The new exhibition titled "Paintings from the Kings and Queens Trilogy" showcases the work of John Wilkes, focusing on often-overlooked neighborhoods in NYC's outer boroughs, particularly Willets Point, the Rockaways, and Gowanus. This exhibit, hosted at Brooklyn's Prospect Range Projects, reflects Wilkes' ten-year exploration of urban landscapes caught between decay and revitalization. His paintings serve as a poignant reminder of these areas as they face transformation through redevelopment. Artistic director Dexter Buell highlights the urgency to document these neighborhoods before gentrification takes hold, capturing their essence in a moment of change.
"The pressure on those sites of spaces is always a condition of urban existence. I think that he (Wilkes) sort of wants to witness them before they disappear - 'let's have a look at what has here before.'"
"The city sheds its skin" and my work aims to capture the areas before they change forever as part of massive urban renewal projects.
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