Council for the Arts

Recent Thoughts and Relics

A solo exhibition of works by Musa Hixson

January 19 to March 2, 2022

Sculptor, Musa Hixson has always experimented with the synergy between ancient and futuristic imagery.  In this exhibition, “Recent Thoughts and Relics” Musa shows his appreciation of the opportunity to share ideas he has accumulated during these mutually challenging times.

Musa Hixson was born in Cleveland, Ohio but has lived in Brooklyn, New York most of his life. He earned an MFA in Sculpture at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY in 1998 and a BA in Comprehensive Art from Hampton University, Hampton VA, in 1995.

In 2021 Musa installed the Healing Arch sculpture at Tompkinsville Park, in Staten Island, NY in the memory of Eric Garner. In 2018 his public sculpture (Fairmount Nebula) was included in Newark’s Fairmount Art Wall project.  Hixson is a recipient of the 2017 UNIQLO Park Expressions Grant to produce the “Conversation Sculpture” for Herbert Von King Park in Brooklyn, NY.  He was selected as artist-in-residence at Wave Hill, Winter Workspace, Bronx, NY in 2015, at The 3-D foundation, Verbier Switzerland in 2011, Obama City Art Residency, Obama Japan in 2010, and the Vermont Studio Center, Johnson Vermont in 2006.  In 2010 he was selected for the Aichi Triennale in Achi, Japan. Musa is also the founder of the Not for Profit Brooklyn Art Incubator.

Musa has been a member of the Clinton Hill, Brooklyn community since childhood.

Image: Musa Hixson
ngc 6946, 2021, Stainless Steel, Fabric, Shells, Wood, Beads, 7ft x 4ft x 1ft

Ineffable

October 27 to November 24, 2021

Among the great pleasures of visiting exhibitions are the conversations stimulated by looking at art.

Yet, by definition, visual communication is wordless, ineffable. Even when a work incorporates text, or “readable” iconography, the verbal message is only part of the experience. Enjoyment of the works featured in this exhibition depends largely upon the viewers ability to simply allow the images to reach us without words. The intuitive right-brain engages in a non-linear way of thinking. There is visual and intellectual engagement without sole dependence upon sequential or logical flow. Although an artist may have a direction, a clear and intentional purpose in creating a work of art, here, the richness of the works also resonate in concert with the artists’ subconscious intellect.  That which “cannot be spoken“ can still communicate …. strongly….

Curated by Joseph and Audrey Anastasi, (Tabla Rasa Gallery)
Image: Daniel Genova, Fallen Angel (detail), 2019, oil, collage and washer on canvas, 9" x 12"

FACES

September 15 to October 20, 2021

A group exhibition featuring works by Stephen Basso, Ramona Candy, Brooks Frederick, Jimmy James Greene, Corey Lightfoot, Karl MacIntosh, Kathleen Migliore-Newton, Elise Tak, Art Java

For almost two years, faces have been masked and familiar real life expressions lost. In this exhibition, the facial recognition guessing game is interrupted as artists reveal emotions through portraits, allowing us to breathe in a fuller visual of the human experience.

Curated by Ramona Candy