News and Press Releases

For immediate release: April 19, 2023

Contact: Bliss Green-Morehead, publicaffairs@culture.nyc.gov

MATERIALS FOR THE ARTS PRESENTS “A KALEIDESCOPE OF LINES/ FORMS/ PATTERNS” BY ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE SUI PARK

Photos of the installation are available here.


‘Pompom & Pompom‘ (2018-2023) by Sui Park. Photo by Anthony Sertel Dean. 

Queens, NY – Materials for the Arts (MFTA), a program of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, is pleased to present A Kaleidescope of Lines/ Forms/ Patterns, a solo exhibition of multi-media works by artist Sui Park, on view now through June 6, 2023 in the Materials for the Arts Gallery, located within the MFTA Warehouse at 33-00 Northern Blvd, Long Island City, Queens. Park’s residency at MFTA began in January 2023. As an MFTA Artist-in-Residence, she had free workspace and unlimited access to the vast array of donated supplies in MFTA’s 35,000 square-foot-warehouse to upcycle and incorporate in her practice. Work created during her residency is featured in this captivating solo exhibition.

Through A Kaleidescope of Lines/ Forms/ Patterns, Park invites the public to explore her illusory 3-dimensional installations and sculptures, immersing visitors into a world of awe-inspiring works resembling cells, molecules, and organic forms. A New York-based artist from Seoul, Korea, Park’s creations are often made with mass-produced industrial materials, in particular monofilament cable sleeving and zip ties. In addition to these materials, Park also incorporated reems of receipt paper, take-out sauce containers, plastic cups, cardboard, baskets, and even an aquarium tank from the MFTA warehouse into her exhibition.

"Every day of my residency at MFTA has been an invaluable experience with great expectations,” said Sui Park, MFTA Artist-in-Residence. “Every day, I met with a new group of people and supplies of new materials. Endless support of MFTA staff has helped my fruitful creation of new ideas and artwork."

“Park has shown in this exhibit how beautiful and intricate art projects can be made from non-traditional art materials like zip ties and plastic cups,” said John Cloud Kaiser, MFTA Gallery Director. “These works composed of multiples of discarded objects hold a mirror up to our present world and show the mysterious patterns and organic forms that can be revealed by looking at everyday objects in new ways.”

Sui Park is often inspired by nature’s ability to encourage us to pause and discover unexpected ideas and memories. By transforming mundane materials that are disposable, trivial, inexpensive, and easily consumed into organic structures, she creates works that lasting moments, that lead us to meditate on the objects and materials around us.  

A Kaleidescope of Lines/ Forms/ Patterns by Sui Park is on view at Materials for the Arts on Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. This exhibition is free and open to the public. To learn more visit MFTA’s website.

Media: to arrange for interviews or tours of the exhibition, send an email to publicaffairs@culture.nyc.gov.

About Sui Park

Sui Park, born in Seoul, Korea and based in New York, creates 3-dimensional organic forms in biomorphic shapes. Through these forms, she attempts to express seemingly static yet dynamic characteristics of our evolving lives. Sui Park often finds inspiration in nature, and she believes it allows us to pause and find things that have been overlooked and are inspiring. She presents natural forms in abstract and porous ways so that they can be filled with our thoughts and precious moments.

Sui Park has been invited for solo exhibitions at Cahoon Museum of American Art in Cotuit, MA; the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Washington D.C.; MONO PRACTICE in Baltimore, MD; Platform-L Contemporary Art Center in Seoul, South Korea; and Art FLUX Harlem in New York, among others. Park's works are in the public collection of Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in the University of Oregon in OR, Saks Fifth Avenue in NY, Chautauqua Institution in NY, Hotel Four Seasons in Maldives Voavah, and SNP Transfer Philadelphia in PA.

Sui Park earned an MDes in Interior Architecture at Rhode Island School of Design in RI, a BFA Environmental Design at Maryland Institute College of Art in MD, and another BFA and MFA in Fiber Arts at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, Korea.

About Materials for the Arts (MFTA)

A program of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, with support from the NYC Department of Education and Friends of Materials for the Arts, MFTA is NYC’s largest reuse center supporting nonprofits with arts programming, public schools and city agencies. On average MFTA collects over 1.5 million pounds of supplies each year which it provides, free of charge, to its member organizations. In addition to providing materials, MFTA offers a series of programs supported by its non-profit partner Friends of Materials for the Arts, including the MFTA Gallery, Third Thursday public programming, and the MFTA Education Center. Learn more at www.nyc.gov/mfta.

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