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bronze

Semiprecious

September 29, 2004 - August 31, 2005

MetroTech Center, Brooklyn

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.

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. For Cohen, the work refers to the desired transformative properties of jewels, and the way that precious objects change over time. Even the snake's body is positioned in the shape of a diamond, with the end of its tail near its mouth. Decades of advertising have made familiar the expression "a diamond is forever." In a similar vein, the cyclical gesture of a snake eating itself is a mythological symbol of eternity and regeneration.

Artist Bio
Jennifer Cohen lives and works in Brooklyn. Inspired by special effects and props, Cohen uses low-tech materials to investigate the theatrical possibilities of organic and chemical processes. She received an MFA from the Yale University School of Art. Her work has recently been featured in exhibitions at Lombard Fried and Andrew Kreps Gallery in New York.

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.