Press Release (.pdf: 27k)
Participating Artists
Sponsorship
Location

Public Art Fund is proud to present a new exhibition of contemporary art at MetroTech Center. Semiprecious features works by Carolyn Castaño, Jennifer Cohen, Luis Gispert, Kirsten Hassenfeld, and Marc Swanson, each of whom use visually dazzling materials to explore themes of artifice, seduction, desire, exoticism, and fantasy. With a critical eye toward the precious object, these artists explore the elements of melancholy, romance, and sensuality that lie beneath the sparkling surface.

		Carolyn Castaño - Nightbird Castaño's first sculptural work, Nightbird, is a bejeweled peacock, painted in rich, metallic shades of blue, silver, and black. The peacock's closed tail, which drapes over the edge of the pedestal, employs Castaño's characteristic use of gems, crystal brooches, and cameos found at flea markets and elsewhere. More about this project
		Jennifer Cohen - Diamond Cohen's six-foot-long bronze cobra reflects the artist's experimentation with organic processes. The cobra's highly polished head rises up from the body, its shiny surface in stark contrast to the untreated patina of the natural-bronze body. More about this project
		Luis Gispert - Laid Back in the Cut Laid Back in the Cut is a sculptural bench in the form of three boom boxes, a quasi-functional monument to nearby Fulton Street Mall, downtown Brooklyn's busy shopping district. The chrome-plated bronze piece brings to life Gispert's interest in the iconography of hip-hop culture. More about this project
		Kirsten Hassenfeld - Obelisk Obelisk is a departure from the familiar form and building materials typically used to create monumental objects. Using translucent milk-glass acrylic Plexiglas adorned with jewel-like details, Hassenfeld playfully addresses issues of luxury, ownership, sexuality, and public displays of wealth. More about this project
		Marc Swanson - Fits and Starts Fits and Starts is a sculpture of a life-size deer, entirely encrusted in rhinestone crystals. Portrayed in mid-leap, its hind legs in the air and its head turned, the deer is simultaneously darting away and frozen in time. More about this project

Sponsorship
Semiprecious 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, and Polytechnic University. Special thanks to Forest City Ratner Companies and First New York Management.

Location
MetroTech Center is located in Downtown Brooklyn between Jay Street and Flatbush Avenue at Myrtle Avenue. Viewing hours are dawn to dusk daily for outdoor works, Monday through Friday 8am to 6pm for Carolyn Castaño's Nightbird in One MetroTech. Subway: A, C, F to Jay Street/Borough Hall, exit at Myrtle Promenade; R to Lawrence Street.