Flashing Lights: Neon Exhibition At the Neuberger

Purchase, New York | On View: Jan - June 24th 2018 

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Situated on Campus at SUNY Purchase College is The Neuberger Museum. Named after the late art collector Roy Neuberger, it currently has two shows featuring neon lights. In one room rests many different neon pieces that take form both in an abstract manner, and in recognizable symbols and letters. This first room features the work of several different artists and is titled "Bending Light:Neon Light 1965-Now" 

The next room is a large exhibition by Stephen Antonakos entitled "Proscenium". This is a site -specific piece, that is, it was designed specifically for the room in which it is being exhibited. The artist planned it specifically with this location in mind. On the wall opposite of the central piece, one can observe the preparatory sketches of Atonakos.

Both rooms are powerful exhibitions with the overhead lights dimmed and the brightness of the neon lights, the viewer is captivated by the pieces in front of them. Their only distraction? The piece glowing and buzzing several feet away, beckoning for their attention next. This juxtaposition of light in the dark creates an emotional atmosphere of longing and desire. Each piece seems to have a distinct message different from the last. 

When entering into Proscenium, the space is so vast and the work so large that you as the viewer feel almost swallowed whole into the belly of the whale. You are surrounded by the work, lost in the middle of it and totally fixated upon it's glow. The sheer size is impressive and daunting all at once and completely bewitching. 

The exhibition is definitely doable in an hour or less if you are looking for something to breeze through. If you want to spend more time, there are benches and the work is stunning enough to trick you into spending your spring day inside contemplating the effects of neon. 

 

Revitalizing the Water-Front: Art in Yonkers, New York

Yonkers, a large city just north of the Bronx, has lived through troubled times over the later half of the 20th century. During industrialization there was an influx of factories by the city’s waterfront, most notably the Carpet Mill factories and the Otis Elevator factories (yes the first elevators in the world came from Yonkers, NY!). Through the ’90’s and early 2000’s the waterfront was a very rundown locale whose inhabitants suffered from poverty and addiction. For much time, the governing bodies and citizens of the town expressed a desire to revitalize the area, but temptation to move in was, well, nonexistent. Buildings weren’t up to code with destroyed infrastructure and unwanted little creatures inhabiting the ceilings and floors, but the view of the Hudson remained splendid.

After some time, donations, and government assistance, YOHO Artist studios (Yonkers above Houston) was born. With studio space housing over 80 artists in two old factory buildings, Yonkers has been in the process of a rebirth. In the last 20 years or so, artists have begun moving into the Yonkers Waterfront district along with upscale restaurants, and a brewery. The area has become a new hub for artists of the moment. Urban Studios Unbound is a local art collective of artists from the metropolitan area, founded by FIT students, alum, and faculty. USU has gallery space and shows the work of these local artists. Blue Door Art Center is also a nearby gallery Space and artist collective. These three groups of artists offer many events welcoming the community that can be discovered via their websites. The fourth-largest city in the state is revealing itself to be a new center for contemporary art.

http://www.yohoartists.org/about-yoho

http://www.urbanstudiounbound.org

http://bluedoorartcenter.org/gallery

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YoHo_Artist_Community

The Hudson River Museum in Yonkers has been a pillar of the local art community for many decades now. It was established in the early 1900’s as the Yonkers Museum and by 1950 became the Hudson River Museum. http://www.hrm.org/exhibits.html .

Yonkers, an up and coming center for the arts, can be easily accessed by a bus ride or ride on the Metro North. It is most certainly worth a visit.