JAMAICA, NY.- The artists who performed residencies in the Queens Library Gallery’s Workspace 07 Exhibit, along with library officials and members of the community will be at a reception and viewing honoring the work created over eight weeks, within the Queens Library Gallery on Wednesday, August 22, 2007, 6:00 – 8:00 pm at Queens Library, 89-11 Merrick Boulevard, Jamaica, NY.

Workspace07 is a group exhibition about the artistic process. Over eight weeks, eight artists performed “residencies” in the Queens Library Gallery, working on week-long projects which accumulated in the Gallery space over the summer. This exhibition created an open dialog among the artists, the public and the Gallery itself, providing a unique opportunity for individual inquiry into the process of art-making and the construction of an exhibition. Workspace07 is on view June 25 – September 2, 2007.

The participating artists and their projects:

Doug Beube, The U.S.A. in Color (work in progress), 2007, mixed media, courtesy of the artist

Multi-media artist Doug Beube disrupts the conventional approach to books by twisting, carving and collaging the physical object, eventually transforming it from a written to a visual art. The final shape of Beube's bookworks is not random but often relates to the meaning of the original book. In this way the artist merges structure and meaning by creating a tension between the physical shape of the book and its remaining, fragmented text.

Cesar Cornejo, Queens Library, 2007, mixed media, floor installation, courtesy of the artist

For his project, Cornejo worked within the Queens Library’s Social Sciences Division to compile a broad selection of titles relating to world history. He then created a replica of each selected book, and installed them as though they were “shelved” on the floor, changing the viewer’s relationship to and accessibility of the books.

Heather Hart, love. black., 2007, Books, yarn and discourse, variable dimensions, courtesy of the artist

For her project, Hart uses literature to gain insight into the general comprehension of the words “love” and “black” – words that the artist sees are variable in their use. A questionnaire was distributed to Queens Library visitors that asked for a list of books that address, in one way or another, the words “love” and “black.” Hart located and cut out specific passages dealing with these terms to make a “cento” – a patchwork poem that is made up of passages by other authors. The artist then created a yarn cozy around each book, thereby rendering it both dysfunctional and decorative.

Janelle Iglesias, connection collection: found and assembled objects from bottle beach, 2007, found natural and manmade objects, courtesy of the artist

Janelle Iglesias’ project centers upon “Bottle Beach,” a small piece of shoreline in Jamaica Bay. She has researched the history of Jamaica Bay with the help of the Queens Library’s Long Island Division, and has utilized vintage maps and a photograph that reveal the environmental history of the site. Also on display are works made from natural and manmade objects found on Bottle Beach and an animation made in collaboration with Gallery visitors from June 25-29, 2007.

Christopher Myers, Improvised Haloes for Wannabe Saints, 2007, fabric and found objects, courtesy the artist

Christopher Myer’s installation invites viewers to imitate the visual cues of divinity, if not the spiritual cues. Using found objects to reproduce the glowing effect of haloes, the installation reminds viewers not only of the saintliness within everyone of us, but also of the possibilities of beauty and divinity in our day-to-day surroundings.

Kambui Olujimi, Everything Must Go!!!, 2007, mixed media, courtesy of the artist

Kambui Olujimi has assembled whimsical, found object sculptures made from broken or out of vogue bric-à-brac that is commonly forgotten in basements, closets and junkyards. Olujimi’s project freezes this moment of temporary unearthing and uses it as a foundation for his curiosity about our shared experience of the collecting, storing, discovery and dispersal of these objects.

Marc André Robinson, Myth Monolith No. 34, Wood, courtesy of the artist

In Marc André Robinson’s seemingly precarious sculpture, an assortment of found, discarded chairs is used to construct a dizzying spiral. Stripped to their essential skeletal form, the chairs have been deconstructed in order to construct a larger entity. In this way, it can be viewed as a metaphor for human relationships, asking the viewer to contemplate how individuals fit into a society and what unique features an individual may have for the benefit of the community.

Queens Library is an independent, not-for-profit corporation and is not affiliated with any other library. The Queens Library serves a population of 2.2 million in the most ethnically diverse county in the U.S. With a record 21 million items in circulation for FY 2007, the Library has the highest circulation of any public library system in the U.S. and one of the highest circulations in the world. For more information about programs, services, locations, events and news, visit the Queens Library Web site at www.queenslibrary.org or phone 718-990-0700. Queens Library. Enrich Your Life ®.