2005 Arsenal Gallery Exhibits

December 12, 2005 - January 4, 2006

23rd Annual Wreath Exhibition

Parks celebrates the onset of winter with an exhibition of nontraditional wreaths made by artists and other creative spirits. Wreaths from past exhibitions have been formed of unusual materials, including glass, plants, metals, plaster casts, papier maché, origami, wrought iron, model trains, and a life preserver.

Image, Top: Molly Sullivan, Untitled, found twigs, paper, glue

Bottom: Beryl Brenner, Untitled, glass and glass jewels

November 2 - December 7, 2005

Out of Fire and Valor: War Memorials in New York City Parks

This exhibition is based on the text and photographs of Cal Snyder, which will be published this November in a book by Bunker Hill Press called Out of Fire and Valor: War Memorials in New York City Parks.

Mr. Snyder's documentation includes the large number of monuments in New York City parks, from the Revolutionary War to the present era. The author examines the circumstances of their creation and each monument's historical, social and artistic meaning.

"Our grand civic monuments are meant to speak for the life of the city and the nation, or to evoke as the doughboys and angels do the spirit of their time and place," he says. "Our memorials are a remarkable artistic and cultural inheritance, ranging from works of formal art to the most humble tablet. Numbering in the hundreds, these works take us to distant times; they tell of the city's cultural history and how the remembrance of war reflected its ideas and memorial arts."

Image, Top: Angel of Death – Prospect Park Memorial

Image, Bottom: Washington at Valley Forge – Continental Army Plaza

September 21 - October 26, 2005

Rooftop Brooklyn

Rooftop Brooklyn features Travis Roozée's photographs of pigeon keeper "Big Mike" Alieca and his rooftop coop in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn. The exhibition documents the activities of the dwindling but vibrant tradition of urban pigeon keepers, focusing on Mike's handling of the birds, changes of light in the city sky, and the surprising beauty of pigeons, both individually and as a flock. Roozée, a Brooklyn-based photographer, spent three years with his subjects, establishing the trust of Big Mike and learning everything from the basics of pigeon keeping to the nuances of flying tactics and even pigeon psychology.

"The roof is an urban refuge from what goes on below," says the artist. "The cadence of fluttering and cooing pigeons is a welcome relief from the noise of the city. Uninterrupted views of open sky and distant horizons dotted with public housing towers and tiny Manhattan skyscrapers are unique views of New York that most people will never see."

Image, Top: © Travis Roozée

Image, Bottom: © Travis Roozée, Landing

July 26 - September 9, 2005

Painting the Town Green: The Growth of New York City's Parks

In recent years the City of New York Parks Department has greatly expanded the parks, coastal areas, open air and green spaces available to New Yorkers. In every borough new projects aim to increase park acreage, revitalize old sites, improve the ecology and encourage wildlife habitats, plant more trees on the streets, and transform derelict industrial areas into parks.

This exhibition will explore a sampling of current projects, illustrated by maps, site plans, renderings and photography.

Image, Top: Section of plan for Concrete Plant Park, the Bronx

Image, Bottom: Canoeing past Concrete Plant Park (courtesy of the Bronx River Alliance)

June 8 - July 20, 2005

Queens County Parks: Photographs by Paul Anthony Melhado

Melhado's black and white portraits of thirty-two Queens parks illustrate the diversity and beauty of the borough's natural landscape. Queens boasts some of the largest and most spectacular parks in the city and Melhado spent five years photographing them.

"There are few places in New York where the connection between people and nature is more intertwined than here in this great county of Queens," said the artist. Originally from Jamaica, West Indies, Melhado moved to Queens at age 15, and he has called the borough home ever since.

Image, Top: Kissena Park, 1998, Silver gelatin print © Paul Anthony Melhado

Image, Bottom: Oakland Lake, 1998, Silver gelatin print © Paul Anthony Melhado

January 31 - February 25, 2005

Family Matters
Various Parks employees, retirees, and center members

In celebration of Black History Month, the Arsenal Gallery is pleased to present "Family Matters," an exhibition of over forty artworks by Parks & Recreation employees, retirees, and senior members at recreation centers throughout the City. The exhibition features paintings, drawings, collage, quilts and fiber arts, ceramics, and photographs. The exhibition is curated by Lin Ying Goodson and organized by Parks & Recreation's Ebony Society Black History Committee.

Image, Top: Sunset Park Recreation Center Quilting Class Group Sampler Quilt

Image, Bottom: RON D.M.C., acrylic airbrush painting by Abdul Khaaliq, volunteer artist and muralist at Brownsville Recreation Center.

Related Information
Black History Month Celebration: New York City Parks Sculptures Honoring the African-American Experience

Photos are available for publication - please contact (212) 360-3311.

Artists of Québec

Micheline Chabot, Paule B. Chaumette, Reine Deveault, Bernard Doucet, Henri Gerardin, Guy Paquet, Hélène Saint-Arnaud, and Benoît Simard

The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation and Québec Government House in New York present Artists of Québec at the Arsenal Gallery. The exhibition, curated by Lucie Gauthier, features artwork inspired by the natural world, with paintings, mixed media and ceramic works by eight artists from Québec, Canada.

The artists represented in the exhibition are Micheline Chabot, Paule B. Chaumette, Reine Deveault, Bernard Doucet, Henri Gerardin, Guy Paquet, Hélène Saint-Arnaud, and Benoît Simard. Admission is free.

Image, Top: Les Temps d'hiver sont lents by Guy Paquet

Image, Bottom: Au Pays des Elfes by Micheline Chabot