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Cosmic Garden

2023

Artist Statement: My piano entitled “Cosmic Garden” draws upon my years of experience as a painter and my observations in my own garden. I grew up in an apartment building in Brooklyn, New York and outside my first floor window was a small patch of untended dirt. When I was about 8 years old, I started to dig in that patch of dirt and began planting seeds. From that small barren patch of dirt sprang forth a garden filled with flowers and vegetables. About that same time I was given some tubes of paint by my mother and I started painting on the cardboard inserts that used to come in men’s shirts. Gardening and painting have always been with me and I continue both to this day. My piano really is a culmination of these 2 passions which have informed much of my life since childhood. The paint is applied in an impasto style with the flowers taking on a dimensional, almost sculptural form. This is also a nod to one of the early influences on my art, watching Bob Ross’ “Joy of Painting” on PBS. It was Bob Ross’ use of a palette knife to paint that intrigued me and it has been an element in my paintings ever since. The lush silver background is there to contrast the vibrant flowers and living things that inhabit my piano. The dragonflies, hummingbirds and butterflies depicted on my piano are from photographs that I have taken in my Brooklyn backyard garden.

Public Location

Christopher Park

About the Artist

  • Christopher Spinelli

    Christopher Spinelli

    My journey through the world of art began when I first decorated my parents’ bedroom set with colored chalk.  A graduate of the School of Visual Arts, I took a 20 year unplanned hiatus from painting to raise a family and work multiple jobs.  Since returning to the world of art as a teacher and painter in 2011 I have been exhibiting my work both in the states and internationally.  Over the past five years I have partnered with Sing for Hope to create six painted pianos that have been displayed on the streets of New York City, as part of Hudson Yards’ Holiday Display and at a Refugee Camp in Athens, Greece.  Many have since been donated to public schools where they continue to be used. My work has also graced a MINI Countryman that drove around NYC during the summer of 2018 bringing pop-up concerts to all corners of the city.  Much of my art focuses on exploring and painting a New York that is quickly slipping into the past including childhood fascination with Coney Island. I have been documenting Coney Island in drawings, paintings and photography since the late 1980’s. I am also an avid gardener and insect enthusiast, seemingly since birth, and images of flowers from my garden also inform much of my work and my color palette. My passion for art has been reignited since I began teaching a class at Regis High School in 2011 for academically gifted yet economically disadvantaged children of immigrants.  A complete list of my exhibitions can be found on my website<a href="http://www.brooklyndreamland.com"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">www.brooklyndreamland.com</span></a>

  • Other Sing for Hope Pianos in the same Program

    Migratory Birds
    2023
    Migratory Birds
    Irina Sheynfeld
    Irina Sheynfeld
    Cosmic Garden
    2023
    Cosmic Garden
    Christopher Spinelli
    Christopher Spinelli
    Vibrant Soul
    2023
    Vibrant Soul
    Lance Johnson
    Lance Johnson
    Mother Vines
    2023
    Mother Vines
    Arianna Santoriello
    Arianna Santoriello
    The Nature of Music
    2023
    The Nature of Music
    Joanne Agabs
    Joanne Agabs
    Others Will See The Islands Large And Small
    2023
    Others Will See The Islands Large And Small
    Clementine Martinez
    Clementine Martinez
    Birds of Love
    2023
    Birds of Love
    Richela Fabian Morgan
    Richela Fabian Morgan
    Color Consequences
    2023
    Color Consequences
    Alexis Mendoza
    Alexis Mendoza
    Golden Hour
    2023
    Golden Hour
    James Hsieh
    James Hsieh
    Swell
    2023
    Swell
    Jieun Yang
    Jieun Yang