DROR at THE MUBE MUSEUM for LOVE & ART CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION JULY 2-8
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sharing the inspiring power of creativity and art, international designer, Dror Benshetrit donates 4.5-meter high sculpture 'Reach' to 'Casa da Criança Amor & Arte'; a school, arts and community center offered to the children of Jataí, Goiás, Brasil by the Love & Art Children's Foundation. The ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for July 21, 2012. Dror's piece aims to inspire the young students of the school as it represents an open stairway that reaches the sky. Fabricated with the generous support of Brazilian steel company, Mekal, the 1.5-tone sculpture is made from the assembly of QuaDror squares. 'Reach' will be unveiled at the Brazilian Museum of Sculpture in Sao Paulo on July 2-8 as part of the exhibition curated and produced by Love & Art Children's Foundation to celebrate the opening of the center.
[Images of the sculpture coming soon - available upon request shortly after July 2 unveiling at MUBE, Sao Paulo]
MuBE | Museu Brasileiro da Escultura
Avenida Europa, 218 Sao Paulo, 01449-000, Brazil
"I feel like I never left the imaginary world in which I would find inspiration when I was a child. It was fed by images of Rodin's sculpture, paintings and colors from old European masters that I would find and collect. I was constantly drawing and dreaming. I am the same today actually. I only have more references and sources of inspiration, as well as more knowledge and access to execute and materialize my visions. I am an advocate and a true believer of the importance of artistic education for the healthy growth of one's mind. For this, I am honored and pleased to be able to contribute to the Love & Art Children's Foundation educative platform in Brazil. It feels great to know that my artistic expression can be part of the educational environment of the Love & Art school and that it may inspire the students and help them feel that sky is the limit.
My sculpture is a bridge between creative vision andtechnical execution, and metaphorically it means to bridge the ground to the sky as an open stairway. I wish to inspire children's creativity and dreams with it."
The sculpture piece consists of assembled QuaDror squares, clustered in a way to form an open stairway to the sky. The QuaDror geometry is one that Dror discovered in 2006 and which he has since investigated in a cross-disciplinary and collaborative environment. The unique geometry has unfolded a wide scope of advantages for construction that lead to design application ideas for product and architecture.
About QuaDror
The QuaDror is made from the assembly of four identical L-shaped pieces, either thin resulting in a trestle structure, or thick resulting in a solid panel. The collapsible system allows for rapid assembly and a transition from closed and flat to open and self-standing.
QuaDror opens up various design possibilities for urban development ideas and habitat improvement. The scope of advantages that it presents includes easy-assembly, unique structural strength, easy transportation to sites as it is collapsible and cost efficiency. Among the different design applications investigated, Dror is inspired and eager to share the QuaDror shelter design which can bring to the community in needs an empowering design tool for them to strengthen the structure of their habitat. It is a design solution presented in a didactic way as a tool and a system for building and utilizes local material.
About Love & Art
Founded in 2003 by Brasilian artist Alécia de Menezes Seidler in Los Angeles, California, the Love & Art Children's Foundation was born out of the desire to reach out to children in need and to offer them, through the arts, a way of expression, empowerment and hope.
The foundation brings its unique art workshop program to underprivileged groups of children. Working with an artist, each child has the opportunity to create a large scale, mixed media work of art. Time, attention and care help the children open up and use their vivid imaginations. The resulting art collections are a vibrant testament to the spirit of creativity and youth.
To share the beauty and power of the children's art, Love & Art organizes exhibitions around their creations and their stories. Through the exhibitions these young artists receive recognition for their accomplishments.
Some of Love & Art's past highlights include projects with children afflicted with cancer in Paris and with foster youth in Los Angeles. These art collections titled: L'Enfant et l'Art and Enchanted... were respectively exhibited at Les Arts Décoratif, in the Louvre Palace in Paris and at Christie's Beverly Hills.
Love & Art raised $600,000USD from art auctions, conducted by Christie's, that followed each exhibit. 100% of all proceeds directly benefited the organizations providing services for those children, and enabled these young artists to give back to their own communities.
Love & Art Children's Foundation has built its first children's house, Casa da Criança Amor & Arte, that provides a safe haven for underprivileged children offering them a variety of art workshops, healthy educational activities and sport programs in Jataí, Goiás, Brasil.
Casa da Criança Amor & Arte will be a model for more children centers the foundation envisions. We are looking for like-minded people and organizations with similar goals to join us on future projects.
Since 2002, Dror Benshetrit has developed an idea-driven design practice with a cross-disciplinary team of experts. Today, the studio Dror has grown a portfolio of international projects ranging in scale and nature. His approach to design shows a systemic focus on performance and transformation in order to bring advanced solution to improve our lifestyle and our built-environment. His portfolio has shown breadth and depth through the completion of projects including product design, architecture, interior design and art direction.
Dror explores the nature of movement, space and forms. His objects are often modular or transform for greater performance. They morph and reflect the great ability of their users to adjust and respond to their evolving needs.
The designer received his education at the Eindhoven Design Academy in Holland. He has long been interested in the complexity of the manifold meanings and uses that intersect at a single object. Rooted in a rigorous approach and methodology of ovement, every project is driven with the desire to unleash the mutable and non-static nature of objects.
Dror observes the world from an inquisitive eye, seeking responses to the needs of our modern lifestyle. Each project starts with questions and triggers immersive investigations. In collaboration with a team of experts, Dror conducts thorough research focusing on materials, technology and geometry.
Based in New York, he works with clients around the world; including Cappellini, Alessi, Bentley, Swarovski, Target, Tumi, Puma, Boffi, Rosenthal, Origins, Kiehl's, Levi's, Lualdi, Material ConneXion, Maya Romanoff, Marithé + François Girbaud, Bombay Sapphire, Skins Footwear, Yigal Azrouël, Shvo, .Dror has lectured around the world and received numerous design awards including the GE Plastics Competition &Merging Boundaries& (2001), iF Product Design Award (2006), the Good Design Award (2008, 2010). He has gained international media exposure. and has been widely exhibited. His work is included in the permanent collections of major museums in North America, Europe and the Middle East including among others, the Metropolitan Museum, the Design Museum of Holon, and the Museum of Arts and Design in New York.
JULY 2-8
Founded in 2003 by Brasilian artist Alécia de Menezes Seidler in Los Angeles, California, the Love & Art Children's Foundation was born out of the desire to reach out to children in need and to offer them, through the arts, a way of expression, empowerment and hope.