Richard Della Costa: Spill Box

The Shoe Factory Art Co-op announces their March/April art exhibit, “Richard Della Costa: Spill Box”. Located in Rochester’s Neighborhood of the Arts, the gallery will display numerous assemblage works created by artist Richard Della Costa for his debut show.

"Memories are Fading"

As is true of many assemblage artists, Della Costa searches for and collects a plethora of found objects to use as his art medium and to spark his imagination. Many of the discarded relics that provide him with inspiration have percolated to the surface of an old landfill near his country home in Kendall, NY.

"Killers of Boys"

With pieces of junk, bits of metal & glass, antique objects, animal skulls & bones, vintage photographs & newspaper clippings, Della Costa conceives, arranges, and constructs three-dimensional collages. Most of the works he assembles inhabit old wooden crates, or boxes he has built himself. Others are not enclosed in boxes, but are sculptural in form. Themes that run through his pieces stem from his vision of our world as being chaotic and violent. Della Costa is influenced by 20th century American assemblage artist Joseph Cornell, as well as European Dada artists Kurt Schwitters, Raoul Hausmann, and Hannah Höch.

Della Costa has found time to focus on his artwork since his recent retirement from Rochester City School District. He taught Media and English Language Arts at STEM High School for the last decade. He was previously a Media Coordinator and Film instructor at Visual Studies Workshop for over 17 years. As a young man, Della Costa became involved with the Peace Corps. He served for 15 years, first as a volunteer in India and Guatemala, then as a staff member in Washington, DC. He got his Bachelors in English and Theater from Niagara University and his Masters in Education from SUNY Brockport.

"Café Goebbels et La Resistance"

Also on display in the Shoe Factory Art Co-op gallery will be a variety of additional artwork created by House Artist members.  

Show dates: First Friday March 4th 6-9pm, Second Saturday March 12th 12-4pm, First Friday April 1st 6-9pm, Second Saturday April 9th 12-4pm. Free admission.  Artwork available for purchase.

Location:  The Shoe Factory Art Co-op, 250 N. Goodman St., Studio 212 (second floor of the Anderson Arts Building) Rochester, NY 14607 
Website:  www.shoefactoryarts.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/shoefactoryarts
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/theshoefactory
Twitter:  www.twitter.com/theshoefactory

"Nagasaki Through the Bombsight"

Beachcomber Designs Jewelry

 Local artist Lisa Johnson is a seeker of artifacts, small pieces of manmade and natural objects which long ago have been discarded and forgotten.  These treasures unearthed in her wanderings, often on the shore of Lake Ontario, are what inspire Johnson to create jewelry for her business Beachcomber Designs. 

Discovering beauty in a common stone or a weathered piece of beach glass, Johnson is compelled to enhance the object’s simplicity by translating it into an attractive piece of jewelry to be worn and enjoyed.  She forges silver to dress up her earthy finds, or makes a mold of a textured natural object, such as a tiny feather, to create a silver replica.  

Another of Johnson’s passions is to create intricately woven beadwork.  Using ancient off-loom techniques such as peyote stitch and right angle weave, she painstakingly threads hundreds of beads into a finished piece of jewelry.

The Shoe Factory Art Co-op will feature Lisa Johnson’s jewelry for the month of April.  Among her interesting selection of wearable art will be necklaces, bolos, earrings, bracelets, and rings.

The public is invited to meet the Brighton artist on FirstFriday, April 5^th from 6-9pm and on Second Saturday, April 13^th from 12-4pm.  Additional gallery hours are on Wednesdays from 12-5pm. 

Jewelry by Beachcomber Designs is available for purchase along with a variety of other artwork on display by Shoe Factory House Artists.  Free admission.

Location:  The Shoe Factory Art Co-op, 250 N. Goodman St., Studio 212 (second floor), Rochester, NY 14607. 
Phone: (585)732-0036
Website:  www.shoefactoryarts.com
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/theshoefactory
Twitter:  www.twitter.com/theshoefactory