November 7, 2008 – September 25, 2009
MetroTech Center, Brooklyn

Before attending art school, Francis Cape was trained as a wood carver, a factor that has guided his work towards a fusion of strong craftmanship, sculpture and architecture. His pieces, which are constructed of standard milled lumber, are meticulously built and often include references to both functional and architectural elements that have gone through types of transformation. Two of Cape's free-standing pieces, On Main Street and Blue Piece, are sited in the lobby of MetroTech One. Like all of his work, these pieces combine the look of Minimalist sculpture with the simplicity of Shaker design, resulting in intriguing structures that blend history with Modernism. On Main Street includes what appears to be a fragment of a table and part of a shelf, fused with sections of wainscoting and portions of walls. From one side, Blue Piece appears to be a monochromatically painted, minimal sculpture, while the other side reveals unfinished wood and a small cabinet with a door. In each case, architectural elements are truncated or fused together, giving the viewer the perception that sections of a room have gone through aÊtransformation, when in actuality, this effect is produced simply by the way in which the components are arranged.

Francis Cape was born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1952 and currently lives and works in New York. He received his BFA from City and Guilds of London Art School and his MFA at Goldsmiths College, London, in addition to apprenticing for a wood carver. His solo show, It Happened Here at Suraci Gallery, is currently on view at the Insalaco College of Creative Arts and Management, Scranton, Pennsylvania. His recent solo exhibitions have been at Richard and Dolly Maass Gallery, SUNY Purchase, Purchase, New York (2006) and Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis, Missouri (2004). His work has been included in numerous group exhibitions, including Lehman College Art Gallery, New York (2008), and Wave Hill, Bronx, New York (2007), and will be featured in Prospect 1. New Orleans beginning November 2008.

Ongoing at MetroTech: Tony Matelli's Stray Dog (1998), James Angus's Basketball Dropped from 35,000 feet at Moment of Impact (1999), and Tom Otterness's Alligator (1996) and Visionary (1997), all commissioned by Public Art Fund, continue to be exhibited within the MetroTech Commons.

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 Francis Cape's installations in the lobby of One MetroTech Center. Subway: A, C, F to Jay Street/Borough Hall, exit at Myrtle Promenade; R to Lawrence Street; Q to Dekalb Avenue. This exhibition is free.

Public Art Fund is New York's leading presenter of artists' projects, new commissions, installations and exhibitions in public spaces. For over 30 years, the Public Art Fund has been committed to working with emerging and established artists to produce innovative exhibitions of contemporary art throughout New York City. By bringing artworks outside the traditional context of museums and galleries, the Public Art Fund provides a unique platform for an unparalleled public encounter with the art of our time.

Recent critically acclaimed exhibitions and presentations include Olafur Eliasson's The New York City Waterfalls at four locations on the shorelines of lower Manhattan, Brooklyn and Governors Island; Chris Burden's What My Dad Gave Me at Rockefeller Center; James Yamada's Our Starry Night, and Sarah Lucas' Perceval at Doris C. Freedman Plaza; Dara Friedman's Musical on the streets of Midtown Manhattan, and Alexander Calder in New York at City Hall Park.

Since 1993, Public Art Fund's program at MetroTech has exhibited new commissions and recent works by more than fifty emerging and established artists including Vito Acconci, Liz Craft, Jacob Dyrenforth, Tony Feher, Rachel Foullon, Luis Gispert, Corin Hewitt, Matthew Day Jackson, Matt Johnson, Nina Katchadourian, Peter Kreider, Tony Matelli, Ryan McGuinness, Dave McKenzie, Franco Mondini-Ruiz, Mamiko Otsubo, Tom Otterness, Ester Partegàs, Valeska Soares, Do-Ho Suh, Marc Swanson and Ursula von Rydingsvard.

Sponsorship
Trapdoor at MetroTech Center is part of an ongoing program organized by Public Art Fund and sponsored by MetroTech Commons Associates, and MetroTech companies including: Forest City Ratner Companies, JPMorganChase, National Grid, WellChoice and Polytechnic University. Special thanks to Forest City Ratner Companies and First New York Partners.

Public Art Fund is a non-profit arts organization supported by generous contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations, and with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts; New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.