Opening: Saturday, May 18th, 4-7pm

ARENA@SUITE 806   

89 Fifth Avenue,  Suite 806  New York, NY 10003

ARENA is pleased to present Wrap Around One, an exhibition curated by Renée Riccardo featuring the work of Ryan Sarah Murphy, Gary Petersen and Gina Whitt. 

The location, Suite 806 at 89 Fifth Avenue, is the office of Lee Shapiro, Psy.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist. There will be an opening to the public Saturday, May 18th from 4 – 7pm and after that can be viewed by appointment only through mid August.

Wrap Around One is a unique venture between Renée Riccardo and her therapist, Lee Shapiro. The aim of the exhibition is to create a stimulating, healing environment for the patients that visit and a new way to experience contemporary art firsthand. The pieces in the exhibition were carefully chosen to work off of one another regarding the colors, content and nuances that exist in each artist’s work. These art works are placed in this particular setting to assist in creating a space to inspire all who enter. 

Renée Riccardo is an independent curator. She was an adjunct curator at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center in New York from 1987 to 1988 and independently organized shows of postmodernist photography from 1985 through 1990, including the traveling exhibition Acceptable Entertainment for Independent Curators Inc. In 1991 she opened ARENA, a gallery dedicated to emerging artists working in all media, and in 1996 and 1997 she co-organized the Art Exchange Show, an New York art fair located in abandoned Wall Street office buildings that focused on new art. Riccardo continued ARENA through 2004, having it sited in Soho, Cobble Hill, Williamsburg, and Chelsea at various times. In 2004 she established ARENA Projects, a roving curatorial and consulting entity. In 2011 Renée Riccardo launched a one-of-a-kind jewelry line, ARENAgal by Renée Riccardo.

Opening Reception - April 6th, 2013