BBBBB (Buket’s Bunny Boy Beach Bed), 2017, oil on canvas, by Buket Savci
These are dark times, there’s no denying it. From political unrest and environmental crisis to smaller gripes like seasonal allergies and MTA woes, it’s easy to get bogged down in this concrete jungle we call home. But Buket Savci, this week’s featured artist, is here with a salve in her magnificently colorful and fantastically buoyant works. Buket’s paintings, along with Jacob Hicks’, will be the inaugural works at Wrong Side of the River (67 West Street, Suite 312) now through May 3. Their exhibition, Wonderland, is a welcome balm to our times and a stunning exercise in collaborative creativity. Below, we get to know Buket and her work, but most importantly her contagious and relentless optimism.
Greenpointers: How long have you been in Brooklyn?
Buket Savci: I live and work in Brooklyn; I’ve been in Bushwick for a little over three years. Before that I lived in Astoria for almost 10 years. But I’ve had my studio in Greenpoint since I received my MFA from New York Academy of Art in 2012. I also studied painting at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.
Your Wonderland series is so fun! What was the inspiration for that at Wrong Side of the River?
I am so glad to hear you enjoy our title for the show. I have been working on these series of paintings for a few years now, which are about the fleeting moments of pure joy and happiness. I create paintings addressing the ephemerality of happiness while using objects like balloons as a metaphor for our short lived contentment.
I really enjoy using saturated vivid colors, and I think everything else is so negative and dark so at least my paintings should be colorful and fun. That’s why I use the colors that makes me happy, and I enjoy including humor in my art. But actually I am not that joyful. Life is not easy and I had my share of traumas. Unfortunately a few years ago I had a major depression and even my psychiatrist was constantly telling me that my art will save me. Painting is my passion, and it is this wonderland where anything can happen, so I choose to make it fun and colorful like a playground.
Passengers, 2018, oil on canvas, by Buket Savci
There is this profound quote from a Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet; he asks to Abidin Dino, who was a famous Turkish artist. “Could you make a painting of happiness?” So all these led me to question what is real happiness, when and how we feel real joy, and how do I express this through painting.
Painting lets me live these fleeting moments in detail and throughly over a course of weeks even months. I want to create a niche of fantasy, where both the figures and I as the painter can be just like a child — innocent and playful, carefree and bold. A visual playground far away from all the darkness enclosing us outside and inside, blossomed through sincerity and trust.
# New Year Cacao Ceremony @ Anima Mundi Apothecary (31 Noble St.), 7pm, $45, come together in circle to reflect on the year and create clarity and space for what is to come in 2019, buy tix * TRIVIA Night! Deck the hall, Drop the ball! @ Archestratus (160 Huron St.), 8pm, FREE, SANTA! SNOW! JINGLE BELLS! RESOLUTIONS! PRESENTS! CHAMPAGNE! TINSEL! Alright! Please join me for holiday trivia!!! Expect categories to be various, beer innumerable, arancine aplenty. There will be three rounds + a lightning round, but only one epic trophy. Win Beer! Win Rice Balls! Win Cookies! Study up Renaissance man style!!!!!!!! RSVP ♫ Bradley Zero, Toribio, Darker Than Wax @ The Good Room (98 Meserole Ave.), 10pm, FREE before midnight w/ RSVP, $10-$20 without, RSVP ♫ Dirty Thursday: Ugly Sweater Party @ House of YES (2 Wyckoff Ave), 10pm, FREE, RSVP
FRIDAY 12/28
♦ Meet the Confetti King! @ City Reliquary (370 Metropolitan Ave.), 7pm, FREE w/ admission, The biggest confetti event in the country is New Year’s Eve in Times Square. Did you know that all the confetti is tossed by hand? The man who makes it all happen is Treb Heining. He’ll be in New York to run the confetti operation at Times Square for the 27th consecutive year, and will make an appearance at the City Reliquary to talk about his work! Learn what it takes to be the Confetti King! More Info ♫ Autograf @ Schminanski (54 N. 11th) 9pm, $12-25, Buy Tix ♫ Loveless Records and Friends Holiday Spiral @ Kinfolk 90 (90 Wythe Ave.), 9pm, FREE, More Info ♫ Nevermind – ’90s Alternative (& Pop) Nite @ St. Vitus (1120 Manhattan Ave.), 11pm, FREE w/ RSVP, RSVPContinue reading →
Hey Greenpointers! Are you ready to deck the halls…with History?
Holiday History runs deep in this town, since Santa is a Native New Yorker. It’s true! Saint Nick is the Patron Saint of New York City, and New York’s writers and artists were the first to describe and depict Santa as we know him. He even got his sleigh in Chelsea! Add to this the fact that New York retailers invented holiday window displays, the original yule log footage was filmed here, and we’ve even got the original manuscript of “A Christmas Carol,” and it’s clear New York is a veritable holiday hot spot.
If you’d like to hear more about New York’s holiday history, please join me around town this month for my Hometown Holiday History event series!
Saturday 12/15
New York’s Holiday History from George Washington to Andy Warhol @ QED Astoria (27-16 23rd Avenue), 3pm, $10, Buy Tix
Saturday 12/22
Santa’s from West 23rd Street and other Secret Histories of New York Holidays @ Caveat (21A Clinton St.), 7pm, $15, I’m so thrilled to be joined by two incredible storytellers who will add to the historic holiday fun with tales of the ancient roots of the Winter Solstice, and the origins of Santa’s reindeer! Buy Tix
Thursday 12/ 27
TRIVIA Night: Deck the hall, drop the ball! @ Archestratus (160 Huron St.), 8pm, FREE, you know the drill for this one, Greenpoint! This month’s Trivia will be Holiday/New Year’s themed. Feel free to swing by solo, or with a team of up to four, to strut your stuff, win wonderful food and drink, and claim the title of Greenpoint Trivia Champ! RSVP
The turkey’s been carved and the first snow has fallen — now we look forward to our Polar Vortex Holiday Market! Join us on Sunday, December 2 from 1 to 7 PM for an an immersive Winterscape inside the cozy Greenpoint Loft (67 West St) and unique locally made gifts for all your holiday shopping needs.
To recap, 60+ talented makers & crafters will have beautiful creations ready for sale and there will be no shortage of FREE things to do throughout the day including an interactive hologram experience, digital Photo Booth, massages, henna tattoos, nail art, ornament making, and more! We will be serving warm mulled wine and refreshing locally crafted Greenpoint Beer & Ale. Plus there will be live musical performances by local bands Pink Slater and Love Always!
Shop and support local! Our vendors are local artisans, makers, and independent small businesses who craft high quality items. Get a glimpse of some of our featured vendors and hope to see you this Sunday!
A ceramist and crafter based in Brooklyn, Mariana Silva’s website boasts a number of hand-spun goods. She hand makes a range of one-of-a-kind porcelain creations — from earrings and mugs to pipes, plates, and cups — that astound in their uniqueness and delight in their charm.Follow Mariana and her porcelain beauties on Instagram.
Prune & Plum Prune & Plum believes that the pot of your cactus or succulent should be as gorgeous as the plant itself. The local company defines itself as indoor-plant stylists as they merge design and art with urban plants.
Kitchen Ink Kids, a staple at our seasonal markets, boasts a presence on Etsy but come see their hand-made products in person at our market! Made in the owner’s kitchen here in Brooklyn, Kitchen Ink Kids creates hand-dyed, 100% organic cotton children’s materials.
PRESTIDGE beauté Active Organics PRESTIDGE beauté Active Organics are lovingly made in a Brooklyn-based home-lab employing Reiki techniques. They are carefully crafted by hand with the finest ingredients, inspired by a desire to create a line of organic skin care products that yield stunning results.
Who in Greenpoint can deny a pierogi? Since 1991, Stanley’s has been providing a delectable line of delicious pierogis to both retail and food service industries, and all of their products are homemade using only the highest quality ingredients.
Fabalishemploys inventive, creative, fun ways to eat chickpeas. Offering baked falafels, chickpea blondies, and sauces with an aquafaba base. Enjoy good eats from natural foods chef Jessca Gebel. “Faba” means bean in Latin — and the “lish” is simply for delicious. Come try these vegan and gluten-free light delights!
Historical Map of Greenpoint courtesy of Dennis Ward
Beloved neighborhood worship/art space, the Park Church Co-op (129 Russell St.) has put out a fundraising call to the community. Ace local historian, and Greenpointers contributor, Geoff Cobb has answered that call in a fantastically innovative way! He’ll lead a donation-based historical walking tour of Greenpoint on Saturday, July 7th from 10-11am, and donate all proceeds to the Park Church Co-op.
The tour will meet at the corner of Calyer and Franklin. All are welcome! RSVP here.
What: Walking Tour with Geoff Cobb on Behalf of the Park Church Co-op When: Saturday, July 7, at 10am. Where: Franklin and Calyer Who: Everyone!
Swing by Adelina’s (159 Greenpoint Avenue) this Monday, June 18th, for a perfect pairing of all things Italian: chef Dustin Harder will team up with natural wine maker Joseph Pedicini to pair pistachio pesto arancini and a plant based carbonara pasta with vintage pinot noir and gewürztraminer wines!
The pairing stays perfect, and local, since Greenpoint foodie fave Archestratus Books & Foods (160 Huron St.) will be on hand selling copies of Harder’s “The Simply Vegan Cookbook.” The first 10 books sold will be signed and and include a secret edible treat!
Seatings at 7 and 9. Walk-ins welcome at the bar. Each perfect pairing: $15. Make a reservation here!
Pastor Amy in front of the Park Church Co-Op on Russell Street.
If you’ve ever been to a dance party, a concert, a reading, or a farmers market in Greenpoint, chances are you’ve been to the Park Church Co-op at 129 Russell Street. Greenpoint’s coolest church has been leading cultural venue as well as a space of spirituality and worship since it began its mission as a New Start Ministry in 2015. Now, the church is soliciting donations to continue its work.
Earlier this year, the Co-op was slated to lose funding from the Lutheran Church in America and shut its doors. Thankfully, the Church was granted a reprieve to continue operating til the end of 2018. With that deadline approaching, The Park Church Co-op has launched a campaign “designed to increase the number of worshipers attending Sunday services as well as to generate more giving from the community-at-large to continue and expand the church’s outreach programs.” The goal is for the Park Church Co-op to be fully self-sustaining through donations by the end of 2018. Continue reading →
♫ Fonema Consort // Charmaine Lee, solo @Arete Venue and Gallery (67 West St. #103), 7:30pm, $10,Chicago-based ensemble Fonema Consort will perform four new works for electronics, two voices, clarinet and trombone, Buy Tix ♫ Bit Brigade performs “The Legend of Zelda”, Double Ferrari, Cheap Dinosaurs @St. Vitus (1120 Manhattan Ave.), 7:30pm, $12-15, Buy Tix * Trivia Night @Archestratus (160 Huron St.), 8pm, FREE, Join our News Editor for Trivia at Archestratus! There will be food! There will be beer! Get your game on RSVP ♫ Los Perros/The Stance/Les Frappes (Sweden) + MORE! @ Brooklyn Bazaar (150 Greenpoint Avenue), 8pm, $8, More Info
THURSDAY 4/26
♦ Talking Trash screening @City Reliquary (370 Metropolitan Ave), 6pm, $5, Throwing out the Big Apple, More Info ♫ Open Mic Night @New Women Space (188 Woodpoint Road) 7pm, $10, New Women Space’s first community open mic Buy Tix ☺ The Mess @The Brick (579 Metropolitan Avenue), 8pm, $10, part solo show, part variety show part of Brooklyn Comedy Collective, More Info ♫ Hard Pass, Mean Girls (TX), Granddad (MN), Fear Not Ourselves Alone @Brooklyn Bazaar (150 Greenpoint Ave.), 8pm, $10, RSVP ♫ Minus the Bear @ Warsaw (261 Driggs Ave), 8pm, $30, Buy TixContinue reading →
Our Gardens of the Galaxy Spring Market is Getting Ready to Blast Off! Spring may not yet have fully sprung but we’re bringing fresh life, warmth, and out of this world local vendors to the Greenpoint Loft on 67 West Street for Greenpointers’ Gardens of the Galaxy Spring Market. We’ll be blasting off on Sunday, April 22 and staying in orbit from 1 to 7pm. Join your fellow space gardeners and RSVP on Facebook. More deets here.
WEDNESDAY 4/11
^Letters in the Dirt @The Brick (579 Metropolitan Avenue), 7pm, $20, This play places its audience face-to-face with the insightful Aiyana Jones— a seven-year-old girl fatally shot by police in 2010 during a botched raid in Detroit, now a symbol within the Movement for Black Lives. Buy Tix ♫ Full Frontal Female Fronted @Our Wicked Lady (153 Morgan Ave) 8pm, $5, Buy Tix ♫ Grand St. Stompers: 20s Jazz @Radegast (113 N 3rd St.), 9pm, FREE, Grab some German food & drink and join the quintet for dancing, listening, and hanging, More Info ☺ Freshly Baked: Cookies and Comedy @ The Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue), 9pm, FREE, rotating lineup, surprise special guests and homemade baked goods, More Info
THURSDAY 4/12
* Economic Development Committee Mtg — Community Board 1 @ CB1 District Office (435 Graham Avenue), 6:30pm, FREE, More Info * Cacao Ceremony & Reiki Experience @Anima Mundi Herbals (35 Noble Street), 7pm, $40, Are you ready to cultivate a deep loving sensation within your heart? Are you ready to deepen your loving relationship with yourself and others? Buy Tix # Pasta Fresca Plate! @Archestratus (160 Huron St.), 7pm, $20,Archestratus is very excited to kick off a new weekly dinner gathering! A relaxed evening of fresh, homemade pasta from a pasta-making Chef + Friend of Archie’s, RSVP ♫ Abraham Brody & Trys Keturiose: Ancestors @National Sawdust (80 N 6th St.), 7pm, $20, Buy tix ♫ PULP FICTION LIVE performed by The Last Nites @ The Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue), 8pm, $12-15, Buy TixContinue reading →
Shared Living, Better Living @ADO (29 Norman Ave), 6:30pm, FREE, A lively panel discussion about the challenges and opportunities presented by shared living, More Info ♦ Paint Nite @ Sick Willie (174 Meserole Ave), 7pm, $65, Our Social Painting Instructor guides you step-by-step through the featured painting in about two hours. Buy Tix ^ Okoyomon / Hamilton / Hodson @Spoonbill Series (99 Montrose Ave), 7pm, FREE, A reading curated by Coco Fitterman, More info * TRIVIA NIGHT @ Archestratus (160 Huron St.), 8pm, FREE, Trivia with our news editor! Expect categories to be various, beer innumerable, arancine aplenty, RSVP
THURSDAY 3/29
# Passover Seder Potluck @The Park Church Co-op (129 Russell St), 6pm, FREE, More Info. Blending Herbal Smokes @Catland (987 Flushing Ave), 7pm, $20,In this workshop we will discuss the various herbs which are safe to be burnt and inhaled to manifest our highest intentions, Buy Tix ☺ New Comedy Project With Greenport Harbor Brewing @ The New Work Project (97 North 10th St), 7:30 pm, $10, Comedians you’ve seen on Comedy Central, Conan, MTV & more join us at The New Work Project for a night of comedy and free refreshments provided by Greenport Harbor Brewing, Buy tix ♫ The Rocket Queens (GNR Tribute), Wildstreet, FerreTT @ St. Vitus (1120 Manhattan Avenue), 7:30pm, $8-12, Buy tix ♦ Gentrification Express Screening @Sunview Luncheonette (221 Nassau Ave), 7:30pm, FREE,”Gentrification Express: Breaking Down the BQX” and other short films, More Info
FRIDAY 12/28
Prune & Plum believes that the pot of your cactus or succulent should be as gorgeous as the plant itself. The local company defines itself as indoor-plant stylists as they merge design and art with urban plants.
PRESTIDGE beauté Active Organics are lovingly made in a Brooklyn-based home-lab employing Reiki techniques. They are carefully crafted by hand with the finest ingredients, inspired by a desire to create a line of organic skin care products that yield stunning results.
THURSDAY 4/26
THURSDAY 4/12
WEDNESDAY 3/28
THURSDAY 3/29
FRIDAY 3/30 
