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foam, plaster, urethane, lacquer

American Idyll

September 24, 2003 -
September 30, 2004

at MetroTech Center, Brooklyn

Public Art Fund is proud to present a new exhibition of contemporary art at MetroTech Center. American Idyll continues MetroTech's commitment to supporting the work of emerging artists. Each year artists are asked to respond to the Commons, the public spaces surrounding the vibrant downtown areas of MetroTech Center and Brooklyn Polytechnic. The artists in this year's exhibition - Jon Conner, Amy Gartrell, Dave McKenzie, Pentti Monkkonen and Roman de Salvo - have each created works that observe and playfully comment upon outdoor recreation, roadside Americana, and idyllic pastimes and pleasures.

Jon Conner's recent work investigates the irrational sentimentality rooted in memories of youth. In Perfect Day, a sculpture of a father and son holding fishing rods is perched atop an oversized Igloo cooler, a familiar two-tone icon of recreation that brings to mind beach trips, picnics, ballgames, and other daytrip escapes from business-as-usual. In placing the father-son tableaux on top of it, Conner suggests that even the most banal, utilitarian objects can live larger-than-life in our memories, tied as they are to our childhood recollections and adventures.

Artist Bio
Jon Conner received a BFA in sculpture from Syracuse University School of the Arts, NY and an MFA from Columbia University School of the Arts, NY. His work reflects an interest in how daily rituals and collective histories become rooted in our system of cultural values. His most recent group shows include Faking Real, Leroy Neiman Gallery, Columbia University, NY (2003), Mondo Cane II, Leroy Neiman Gallery, Columbia University, NY (2002), and the MFA Thesis Exhibition curated by Eungie Joo, The Mink Building, NY (2002). He lives and works in Brooklyn.

Sponsorship
American Idyll at MetroTech Center is part of an ongoing program organized by the Public Art Fund and sponsored by MetroTech Commons Associates, an organization that consists of MetroTech companies Bear Stearns & Company, Forest City Ratner Companies, JPMorganChase, KeySpan, Polytechnic University, Securities Industry Automation Corporation (SIAC) and DOITT. Special thanks to Forest City Ratner Companies and First New York Management.

Location
MetroTech Center is situated in the Civic Center/Borough Hall area of Downtown Brooklyn.
By Subway: M, N, or R to Lawrence Street Station or the A, C, or F to Jay Street/Borough Hall, exit at Myrtle Promenade.