For those who have had enough of the cold, might I suggest something that might break the chill? A room full of warm bodies huddled around looking at hot new art?
On Friday night LaFontsee Galleries in East Hills is premiering a fascinating new group show of artworks created this winter from their gallery artists and titled, aptly, Out of the Polar Vortex.
This fascinating new work is from artists who, like many of us, have been holed up more than usual because of the historic extreme cold and the impassible conditions it produced for many in our region.
And while time will tell if there is an emerging theme or new trend to the works created at the dawn of what feels like a new ice age, according to gallery owner Linda LaFontsee, "Many of our artists participating in the Out of the Polar Vortex exhibition have remarked to us that they had excessive amounts of time to work this winter."
In addition to this exhibition, which features more than 16 well-known names from the gallery like Kelly Allen, Michele Bosak, Christy Dehoog, Saul Grey-Hildebrand and James Karsina, it is a newcomer that has my attention: Detroit artist Tony Roko.
This is the first time his work has exhibited at the gallery and the gallery owners are most excited to welcome Roko from the East side of the state.
Roko's work is heavily influenced by his sparse and elegant rendering of the figure as layers of color, while heavy gestures of paint fill the works with equally layered emotion. In addition to this line of work will be another work that Roko created to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the assembly line, where the artist has worked for Ford Motor Company since he was 19.
If, after the Alfonse gallery reception, you feel like seeing more art on this night, be sure to wander over to the Linc Gallery in the Madison Square neighborhood for their new show, Design Chrome: A Showcase of Contemporary Design by Young Designers co-created by Josh McLeay and Hugo Claudin. Also opening on Friday night is the monthly Avenue for the Arts' First Friday open studio and gallery/store event.
Admission: Free
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