Arts and Entertainment Northern Brooklyn

As surely as spring blooms, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition brightens Red Hook in April

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April 22, 2024 Wayne Daren Schneiderman

On an average BWAC opening, upwards of 1,000 people can be expected. Brooklyn Eagle photo by Wayne Daren Schneiderman

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RED HOOK — The Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition opened its doors on the Red Hook waterfront at 481 Van Brunt St. last week, kicking off its spring season of art with three brand new exhibitions.

“Realism vs. The Abstract,” a national juried show, explores two modes of artistic expression: realism and abstraction, using the basic elements of color, shape, and subject matter, to create a gallery-wide dialog of relationships between the artwork.

“Fine Grit: Art & Ideas in Wood,” also a national juried show of art, however, it uses wood as a primary material — displaying a range of techniques — from hand carving, woodcuts, and pyrography, to more recent technologies such as laser engraving and 3-D printing.

Sandra Forrest, artist and vice president of BWAC and curator of the “Designed by Nature” exhibit.

And Designed by Nature, which is the theme of this season’s first BWAC members exhibition, whereby member artists explore the richness and beauty of nature in all media and in any aspect or form, real or abstract.

Joe Banish, artist and BWAC board of directors member, told the Brooklyn Eagle that while BWAC attracts artists from all over the borough, people from other parts of the world, such as France, Japan, Syria, Iran, and Ghana, have also submitted their works in BWAC exhibits.

“Everyone wants to be in New York — and especially Brooklyn,” Banish said. “Oftentimes, they are passing through New York, making art, and they just don’t know where to go. We are very often an entry point for that.”