A decades-old non-profit organization that supports artists while giving them a forum to present their work is in the midst of its 41st annual Spring Pier Art Show.
The exhibit, hosted by the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (BWAC) and hosted inside a historic 25,000-square foot Civil War-era building at 481 Van Brunt Street, will run through July 7.
The first of the show’s openings took place on May 11 with a second slated for Saturday.
Academy Award winning actor Al Pacino stopped by the first opening to purchase some of the art on display.
“It is an honor to have someone like Al Pacino visit our gallery,” said Janice Weiss, artist and public relations for BWAC. “His presence adds significance to the value of our art work and the shared communication and admiration between all artists of every venue.”
This year’s spring show, she said, is reflective of the organization itself.
“We are a non-profit organization representing over 300 artists from Brooklyn and the other boroughs of New York City,” she said of BWAC, founded in 1978. “BWAC presents an opportunity to many — young and old — to exhibit their art work representing many different mediums.”
In one of the three main shows, RECYCLE 2019, all the artwork is “upcycled” and composed of discarded materials, repurposed or found objects. The exhibition’s returning juror is John Cloud Kaiser.
“Each year we are thrilled to see the creative ways that artists transform materials that could have ended up in landfills,” Kaiser said. “They are embedding the stories of their reused materials into the art through the history of the objects and their statement on sustainability. This exhibition proves without a doubt that discarded materials make fantastic art supplies.”
Another show within the exhibit, Wide Open 10, explores, “the possibilities of wide open spaces, arms wide open, or eyes wide open,” according to BWAC. It is juried by Ylinko Barotto.
“This year’s show is particularly cohesive in expressing movement, texture and color,” said co-curator Theresa Urban. “It is a must see.”
A third, Spring! Coiled & Ready!, is an exhibition featuring BWAC member artists that live and work in New York City.
“We looked to present work that expresses the power of ‘spring’ and its potential to delight or surprise. The power of ‘spring’ is also growth,” said show curator Anna Hagan. “Rebirth. Resilience. Renewal. Spring has sprung, but what has it sprung? A harbinger of promise born from the seeds of inspiration and ideas, a sense, coiled and ready, of becoming more.”
The exhibit will also showcase artwork by students at P.S. 106.
It is open Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 6 p.m. For more information or a full schedule, visit www.bwac.org.
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