Willie Cole’s Buddha Chandelier made of plastic water bottles, acetate and galvanized steel wire.
The Arts Council of Princeton is set to present a new exhibition titled MASS assembly: MASS production to MASS appeal.
MASS assembly is an eclectic compilation of works by the artists Willie Cole, Andy Epstein, Donna Payton and Valerie Young.
The artists exhibited in MASS assembly created their works largely from mass-produced items familiar to the consumer-oriented society. The pieces are constructed in ways that encourage viewers to ponder what was once instantly recognizable with a new perspective.
Cole assembles and transforms ordinary domestic and used objects, such as discarded appliances and hardware, into imaginative and powerful works of art. Through the repetitive use of single objects in multiples, Cole’s assembled sculptures acquire a transcending and renewed metaphorical meaning, or become a critique of our consumer culture.
On view will be Cole’s Buddha Chandelier, a striking piece comprised of thousands of upcycled water bottles, each containing the Buddha image.
Epstein’s work attempts to give form to his lifelong fascination with the possibility of bringing life to inanimate objects. His pieces give the impression that, at any moment, they could become animate in a machine-like way.
He currently creates 3-dimensional assemblages of found natural and man-made objects. Visible in the work are the marriage of technology and nature and the fundamental balance of form, color and texture.
Epstein does not take the pieces to the expected conclusions of having them actually move, project videos, play sounds or manifest the animated state, allowing the viewer to imagine the infinite possibilities of how the machinery could operate.
Payton transforms and repurposes found objects, disguising the items’ original identities and enhancing their aesthetic potentials. She enjoys building and joining diverse, unrelated materials and objects in a directly unencumbered way, giving the viewer a chance to question the objects and the greater tension between wonder, chaos, comfort, and order.
Young is a self-taught found-object sculptor who enjoys recovering and transforming the detritus of American society. The flea market is her favorite art store.
By combining diverse objects in sculpture with a narrative theme, Young aims to harness the energy represented by the transient tastes of a society that grows bored easily. It is often challenging for the viewer to recognize familiar objects, in part or whole, placed in an entirely new context, which in turn gives them a new life.
An opening reception is scheduled for 3 to 5 p.m. May 3. ACP is also set to present a Gallery Talk with the MASS assembly artists and curator Maria Evans 1 p.m. May 31 .
The exhibit will remain on display through June 7 in the Taplin Gallery at the Paul Robeson Center for the Arts, 102 Witherspoon St., Princeton.
The Arts Council of Princeton, founded in 1967, is a non-profit organization with a mission of building community through the arts. ACP fulfills its mission by presenting a wide range of programs including exhibitions, performances, free community cultural events, and studio-based classes and workshops in a wide range of media.
More information is online at artscouncilofprinceton.org.
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