Arsenal Gallery: Brooklyn Dreamland, Land without Shadows

NYC Parks is pleased to present Brooklyn Dreamland, Land without Shadows, an exhibition of paintings and drawings by Christopher Spinelli depicting a bygone era of Coney Island on view at the Arsenal Gallery.

In the late 1980s, Spinelli was encouraged by illustrator Robert Weaver to get out of the studio and explore real life. Childhood trips piled in his father's car in search of crinkle-cut fries led him to the B train, where he rode to the end of the line. 

Equipped with a sketch pad and Polaroid camera, Spinelli produced many drawings and images of the then-declining amusement site. Regarding these initial works, he states, "I began talking to the denizens of Coney Island, who were usually huddled in and around Nathan's for warmth; I drew them while they regaled me with their stories. Some of those first sketches are included in this exhibit." Inspired by buzzing neon signs and accumulated layers of peeling paint, Spinelli began producing the wonderfully garish acrylic works featured in this exhibition.

Unlike his drawings, his paintings are rendered from childhood memory rather than present experience. He states, "My paintings of Coney Island are vibrantly colored and thickly textured; I am painting not as I found it, but what I remember seeing in those fleeting images from the back window of that Delta 88 as we drove by." 

This exhibition is FREE and open to the public. For more information, visit nyc.gov/parks/art.  

A public opening reception will be held on Thursday, January 23, 2025, at 6 p.m. 

Image Credit: Christopher Spinelli, This Way to the Spookarama, 2021, acrylic paint, 36”x48”