UPCYCLING

Upcycling refers to works of art that utilize materials that might normally be discarded. The upcycled works in this exhibit are filled with the artists’ passionate desire to reveal beauty and meaning in that which is usually seen as worthless and useless. Altarescu utilizes cardboard, playing with revealing of the corrugation as a counterpoint to the pieces that are left flat or hanging. Mitchell uses fabric and natural materials such as pine needles along with oil paint. Through their work both artists express their appreciation of objects that might not be considered fine art materials. 

www.stevenaltarescu.com
www.marilynmitchell.net

Steven Altarescu

I work with the medium of cardboard to create abstract three dimensional forms. Cardboard is utilitarian, mundane, ephemeral and impermanent. It can be manipulated into multiple shapes unencumbered by rules or pre-destined patterns. Each piece demonstrates how an object that is usually discarded into waste can be reimagined and transformed into a piece of art. What is full of scars has beauty within. I seek to reclaim this mundane symbol as our desire for wholeness, to feel the fullness of life, of bringing the transcendent divinity down to earth so we can feel a sacred presence in our grounded lives. The Asherot stand proudly announcing their presence, inspiring us to feel the power of embracing, expressing and sharing all parts of ourselves. The torn corrugated cardboard carries a powerful contradiction. Cardboard is humble, disposable, associated with protection and precarity, yet here it’s layered, armored, and made monumental. That tension gives the work emotional weight.

As I work the cardboard I feel a deep connection with the way the form is evolving, as if I am being re-formed along with it. The result is an enduring entity that occupies space with emotion and expression, that hides and reveals, holds darkness and still shines.  The interplay of the interior corrugation and outer surface provides a conversation between what is hidden and what is revealed. I soften the cardboard with water, fold and roll the edges, and push and pull at the form to allow it to flow in waves. The cardboard is cut from its original square or rectangle into a more sensual shape. Sections of the outer covering are stripped to reveal areas of corrugation, and some are left intact or hang freely. The cardboard is left natural, or colored with acrylic or wood stain. I allow the work to stay wild and imperfect, naked, damaged and chaotic. I want each piece to exist as scarred, imperfect and beautiful. 

The works that stand on the floor are inspired by the ancient Israelite practice of creating sacred posts (Asherot in Hebrew) that were regarded as offering protection and abundance. The Asherot were also referred to as the feminine consort of God. Approximately 2500 - 3000 years ago they were an integral part of Israelite religious life. Making these from cardboard grounds them to their original creation from trees. They appear to rise organically from the earth and at the same time feel other worldly. My hope is that as one gazes on these Asherot they begin to feel a connection to all that is both fragile and divine in our earthly bodily existence.

My work with cardboard is informed by my experience as a psychological counselor, rabbi and chaplain. I was privileged to be with people at their most difficult and intimate moments and to see how life’s inevitable confrontation with pain, loss and grief exist side-by-side with love, compassion, beauty and the desire to connect with the sacred within oneself and the divinity that surrounds us.

Bio

Steven Altarescu is a painter and sculptor working primarily with discarded cardboard. His prior careers include: psychological counselor, business executive, rabbi and chaplain. Through his own life experiences and his work with children and families Steven has seen that within every life there is loss, grief, pain and suffering while at the same time there exists beauty, love and a desire for connection. Steven’s goal is to express life’s traumas, wonders and beauty through his art. Much of his craft has been honed at the Art Students League in Manhattan where Altarescu has been attending classes for the last twenty years. His works have been exhibited at the Phyllis Harriman Gallery at the Art Students League, the Croton Artisans Gallery, the Garrison Art Center, and Beacon Open Studios. Steven lives in Garrison, New York.

Marilyn Mitchell

Marilyn Mitchell’s paintings are from a series titled, “An Exhortation to Passion”. The works include the words, ‘Love something’ as an expression of the importance of having a passion in one’s life for creative living. The works include found objects such as rusty nails, feathers, wire and sticks along with oil paint and fabric. Our lives reflect our passions, how we create our priorities and what we do is our responsibility. In these works the word Love is emphasized, and the word something is de-emphasized or not present.

Bio

Marilyn Mitchell is an internationally exhibited, award winning artist born in Queens, N.Y. She studied art at SUNY New Paltz, received a BS in Nursing from SUNY Stony Brook and a MAS in Health Law from UCSD/CWSL. She studied painting in LA with Martin Lubner and printmaking with Don Emery at Santa Monica City College. She worked part-time in Women’s Healthcare for many years in San Diego and eventually worked as a Nurse Ethicist for the VA in NYC while maintaining her art practice. She retired from the VA during the Covid pandemic and lives in the Hudson Valley.

Judy Lilleston

I am a metal sculptor whose work is comprised of distressed, found , and new metal elements. My work focuses on the exploration of shape, movement, volume, light, shadow and color. Some of the materials for the suspended work include perforated, pliable metal strips, metal wire and acrylic spray paint. I am inspired by different types of metals, which will determine whether the work will extend outward from the wall or be suspended. Materials for the wall-hung reliefs are rusted metals with an occasional variety of color, which are then bent, cut and sized.  The metal strips are spray-painted then cut, bent, crumpled and composed to emphasize shape, line and movement. The wires are then “sewn” through the perforated strips to hold them in place. The negative space is as important as the composition itself. Recently, my work has been focused on found rusted metals which are hung as suspended work. Similar to the work which is extended outward from the wall, these elements are “sewn” together with wire, and painted with acrylic paint to match the color of the metal.

Bio 

Judy Lilleston is a metal sculptor whose work is comprised of both distressed, found, and new metal elements. Professionally, Judy trained as a sociologist and taught in a small college in White Plains. Later she turned to the administrative side of education and was appointed a Dean of the same college. Judy retired several years ago, and upon doing so she enrolled at The Arts Students League in New York City. After a year of Mixed Media classes, Judy discovered a passion for working with found as well as new metals. She unearthed her found metals from dumpsters, construction sites for businesses and housing and a variety of garbage facilities in New York and Massachusetts. She continues to be a full-time student at The Arts Students League. Judy’s work has been shown in group shows at: The Blue Door Art Center, Yonkers, New York, The Arts Students League, New York, New York and The Becket Art Center, Becket, Massachusetts. She received a first prize award at the Student Salon Exhibit at The Arts Students League, Spring 2021.