From trash to treasure to art

A UB exhibition proves that the age-old proverb, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” rings true in artmaking and design work.

“One and Many Chairs,” a new exhibit held from Sept. 1 to Oct. 17 in the UB Department of Art’s Lower Gallery at the Center for the Arts (CFA), showcases the sheer resourcefulness of student artists, faculty and the UB Sustainability team. The exhibit displays 35 different works of art, all of which began at the exact same point: old discarded leather chairs from the university’s Lockwood Library. 

Whitney Chamberlain, the exhibit’s curator and the art department’s resource manager, has a habit of looking for a deal or free stuff. Simply put, sometimes, all you have to do is be brave enough to ask, she said.

“I've noticed this pattern at UB, where if you keep your eyes open and aren’t afraid to ask for something, sometimes a door opens,” Chamberlain said.

Some artists toyed with the chair’s physical structure and dimensionality. Second-year BFA student Laura Valkwitch broke apart this simple piece of furniture into discombobulated parts that jut out of the white plaster wall at random points in her piece “Temporal Space Traveler.”

UB BFA alumnus Evelyn Bellreng — creator of the piece named “In memory of” — wanted to impart a new purpose to the discarded chair, one that does not involve supporting the weight of a physical human being. Her work features a seatless chair, with the ghostly portrait of a woman levitating above, fixed by a thin standing rod. 

“I wanted the function of the chair to no longer support an actual human, but the entity of someone who used to sit there. I believe the past has a way of attaching itself to physical objects, and I wanted to elaborate on the idea that vintage and antique items will always have history,” she says.

Others chose to keep the chair as is and build on its features. Contributing artist Emma Brittain’s “Snapper” depicts a vibrant green-blue snapping turtle and a pair of hands in a cupping gesture above dark, rippling water.

Roscoe Duquette, a second-year fine arts graduate student, used the exhibit as an opportunity to practice his portraiture skills. Lovingly named “Chairold,” Duquette’s piece features an array of overlapping depictions of people at different stages of life, angles and expressions. Some of these faces seem to acknowledge the viewer, accompanied by a polite smile or a neutral expression, while others turn away in anger or annoyance. 

A key concept of the exhibit is “upcycling,” the process of turning discarded materials into new items of a higher value. By painting directly onto the worn leather seat and backrest, Duquette transforms a scrapped item into a display of unity among differences. To that, he says, “I think [upcycling] is very in line with something I’m interested in doing, especially in my second year. I’ve taken objects with me from my old home that were going to be discarded, and from that I’d like to do something artistic with it.” 

Sustainability — upcycling projects, repurposing discarded parts or placing your trash in the correct recycling and waste bins — exists all around.

“One and Many Chairs” is just one example of how environmental harm can be reduced and sustainability made beautiful.

“This feels like a first step into that exploration that I hope to go on,” Duquette says. 

Kaden Zhong is the senior arts editor and can be reached at kaden.zhong@ubspectrum.com