Another piece that attracted attendees was a painting positioned near Manutti’s, also with deep and rich captivating colors by Audrey Anastasi, co-director of the Tabla Rasa Gallery in Sunset Park.
More pieces that drew crowds included one from Joe Cook, who painted a Brooklyn street with brush strokes reminiscent of legendary artist Vincent Van Gogh’s brush strokes, creating the feeling that the trees and leaves were moving.
Watercolor paintings by Anthony Marra, showing scenes of nature in a peaceful, relaxed light, vividly belies the impaired vision of the artist. Marra said he chose to paint something he remembered from his childhood.
Many visitors at the opening gathered around a set of etchings by Jai Seok Kang that successfully showed the intensity of emotions and facial expressions.
Also on display were several diverse photographs that captured the personality and beauty of their subjects. One was a photo of a tall stack of succulent pancakes with blueberries, by Victoria Lapin. There were photographs highlighting Brooklyn and New York -- close-ups of the glamorous participants of the annual Labor Day parade along Eastern Parkway, by Gerard Barbot, and detailed photographs of flowers from the New York Botanic Garden, by Steve Kompel. .
Coney Island, of course, wasn’t forgotten. “Nathan’s Famous” by Bill Storoniak, is a lively photo so bright and vivid, there’s no guarantee it won’t induce hunger just from looking at it. There’s also “Astroland,” by Deborah Matlack, showing all the food shops in shades of reds and blue. There’s more -- “Brooklyn Bridge” and “Washington Mews" from Harriet Piltch, who masters the realistic two-dimensional style, bring what she paints to life.
Takeshi Yamada – well-known in Coney for carrying around a stuffed “sea rabbit” that he fashioned from are-you-sure-you-want-to-know-what? -- displays his “Time is Money,” with sharp colors that are executed immaculately.
Also featured are mother-son duo Beryl Brenner and Michael Brenner. Beryl has a unique series of pieces she made consisting of fused glass and paper and mixed media. Michael has two paintings -- a portrait of a fellow artist, and a painting of his hand enlarged with imaginative colors and vibrant brush strokes, creating a fiery glow.
“We’d like to have our own art center in Coney Island, to have a gallery space to display art, classroom space, and an auditorium and a studio for performing arts,” said Arthur Melnick, executive director of the Brooklyn Streetcar Artists’ Group.
Melnick co-founded the Brooklyn City Streetcar Company in late 2001. The non-profit organization was originally created to bring pollution-free transportation to Brooklyn in the form of historic trolleys. In 2008, the organization decided to also start a dedicated artists group.
“Manhattan has hundreds of art studios, why can’t we?” Councilman Domenic Recchia Jr., chairman of the council’s Cultural Arts Committee, said at the opening. “I know how important it is to support local artists, and Coney Island is a vibrant community with a rich history. This artwork will create an atmosphere of warmth and healing for the people who come here.”
“It’s an unexpected pleasure,” Associate Executive Director of Coney Island Hospital James Saunders, executive director of the hospital, told bay Currents in an earlier interview.
“Hospitals are places of healing and nurturing, and it is only fitting that we nurture local artists and their works within this healing space,” Arthur Wagner, the hospital’s senior vice president, said in a press release.
The exhibit also creates an art world of its own for oceanfront Brooklyn. “This begins the art world’s invasion of southern Brooklyn,” Melnick said.
“There are so many languages spoken here but there is one language that is uniting everyone, and that language is art,” said Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny.
The exhibit on the hospital’s second floor, down the hall from the cafeteria, runs through Nov. 27, weekdays from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. After that, a new set of original works will be put on display.
