On Oct. 26, the Handwerker Gallery had an opening reception for two new exhibitions by artists Wang Chen and Joan Linder. The two exhibitions were widely different, however still managed to captivate and catch the eyes of all those in attendance.
Joan Linder is a professor of art at the University at Buffalo, and has had her exhibitions displayed at venues like The Buffalo AKG Museum, the Davis Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. She has also made permanent floral drawing commissions for the Metropolitan Transit Authority in the 71 St. station, the PS 97 Highlawn School and the University at Buffalo SUNY. Her work has been mentioned in the New York Times, Art News and in the Art in America magazine.
Linder’s exhibition titled “PRIME” features a series of sculptures made with pen, bottled ink, paint and watercolor paper to resemble Amazon Prime delivery boxes. The realistic quality of these sculptures is astounding; many who visited the exhibition assumed they were discarded Amazon boxes at first glance. However, upon closer inspection, viewers were able to discern the engaging hand-painted details. The watercolor papers have an insanely real aged look to them, and the barcodes on the labels have been painted on with unbelievable accuracy and steadiness. Even the tape has rips and holes in it like one would see on a typical Amazon package.
