MFTA Gallery: “The Useful Life of Objects” Group Exhibition (Mondays – Fridays)
Materials for the Arts (MFTA) presents “The Useful Life of Objects,” a group exhibition featuring recent work by New York–based artists Ronen Gamil, Baseera Khan, Armita Raafat, and Justin Sterling. Co-curated by Kendal Henry and Sara Reisman, the exhibition explores the aesthetic, conceptual, and emotional potential of objects diverted from waste streams and given new life through creative reuse.
Featuring works in sculpture, installation, painting, and hybrid forms, “The Useful Life of Objects” examines what it means to extend the lifespan of waste material. Whether reconfiguring scraps from the fashion industry, reframing household remnants, reconfiguring commercial surplus, or incorporating found elements from the public realm, each artist approaches material as both physical matter and cultural record. Their works reveal the poetic qualities of the provisional — and the many ways that objects persist, accumulate meaning, and inform the stories that the remains of our consumption tell.
“The Useful Life of Objects” is on view through March 12, 2026.
The MFTA Gallery is open Mondays through Fridays from 9:30am to 4:30pm, excluding federal holidays.
Materials for the Arts
33-00 Northern Blvd, 3rd fl.
Long Island City, NY 11101
Image: Armita Raafat, Untitled, 2024. Handmade paper, pigmented paper pulp, embroidered textile (khoos doozi), mesh, mirrors. 15 x 11.5 inches. Courtesy of the artist.