Michele Brody, North Side, 2013. Glass, copper, handmade paper, sprouted seeds, and light, 11 x 21 x 4.25 in.

Michele Brody

New York

Casa Frela Gallery

“Harlem Roots,” Michele Brody’s recent show, paid homage to the neighborhood where she has lived for half a dozen years. Brody is an environmentalist/artist committed to community work (one reason for the show) and to sustainable art that incorporates seeds and living plants into simple but elegantly constructed installations. At Casa Frela, she made rows of brownstones from handmade paper, folded and turned into accordion-like arrangements. Supported on glass shelves mounted to the walls with recycled copper tubing, these architectural “books” celebrated the historically important brownstone buildings in the area. Now subject to gentrification, these structures represent the memory of Harlem’s development from its beginnings through its Renaissance to its decline and subsequent renewal.…see the entire review in the print version of September’s Sculpture magazine.