, located on the ground floor and lower level of 440 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn was designed by Paul Bennett Architects.
Renée Riccardo is an independent curator. She was an adjunct curator at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center in New York from 1987 to 1988 and independently organized shows of postmodernist photography from 1985 through 1990, including the traveling exhibition Acceptable Entertainment for Independent Curators Inc. In 1991 she opened ARENA, a gallery dedicated to emerging artists working in all media, and in 1996 and 1997 she co-organized with John Good The Art Exchange Show, an New York art fair that focused on new art, music and performance that took place in two abandoned Wall Street office buildings. Riccardo continued her gallery, ARENA through 2004, having it sited in Soho, Cobble Hill, Williamsburg, and Chelsea at various times launching many artists very early in their careers such as Joanne Greenbaum, Rachel Harrison, Beom Kim, Fabian Marcaccio, Jason Middlebrook, Marilyn Minter, Vik Muniz, Wangechi Mutu, Mickalene Thomas and Kehinde Wiley among dozens of other now well known artists. In 2004 she established ARENA Projects, a roving curatorial and consulting entity. She has since curated dozens of exhibitions including a series entitled, Wrap Around at ARENA@Suite 806, a gallery within her therapist, Lee Shapiro, Psy.D.'s office at 89 Fifth Avenue, NYC. In June 2017, Riccardo and Paul Laster curated the exhibition, Maker, Maker at the CMA (Children’s Museum of the Arts), NYC.
For further information regarding Surface 7 please contact Renée Riccardo at [email protected] or call 646 734 2261. ARENA / Brooklyn Dermatology is open to the public Monday - Saturday at 440 Atlantic Ave., (between Bond and Nevins Streets in beautiful Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. Directions: Take the G, A, or C to Hoyt-Schermerhorn, the 2, 3, 4 or 5 to Nevins St., B, D, Q or R to Atlantic Ave. - Barclays Center.