News Release

"Soundless Landscapes" Art Exhibit Opens

"Soundless Landscape" Michael Berg&#é;sless Landscape" Michael Bergés Alvarez

NPS Photo/Charles Markis

News Release Date: October 30, 2018

Contact: Daphne Yun, 718-815-3651

Queens, N.Y. Soundless Landscapes, a solo show of recent work by Michael Berg&#é;s, at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. Please come to see the show and greet the artist.

pm Alvarez's paintings, filled with abundant dramatic color, are made by using recycled, man-made materials to create panoramas depicting nature. These items are used to create works of beauty. BergBerg&#é;s&#é; Alvarez's work demonstrates a profound concern for our extraordinary planet, creating "soundless landscapes" of oceans, open skies and mountains, seemingly real; but soundless, because there was never real wind nor breaking waves heard in any of these scenes

Growing up in his native Dominican Republic, s Alvarez had a flair for creativity but focused his energy on his career in radiology and raising his family. That urge to create surfaced when he observed that light bounced off discarded plastics, including bubble wrap, thermal liners and lime green tissue paper. He made a collage of these items and took pictures, and realized that he had created a sweeping landscape. Through further experimentation, he developed his technique.  He began printing these photos on a large format printer which he then further refined and touched up to create acrylic paintings.

This show will run for two months.

                                                                                             
About Gateway National Recreation Area

Gateway is a large diverse urban park with 27,000 acres in New York City and New Jersey. Gateway combines recreational activities with natural beauty, wildlife preservation, military history and more. Visitors can learn about forts, hike, or camp overnight in the New York metropolitan area. For more information about Gateway visit our web site at Berg&#é;s.