The Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (BWAC) fall season continues with an invigorating new round of exhibitions opening Saturday, November 2:
Salon des Refusés 2024 — Part II
Fearless Watercolors – Acuarelas Con Cojones
Spectrum of Exposure
Light and Shadow
Transformation of Clay / Bill Shillalies
Held over by popular demand, the Salon des Refusés 2024 returns, refreshed for Part II with more new work, and additional Brooklyn artists. The Salon is a reboot of the famed exhibition of art rejected by the French Academy of Fine Arts in their Paris Salon of 1863. The Brooklyn Museum’s open call to Brooklyn artists for their 200th anniversary show left thousands of applicants who had been rejected due to limited space. BWAC President Alicia Degener and co-curator Janet Morgan have opened the gallery to a selection of these artists. This exhibit intends to unite and uplift the Brooklyn arts community, and people who love to view local art. “It is our honor to display and advance a broad spectrum of the art currently being produced in our borough,” remarked Alicia Degener. Among the artists shown in the first Salon des Refusés of 1863 were many who would transform modern art in the following decades, including Manet, Courbet, Pissarro and Whistler. Will we discover such revolutionary gems in this new showcase?
Fearless Watercolors – Acuarelas Con Cojones is a national juried show of watercolors. As the title suggests, expect a bold, gutsy take on this classic medium with an emphasis on experimentation and risk taking. Whether figurative or abstract, jurors Janet Morgan and Tamavis D. Santiago have selected brash, fearless work – “¡con cojones!”
Spectrum of Exposure is a national juried show of photographic art showcasing work that exemplifies and defines the realm of photography in post-Covid culture. With this exhibition, curator and juror Fritz (Steven) Weiss aims to make a comprehensive statement that demonstrates the art, science, vision, and magic of photography. Weiss is a former BWAC president.
Light & Shadow is the theme of this season’s BWAC members exhibition. Artists were invited to explore the effects of light and shadow in their work, from literal realistic renderings to the abstract. As with every survey of BWAC members, the show presents an expansive range of images and media.
The second solo exhibition of BWAC’s fall season features Bill Shillalies with a presentation of ceramics entitled Transformation of Clay. The work explores what Shillalies calls “the distinction between movement and fragmentation” through the observation of the environment: the changes of seasons, rock formation, and natural earth. Both the practice of making objects and natural forces exert influence on the finished pieces.
All four exhibitions open Saturday, November 2, and will remain on display each weekend between the hours of 1 to 6pm, through Sunday, November 24. The BWAC Gallery is located in the historic Beard and Robinson Stores at 481 Van Brunt St. in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
About BWAC
The Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (BWAC) is an artist-run organization and an incorporated 501(c)(3) nonprofit, operating the BWAC Gallery. For 46 years, BWAC has been exhibiting the artwork of local and national artists with seasonal exhibits that include national juried and local member shows. These exhibitions present a wide variety of contemporary visual arts from the traditional to the experimental cutting edge. The gallery is housed in a massive Civil War-era warehouse on the Red Hook waterfront and boasts the best view of the Statue of Liberty in Brooklyn! The BWAC Gallery, 481 Van Brunt St., Red Hook, Brooklyn 11231, receives generous support from the O’Connell Organization, grants, and its many members and friends. Visit bwac.org for more information on membership and exhibits, or to donate, and follow us on Facebook or Instagram.
