Materials for the Arts

MFTA Gallery is pleased to present “The Path of Least Resistance,” a solo exhibition of new upcycled assemblage works by MFTA Spring 2021 Artist-in-Residence Elisa Insua. In her latest series of works, Insua continues her exploration of found objects, nontraditional art materials, and their relationship to social and economic issues. Her works feature a variety of discarded objects including glimmering pieces of jewelry and charms, sleek black electronics, playful knick-knacks and toys, and dazzling beads, which become poetic interpretations of…

Visit MFTA Gallery for artist Elisa Insua's solo exhibition, "The Path of Least Resistance." As MFTA's Spring 2020 Artist-in-Residence, Insua has transformed buttons, beads, jewelry, electronics, and toys into elaborate large-scale assemblage works that examine excess and consumption in our society. Born in Buenos Aires, Elisa Insua started her practice as a self-taught artist, creating assemblages and sculptures with discarded materials. In her work, Insua often explores concepts related to economics, overconsumption, and human insatiability. Her artwork has been shown…

Materials for the Arts is pleased to present Unknown Numbers by MFTA Artist-in-Residence, Roberto Visani.

The Artists of Materials for the Arts showcases the creations of teaching artists and staff of MFTA. It is a collection of works made by those who teach, support, and practice creative reuse every day. MFTA’s teaching artists educate students, teachers, and the public in various forms of sustainable artmaking through workshops, field trips, and residencies. Our staff works to ensure the thousands of recipient organizations of MFTA have access to free materials; a vital resource to NYC’s artistic and…

Contemporary Reuse is a yearly exhibit that brings together the work of current and impactful artists who celebrate reusable materials in their art practice. On display are a wide variety of explorations into reuse in art.

Dionis Ortiz is an interdisciplinary artist working in painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, video, and installation. He employs these mediums to create a coming of age story as a Dominican New Yorker exploring masculinity, vulnerability, the supernatural, family, and religion, as well as how culture plays a role in his community and in his life. As the fall 2018 Artist-in-Residence, Ortiz is able to immerse himself in an atmosphere filled with a variety of re-usable materials that contribute to his installations,…

Since 1978, millions of items have come through the doors of Materials for the Arts to be repurposed, reused and reimagined.   A few years ago, we thought it would be exciting to highlight some of the more unusual, eclectic and downright weird items that have come our way.  This show is the culmination of that idea.  Many staff members and volunteers helped to curate the items you see here. We have to thank Sony, USA for the bulk of the…

STEAMing Forward: 2018 Summer Workshops for Educators Group Show. Each summer, MFTA offers four 36-hour courses for educators that highlight Creative Reuse across all grade levels and subject areas. Taught by Master Teacher Joy Suarez, these courses included paper architecture, fiber arts, stop-motion animation, music composition and instrument making using the project-based learning approach. Using materials found in the MFTA Warehouse, the summer educators explored how to bring the “magic of making” into their New York City classrooms.

Materials for the Arts is pleased to present Concrete Jungle, a solo exhibition of mixed-media and sculptural works by artist-in-residence Annalisa Iadicicco. Breathing new life and repurposing material that would otherwise have been left to wither and age compels Annalisa Iadicicco to create her work. Through her installations and sculptures, Iadicicco speaks to social injustices and environmental problems. With The Blue Bus Project, she shatters the confines of the insular art world, bringing artistic expressions to the streets while promoting…

Materials for the Arts is pleased to present "Sol’Sain’t Many Kin: All Sol’Skin Is A Free Kin", a solo exhibition of mixed-media assemblage and sculptural works by artist-in-residence Sol’Sax. Retracing the lives and lessons of revered figures, Sol’Sax turns everyday objects extraordinary. Icons such as Josephine Baker, Fela Kuti and Muhammad Ali appear in the form of sculptures and mixed-media assemblages.

Contemporary Reuse is an exhibit that brings together the work of current and impactful artists who celebrate reusable materials in their art practice. Sculptures made of car bumpers, fabric scraps, old puzzles, and cut-off wooden blocks, meet with collages made of shredded and ripped paper, alongside performances using metal hardware as instruments and textiles. Featuring artwork by Andrea Burgay, Pauline Galiana, Justin Horne, Annalisa Iadicicco, Adam Daniel Murray, Ben Pederson, and Sol Sax.

Twisted Woven Tied features 51 stunning works crafted from a wide range of culturally resonant materials. The items are not merely reused but are manipulated into new identities; ribbons knotted into upright forms, yarns cinched into bulbous figures and sisal ropes binding objects together. The use of discarded materials summons the harmony of lived experiences, inviting viewers to use the aesthetic as a springboard to explore and embrace their innermost thoughts and feelings on race, gender, religion, inequality and power.

While advances in technology have made physical photographic slides obsolete, this exhibition, created entirely from the recently digitized slide collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, reinvents the format as a new artistic medium. Materials for the Arts, the creative re-use center of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art have teamed up to showcase new artwork created and inspired by the Met’s slide collection. Participating artists include Martina Mrongovius, Michael Kelly Williams, Andrea Wolf,…

“Found and Funky,” a solo exhibition of mixed media and assemblage works produced by artist Michael Kelly Williams. Drawing inspiration from the expansive collection of found objects available in the MFTA warehouse, “Found” conveys the sense of affirmation in discovering new objects, while “Funky” pays homage to a popular jazz term used to convey praise of an art piece having achieved its highest form. In Found and Funky, Williams transforms items once deemed unworthy of use to a newly transcendent…

Skip LaPlante builds musical instruments out of broken glass, ceramic tea saucers, kitchen utensils, door keys, crooked nails, belt buckles, and rainbow-colored plastic toppers whose origins are unknown. This exhibition invites you to play music on these 130 wind chimes created entirely out of reusable materials by LaPlante, many of which were completed recently during his 2016 arts residency at Flushing Town Hall. Some of the pieces date back to the 1970s, including a silver pie server and ladle that…

In a series of new works made out of leather remnants from the production of luxury accessories, Jean Shin reconstructs the “body” of these hides. These industry remnants hint at the elaborate manufacturing process that transforms raw materials into consumer products. The enigmatic voids that remain promise an object of desire that can never be known. The exhibition explores how the origins of material impact their meaning and how production and display alter our understanding of and relationship to the…