~QUINTIN RIVERA TORO / ZAWAHRA ALEJANDRO, SAN JUAN PRESENTATION / DAVID KENNEDY CUTLER, TURN ONZ / NADA House 404A
FROM DISTRESSED, FAKE FLOWERS – to – CARVED & INCISED REAL TREE WOOD.
in other words;
FROM LIGHT SWITCHES – to – BAR TABLES.
AND, FINDING BOTH TO BE . . POETIC & POLITICAL CREATIVITY – on UTILITARIAN OBJECTS /
MY FIRST STEPS – into a NADA House, on GOVERNORS ISLAND.
looks to be a great !! weekend !!
to visit the NADA House 2021 presentation . . on Governors Island !!
see: NADA House 2021
it is . . quite the lovely – staycation.
it’s so pleasant / the ferry ride is fun, easy to book & cheap.
see: FERRY TICKET INFO
this is on the way, to the several residential / historic military houses, which NADA has taken over / with multi-disciplinary, varied exhibitor curations / until . . . Aug 1st.
leafy, green-ey, & not too city, at all / open & spacious.
a little world all its own.
calm & delightful.
but, I got to tell you – the art is world class & fresh, fresh, fresh.
but, none of it is screaming at you, oh happy day. seriously.
except maybe to say: hey . . . look at me.
it’s like walking into a book, and the pages are mighty fun to turn.
and, so are the . . . old, wooden staircases !!
a DAVID KENNEDY CUTLER LIGHT SWITCH / TURN ONZ, DETROIT
greets you, as you enter NADA House 404A / it is so well-made, and so well integrated !!
you might just take it . . for granted, so,
I’m just letting you know, again / look out – for those light switches !!
they be popping up, and rocking !! through-out . . the houses.
I don’t know why I picked this particular NADA house to check out, first.
but sure enough – it was personally relevant, I’ll just hold onto that secret for a post or so /
but sure enough . . the archival staircases led to many enchanting surprises, and it was all so much fun.
QUINTIN RIVERA TORO, presented by ZAWAHARA ALEJANDRO, SAN JUAN.
wooden, functional sculptures – in the ‘cloak room’, on the first floor, NADA House 404H
see: ZAWAHARA ALEJANDRO, SAN JUAN
of course, the cloak room is the first space that greets you as you enter / thus this was the first ‘exhibit’ I saw,
and, it just stopped me in my tracks, literally. it was so imaginary, narrative, full of skill & beauty / yet functional. the wood was incised to perfection, and burnished to a deep hues.
it definitely caught my eye and apparently, that of other reviewers, as well.
detail, QUINTIN RIVERA TORO, previous photo.
this looked to be a table, or shelf.
there was something about riding a ferry, over water . . and waking among huge old trees, that really made this word ‘work’ resonate – for me. that it held a message ?
very acceptable, actually. very cool. deeply meaningful, & within full embrace of the skills, context / and, concept.
a little sad. a bit hopeful. it went heart-to-heart, but, it also made a point.
QUINTIN RIVERA TORO, bench.
note . .
the honey tones of the wood, called out like a chorus, by the natural sunlight streaming in through the windows.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, MAY 8, 2021
Photo via NADA / CATALOG / QUINTIN RIVERA TORO
this is the installation photo of the work, published in the NADA House catalog.
so, I hope you can begin to see the total ‘magic’ of the NADA project, sparked by the historic Governors Island architecture: including staircases, ceiling fixtures, old world spatial layouts, pane glass windows, old plastered (?) walls, & wood. wood. wood.
on a persona note,
I think, the small ‘distressed’ elements, like the old peeling paint, etc adds much depth to the overall experience, and to the visual richness. making the modern city explorer, just that much more aware – in a very subtle way, of the underlying historic – beauty. and architectural, as well as cultural story.
404A was a . . Colonel’s house. it was large, spacious and designed for entertaining as well as living.
it’s really nice, that these buildings haven’t been torn down, and that they have been re-imagined & filled with art / so superbly.
I’ll leave you, with this description of the work, from the NADA catalog:
