Collaborative Exhibition with Self-Taught Genius Gallery and Fountain House at Citigroup in Long Island City
(New York, NY, January 16, 2019) A Kingdom in Pieces is a collaborative community exhibition that features carvings from the teaching collection of the American Folk Art Museum and works by the artists of Fountain House Gallery and Studio, organizations both with locations in Long Island City, Queens. The exhibition opens on January 16 and runs through March 29, 2019, and it is displayed in cases at the Citigroup Building (1 Court Square, Long Island City, NY) which is open Monday through Friday from 7 am to 7 pm. A Kingdom in Pieces explores the influence of animals on a range of creative work with a global menagerie that tells stories, evokes emotions, and expresses ideas about the natural world through art.
“We are excited to join with Fountain House Gallery and Studio to present a thought-provoking exhibition about animals and their relation to art and to ourselves,” said Jason T. Busch, director of the American Folk Art Museum. “The engaging sculptures from the museum’s collection are presented in dialogue with animals depicted by Fountain House artists who show creatures drawn from their mind’s eye.”
The Self-Taught Genius Gallery exhibits artworks from the collection of the American Folk Art Museum. Works from the American Folk Art Museum on display in A Kingdom in Pieces include wood carvings from Guatemala, Mexico, and Australia. The artworks from Fountain House Gallery and Studio are by artists Mercedes Kelly, Angela Rogers, Alyson Vega, and L.B. Berman.
Fountain House Gallery and Studio is an environment in which artists living with mental illness can express their creative visions and exhibit their work. It is a dedicated studio space in Long Island City that provides member-artists with the resources, training, inspiration, and support that they need to succeed in the highly competitive art world.
The exhibition was organized by Steffi Duarte and Sarah Margolis-Pineo, assistant curators, Self-Taught Genius Gallery of the American Folk Art Museum, and Ariel Wilmott, director, Fountain House Gallery, with assistance from R. Sarah Richardson and Ellen Quinn, Citi Center for Culture.
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About the Self-Taught Genius Gallery
Founded in 1961, the American Folk Art Museum, the premier institution devoted to the aesthetic appreciation of traditional folk art and creative expressions of contemporary self-taught artists from the United States and abroad, opened the Self-Taught Genius Gallery in September 2017. This vibrant space is devoted to exhibiting works from the museum’s permanent collection of more than 8,000 works of art. Major support for the gallery is provided by the Henry Luce Foundation. Significant support is also provided by the Booth Ferris Foundation, with additional support from the Ford Foundation, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
Admission to the gallery is free. It is open Monday through Thursday from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. The address is 47-29 32nd Place, Long Island City, Queens, two and a half blocks from the 33 St. stop on the 7 subway.
About Fountain House Gallery and Studio
Fountain House Gallery and Studio provides an environment for artists living and working with mental illness to pursue their creative visions and to challenge the stigma that surrounds mental illness. Fountain House Gallery and Studio is funded, in part, by generous support from the Hearst Foundation, Inc., the Renate, Hans, and Maria Hofmann Trust, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, the David Rockefeller Fund, and the Laurie Tisch Illumination Fund.