From September 12th to October 4th, Lucky Gallery will present “Peephole Mysteries” peephole installations by Hannah Kasper and a puppet-performance “ATTRACKTION” and art by STRINGS ATTACHED, a group of three artists, Suzan Choy, Diana Ho, and Jess Ruliffson.

Hannah Kasper

Kasper’s “Peephole Mysteries” is a series of small paintings within shoebox theaters. The viewer approaches the peephole on the gallery’s wall and finds a view into a miniature world. The scale of the paintings, which are on blocks of wood, recalls the miniature and childhood, but the scenes depicted are more sinister than nostalgic. One view will depict a scene from a murder mystery. Another will show a room devastated by a natural disaster. The limited access of the peephole encourages each viewer to become a voyeur who completes the picture and imagines the narrative.

“When looking at images of interiors, it is hard to avoid comparing them to real rooms we have known, or to project ourselves into them and imagine how we might feel in their environment,” says Kasper. “For me it is similar to the sense of escapism one encounters when absorbed in a film or novel. I find images of vacant rooms and objects that reflect on memory and absence intriguing because they create a stage for the viewer’s thoughts.”

ATTRACKTION

STRINGS ATTACHED, “ATTRACKTION” is rumination on the Missed Connections listing on Craiglist that follows three narratives of individuals through the New York City subway system, as they spot and track objects of their desire. Featuring the journeys of a wayfaring minstrel, an imaginative but shy woman, and a helpful purple monster, the show takes the audience with our puppets on a rainy day train ride.

Choy, Ho, and Ruliffson will also feature artwork in Lucky Gallery based on the narratives of their performance “ATTRACKTION”. Choy paints intimate portraits on small oval canvases that are simple and bold. Ho uses ink over coffee-stained doilies, because of its accidental nature, creates shapes that have potential to become meaningful imagery. The doilies serve as appropriate frames to these random occurrences of Missed Connections – decorative borders on cheap material, making something seemingly trivial appear to be more special. Ruliffson’s embroidered drawings are a natural fit for Missed Connections, in response to seeing a stranger and then taking note of them and how those details fit into an intimate picture. These details including personal objects are transformed into small appendages that become part of the person.

Exhibition Dates: September 12, 2009 – October 4, 2009
Peephole Mysteries, Hannah Kasper Opening Reception: September 12, 6-9 PM
“Build Your Own Shoebox Theater” Workshop, hosted by Hannah Kasper: September 20, 2-4 PM
Art Reception and ATTRACKTION, Strings Attached (Artists Suzan Choy, Diana Ho, and Jess Ruliffson): September 27, 3-6 PM

Suzan Choy

Suzan Choy (STRINGS ATTACHED)
Suzan Choy was born in the Midwest and raised on the East Coast. As a child she had an unconventional and nomadic life traveling from state to state. Now as an adult she is influenced by the exploration of whimsical figures traveling through surreal environments. She also draws inspiration with the art of pattern making, repetition, and story telling. Currently living and working in Brooklyn, New York where she is enjoying summer rains and crisp winters.

Diana Ho

Diana Ho (STRINGS ATTACHED)
While New York-based artist Diana Ho is perfectly harmless in person, her artwork has a much darker edge. She often blurs the line between seemingly dichotomous themes, producing a result that can be simultaneously disturbing and amusing. When she is not being a hermit in her studio, you may find her wandering to a puppet show while harmonizing with the song stuck in her head and reading the latest article on neuroscience.

Hannah Kasper
Hannah Kasper was born in New York in 1981. She received her MFA from Glasgow School of Art in Scotland and her BFA in Painting from Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia and Rome. Her dreamlike paintings of vacant interiors could be taken from the pages of a mystery novel or from scenes of a film after the actors have left the set.

Exhibitions include Artnews Projects in Berlin, Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam, EmergeD in Glasgow, GaleriBOX in Iceland, the Central Academy of Fine Art in Beijing, GE World Headquarters in Connecticut and Matter in Brooklyn. She was recently artist-in-residence at the Gil-Society in Akureyri, Iceland. Hannah’s studio is in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Jess Ruliffson

Jess Ruliffson (STRINGS ATTACHED)
Jess Ruliffson is a New York-based illustrator. Hailing from the deep south, she has a love for sweet tea and front porches. You can find her whistling on the sidewalks of Astoria, but most of the time she is drawing interesting things and making small messes in her studio, under the close supervision of her cat Pascal.

Lucky Gallery
Lucky Gallery is located at 176 Richards Street in the heart of Red Hook Brooklyn, New York. Lucky Gallery works with underrepresented and emerging artists looking for a venue to share creativity and ideas in a supportive environment. For information, please contact Laura Arena at laura@luckygallery.com.

Lucky Gallery Hours: Sat/Sun 1-6 and by appt. only
Lucky Gallery Address: Lucky Gallery, 176 Richards Street, Brooklyn, NY. 11231

Are you interested in participating in “Honey I Shrunk Red Hook” but can’t make it to the gallery to meet with the artists Luis Blackaller and Andy Cavatorta. Just follow these simple instructions and just maybe you will find yourself in the little Red Hook in the Big Red Hook at Lucky Gallery.

http://luckygallery.com/dolls.html

Brooklyn-area art gallery will feature an on-site installation and public art project by Luis Blackaller and Andy Cavatorta

From August 8 th to August 30th, Lucky Gallery will present an on-site installation and public art project with several associated community events, “Honey I Shrunk Red Hook”. This is a collaboration between Luis Blackaller and Andy Cavatorta, who aim to start a creative discussion about Red Hook, the inhabitants and folklore. The exhibition will function as a public action, interactive installation and participatory performance. This mission of this project is to bring together a diverse mix of members of the Red Hook community to use art and gallery space as communication devices.

“Red Hook has an air of mystery that I can’t find anywhere else in New York,” explains Blackaller. “It feels somewhat uncharted, perhaps separated as it is from the New York comprehensive subway network. When thinking about making art for Red Hook, I immediately feel like using this art as an excuse to get closer to the people in it, and learn about the place from them hopefully helping them learn from each other in the process.”

Blackaller and Cavatorta will create a cardboard model of the streets surrounding Lucky Gallery, and build a collection of photorealistic dolls representing Red Hook dwellers. Visitors to the Gallery will be encouraged to play with the dolls and have the option to have their own doll made. The familiar sites and people everybody knows will be the one’s in the imagination, giving visitors the chance to meet (or even be!) the familiar strangers all around them.

There are several events associated with “Honey I Shrunk Red Hook” exhibition including an opening reception on Saturday, August 8, from 6-10 PM, in Lucky Gallery. On Sunday, August 16, from 1-6 PM, a small living room set will be set up on the sidewalk in front of Lucky Gallery and people will be invited for interviews which will be video taped expressing their feelings and stories about Red Hook. A selection of the material collected will be shown during the closing event. On Saturday, August 29, from 6-10 PM, in Lucky Gallery there will be a closing reception in which a short film will be projected outside the gallery featuring highlights from the show, interviews and the photorealistic dolls of Red Hook inhabitants will be given to their rightful owners.

Luis Blackaller
Luis Blackaller is an artist from Mexico city with an interest in culture, technology and media. He graduated with honors as a Mathematician in the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He has worked as a Designer, Art Director and Motion Graphics Artist in the Mexican film industry for 10 years. He recently graduated with a Master of Science Degree at the MIT Media Lab under the mentorship of John Maeda, where he explored online creative social systems and their relationship with artistic expression and communication.

Andy Cavatorta
Andy Cavatorta can’t stop making things: robots, bikes, art, music, software and films. Sometimes the robots make more music, the software makes more art and the bikes shoot movies. He is currently developing musical robots and large-scale performances and installation with Ensemble Robot. Cavatorta is currently a graduate student at the MIT Media Lab.

Lucky Gallery
Lucky Gallery is located at 176 Richards Street in the heart of Red Hook Brooklyn, New York. Lucky Gallery works with underrepresented and emerging artists looking for a venue to share creativity and ideas in a supportive environment. For information, please contact Laura Arena at laura@luckygallery.com.

Exhibition Dates: August 8, 2009 – August 30, 2009
Opening Reception: August 8, 6-10 PM
Closing Reception: August 29, 6-10 PM
Gallery Hours: Sat/Sun 1-6 and by appt. only
Gallery Address: Lucky Gallery, 176 Richards Street, Brooklyn, NY. 11231

Ana Bogdanovic

Ana Bogdanovic is a young art historian from Belgrade, Serbia, with a thesis on the Visualisation of the Identity in German Romanticism and she has a diploma in the Art History on the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Belgrade, Serbia 2008. During this time, Ana also attended the Free University in Berlin, Germany and the Weimar Summer Academy, in Weimar, Germany. Ana is currently enrolled in the MA-Studies in Art History and the History of Image at the Art History Department of the Humboldt University in Berlin, soon becoming a student-assistant at the Department for East-European Art History at the same University.

Her field of research is early modern and modern West-European Art as well as the Perception and Identity of the Work of Art and the Relationship between the Beholder and the Work of Art.

In Spring 2010 Ana is doing an internship at the National Gallery in Berlin, but at the time looking forward to working in the Lucky Gallery in New York. Ana will be the assistant director at Lucky Gallery this summer.

Brooklyn-area art gallery will feature work by Daniel Madri, Crosby Hill, Danielle Bernstein, Ivy Glass, and Nicole Deponte

From July 11 to August 2nd, Lucky Gallery will present Art and Sustainability Exhibition, which will feature a collection of work by artists Daniel Madri, Crosby Hill, Danielle Bernstein, Ivy Glass, and Nicole Deponte. These featured artists focus on remedies for various ecological problems and provide alternative models of social responsibility through innovation, recycling, education and reinvestment in the environment.

“The artists featured in the gallery ask ‘how do we meet the challenges of trying to live a more sustainable life, and how can we transform our interaction with natural and man made resources in an urban environment?’” said Laura Arena, the director of Lucky Gallery. “These artists provide sustainable alternatives in art and life, through fashion, fine art, furniture design, film and gardening.”

The Art and Sustainability exhibit includes an on site installation, participatory activities, lectures, workshops, a film screening and many opportunities for dialogue in an effort to pose solutions to some of the biggest global challenges. Additionally, each artist will host their own Lucky Sunday event, an open house and a chance to meet and speak with the artist. Lucky Gallery invites you to the Art and Sustainability Exhibition to participate in the ever-more-pressing conversation about what it means to sustain our planet, our culture, and our creative enterprise.

Daniel Madri
Daniel Madri works as a carpenter and general contractor in Boston, MA. He makes furniture and assemblages out of the debris he finds on worksites. Madri assemblages that were inspired by the movie “Jaws” and furniture made by materials found on job sites will be on display. Madri will also host a Lucky Sunday event July 12, which will include a workshop and demonstration on alternative photo transfer techniques.

Crosby Hill
Crosby Hill works for Greensgrow Farm, a nationally recognized leader in urban farming located in Kensington, Philadelphia. The farm includes a nursery, a farmers market and a Community Supported Agriculture program. Hill will be building a NFT Hydroponic System in Lucky Gallery. NFT (nutrient film technique) Hydroponic Systems grow many crops, vegetative, or flowering in an ultra-resource efficient method. It is a viable method for small scale and indoor gardeners, which result in larger, healthier, fuller plants. Hill’s NFT Hydroponic System will be on display. Hill will host a Lucky Sunday event July 19 at Lucky Gallery, which will include a lecture and demonstration of the NFT Hydroponic System.

Danielle Bernstein
Danielle is a freelance filmmaker from Atlanta, Georgia. She attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and Tufts University. In 2006 she started the production company Clear Films and went on to co-direct, produce and shoot the award winning film ‘When Clouds Clear’, released in 2008. Clear Films is dedicated to helping filmmakers and artist complete projects that address social issues and strive to move audiences to action. Currently Danielle is working as an outreach strategist for three independent social issue documentaries. Her next directorial project, Bayview Hunters Point, will be completed in 2010. There is an outdoor screening of Bernstein’s film ‘When Clouds Clear’ on July 19th as part of the Art and Sustainability Exhibition – location to be announced.

Ivy Glass
Ivy Glass is Ivy Glass Ecouture, a green fashion company that makes of one-of-a-kind products from recycled fabrics and garments. Glass provides an edgy alternative for the fashion-minded woman, man or child who wants a unique garment or accessory with the added eco-conscious value. All garments are currently produced in Philadelphia. The Ivy Glass Ecouture collection will be featured at the Exhibition. Glass will host a Lucky Sunday event July 26th, which will include a trunk show.

Nicole Deponte
Nicole Deponte is a multi-talented artist and designer, creating one-of-a-kind accessories. In 2008, Deponte launched the lilian asterfield collection, redefining the tie with her flare for the vintage. You can find Deponte most days surrounded by buttons and ties, always accompanied by her beloved mutt, mon chere (a.k.a. monkey). The lilian asterfield collection will be on display. Deponte will host a Lucky Sunday event August 2nd, which include a trunk show.

Lucky Gallery
Lucky Gallery is located at 176 Richards Street in the heart of Red Hook Brooklyn, New York. Lucky Gallery works with underrepresented and emerging artists looking for a venue to share creativity and ideas in a supportive environment. For information, please contact Laura Arena at laura@luckygallery.com.

Exhibition Dates: July 11 – August 2, 2009
Gallery Hours: Sat/Sun 1-6 and by appt. only
Gallery Address: Lucky Gallery, 176 Richards Street, Brooklyn, NY. 11231