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painted bronze and metal

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.

For American Idyll, Pentti Monkkonen responded to the corporate-style setting of the MetroTech commons and created French Fry in the Sky, a large, yellow-metal sculpture with perching, painted-bronze pigeons. His work mimics the ubiquitous abstract metal pieces found in courtyards and lobbies. Attaching pigeons to what appears to be an example of minimalist public art of the 1960s and 1970s, Monkkonen plays with aspects of amusement and illusion, making an underhanded reference to un-inspired public artwork as he creates a new work of his own.

Artist Bio
Pentti Monkkonen received a BA in Fine Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles and also studied at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, Maine. His sculptures express a self-conscious attraction to humorous and playful subject matter. He has recently had solo shows at ACME, Los Angeles, CA (2002) and at the Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA (2000). Among his most recent exhibitions are Adios Pendejos, OPA, Guadalajara, Mexico (2003), Play it as it Lays, The London Institute Gallery, London, England (2002), and whippersnapper III, Vedanta Gallery, Chicago, IL (2001). He lives and works in Los Angeles.

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.