Provided by Bucks County Community College:
Bucks County Community College, which has been a hub of artistic creativity for 50 years, presents “Paradise Lost & Recycled” by Bryant Holsenbeck through March 13 at the Hicks Art Center Gallery.
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The exhibition features the work of the North Carolina-based environmental artist, who for more than a decade has been documenting the many items that are used once and thrown away. She specializes in large-scale installations that reflect the waste stream of our society.
To that end, Holsenbeck will enlist the public’s help in creating a 20-foot “waterfall” sculpture using more than 12,000 plastic water bottles that were collected by the college over the last three months. Individuals and groups are invited to work alongside the artist during her week-long residency February 2 to February 6 as she installs the sculpture, which will cascade from the gallery’s high, vaulted ceiling, down the wall, and across the gallery floor into an adjacent hallway.
“We’re inviting our community to participate in this opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of recycling and its impact on our environment,” said Fran Orlando, Director of Exhibitions and Artmobile at Bucks. “Individuals, families, students, scout groups, and other organizations are all welcome to take part.”
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Holsenbeck, who recently spent an entire year without using any single-use plastic items, sees her installations as both meditations and questions focusing on our environment and our culture.
“The recycling of plastics is important, yet more important still is to remember that more often than not it is ‘down-cycling,’” Holsenbeck writes in her artist’s statement. “This means that when the bottle or container is processed it becomes something that is probably not recyclable.”
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Other events during Holsenbeck’s residency include an artist’s talk from 3 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, February 4, in Penn Hall room 257. That will be followed by a sculpture workshop from 4 to 6 p.m. in which participants will create animal sculptures out of recycled materials. The fee for the workshop is $25, which is waived for current Bucks students. To register, call 215-504-8531.
A gallery reception takes place from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, February 6, including an artist’s gallery talk at 6 p.m. Admission to the gallery, artist’s talk, and reception are free. Group tours are available by calling 215-504-8531. In case of inclement weather, the residency and events will take place the following week, February 9 – 13.
The Hicks Art Center Gallery is located on the campus of Bucks County Community College, 275 Swamp Rd., Newtown, Pa., where there is ample free parking. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday and Friday; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday; and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. For more information, visit www.bucks.edu/gallery or call 215-968-8425.
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The Hicks Art Center Gallery receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
