This Friday, the Gowanus Ballroom, an exhibit space dedicated to art, music, and performance, is hosting a photo art show entitled "The Chairs The Boys Built" featuring the photographs of Jessica Bloom. The name of the show refers to the boys of Serett Metalworks, an architectural metal work and blacksmithing shop housed in the Gowanus Industrial Park.
From an artist statement:
Over the past year, Jessica has had the pleasure of getting to know the boys of Serrett Metalworks, both professionally and personally.
The boys come from many different walks of life, from the Dominican Republic to the Southwest desert and Midwest plains. Their lives have converged here, in what was once an industrial powerhouse, the Gowanus Canal district, a dynamic zone currently immersed in an evolutionary transformation where artists cultivate themselves and new businesses for a renaissance of modern, urban economic development.
By daytime, they weld, cut, mold, forge, and sculpt staircases, decorative window coverings, railings, furniture, fences and other residential and commercial metalworks. On their own time, these boys cultivate a wide spectrum of passions and hobbies: travel, humanitarian work, art, motorcycle building.
Serret Metalworks is commissioned for some very high-end projects, from the storied Plaza Hotel to Marc Jacobs’ chic Manhattan boutique. Some of these jobs are so complex that other shops have turned the work away, yet the immense talent behind these pieces goes largely unrecognized.
Through this series of portraits, Jessica explores the individuality of the collective beauty these boys produce. The complexity of their pasts, present, and futures are epitomized through their work-worn, hands: the wrinkles, creases, dirt and dust-stained nicks and calluses. The hopes and aspirations the boys convey behind furrowed brows; enigmatic, deep gazes; and steadfast, determined poise.
The Stairs the Boys Built is a reflection of the inspiration these lives have brought Jessica. Her intention is that viewers will think twice about the manmade beauty they experience on a daily basis and consider the people and passion behind the grit.The show also includes the works of :
Adrian Landon
Brooke Grant
Chris Bido
Ed Akers
Eric Juron
Drew Furer
Jay McDonald
Josh Young
Luke Schumacher
Serban Ionescu
Shayne Webb
The Stairs the Boys BuiltSeptember 21, 2012from 6:30 to 8 Free admittanceThe Gowanus Ballroom 55 9th Street by Smith Streethttp://gowanusballroom.com
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