I am thrilled to be participating in the NYC edition of Cube Art Fair, the World’s Largest Public Art Fair, from May 5-9, 2021. This unique event transforms the skies and streets of New York City into a gallery by displaying artwork on over 100 billboards, kiosks, newsstands, and bus stops, including the 12,000 sq/ft digital billboard located in the heart of Times Square.
Additional billboard locations include Central Park, Madison Avenue, 57th & Fifth Avenue, Herald Square (in front of the Macy’s), Union Square, 66th & Columbus, 67th & Broadway, Grand & Mott Street, and Broadway & 13th.
Cube Art Fair is a contemporary art fair that in normal times promotes emerging and established American artists with editions in both Brussels and New York. When the world stopped in 2020 and the pandemic canceled the fair’s traditional in-person event, many artists and galleries shifted to online shows. But the team behind Cube Art Fair found a new way to keep art, hope and inspiration alive. The campaign’s hashtag #staycreative encourages everyone to not only stay safe, but also stay creative.
I’m honored to be part of this special, once in a lifetime event. I especially like how this version of the Cube Art Fair brings the art to the people and removes the invisible barriers separating the art world from general public. This is also a very small way for us artists to contribute to the collective healing and recovery as the world reopens.
One of my paintings that will be shown this week, Beautiful Days, was done during the pandemic and is comprised of many textured, small brushstrokes. This time-consuming technique reflects the additional hours spent in my studio during lockdown, as well as the indistinguishable distortion of time. The repetition of the textured strokes in different colors signifies the collective experience of how the world was confronted with the same problem but not the same resources. In the painting’s gradation of colors, the light is at the top and prevails over the darkness. This relates to how the pandemic taught me to appreciate all of the positive things I have in my life instead of focusing on the things I did not have.