9. FORMALITIES at Materials for the Arts
Materials for the Arts (MFTA) is NYC’s largest art supply reuse center. Located in Queens, MFTA provides supplies free of charge to nonprofits with arts programming, public schools, and City agencies. MFTA’s current artist-in-residence is Machine Dazzle, “a self-described artist trapped in the role of costume designer,” who creates colorful and whimsical sculpture works and costumes out of everyday objects. To create his first solo sculptural exhibit, FORMALITIES, Dazzle had access to MFTA’s 35,000-square-foot warehouse full of anything he might have needed, from buttons and fabric to kitschy knick-knacks.
In FORMALITIES Dazzle takes commonplace items and transforms them into art. With creative flare, he has turned Christmas ornaments, vintage jewelry boxes, and various pieces of homeware into scenic landscapes, crafting lifelike figures out of inanimate items. FORMALITIES is free and open to the public through Friday, January 12, 2024, at the MFTA Gallery, open Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm.