EMOJILAND Lina Condes 2019 Christmas Art Installation

Queens Crossing and Crossing Art are beyond thrilled to announce that for the 12th consecutive year they are set to bring downtown Flushing yet another innovative Christmas art installation in hopes to gather the community and live up the holiday spirits together. This annual unveiling has become a renowned tradition for those who live and work in the neighborhood of Queens, the most diverse county in New York, and in particular this year the organizers present the Ukraine born and Miami based artist, Lina Condes, to share her joyful and “instagrammable” sculpture with everyone for this holiday season. Lina’s work, titled “Emojiland”, was inspired by the popularity of emojis and the use of social media in our contemporary culture. Lina employs familiar objects from daily life to convey universal messages about the holiday spirit and human connections. These figures are created to represent everyone, regardless of race, gender, race, age, etc. They present a basic humanity that reveals the commonalities that connect us. The juxtaposition of these figures and emojis reveals the interests of a culture, from food, brand, to social medias, examining how these ideas represent us, especially during holiday seasons where these symbols are to be found everywhere. Lina’s consciously freed figures post questions on the condition of individualities in the 21st century, mediating on the origins of our happiness and identities. On December 11st, the organizers invite the community at large to take part in the annual lighting ceremony commemorating Condes’ creation. Participants shall include Congresswoman Grace Meng, New York State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, New York State Assemblyman Ron Kim, New York City Councilman Peter Koo, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz and more. There will also be a special live Christmas carol performance by award-winning chorus. An after party will be hosted after the lighting ceremony in the Food Hall at Queens Crossing. Participants can enjoy complimentary beer and samples from different stores including Kung Fu Tea, Happy Lemon and newly-opened TKK Fried Chicken from Taiwan. Taiyaki NYC will also offer a limited- edition taiyaki ice cream collaborated with the beloved Care Bear. Passersby and visitors are encouraged to post their photos with the installation and hashtag #QueensCrossing & #CrossingArt on social media (Facebook, Instagram, WeChat) from December 11th to January 15th and get the chance to win gift certificates from the stores and restaurants at Queens Crossing. Lina Condes was born 1988 in Cherkassy City, Ukraine and splits her time throughout Europe, Miami and New York. She graduated with honors from the Kiev University of Technology with a Masters in Design. is the creator of the iSculpture, famous for her stick figure and emoji art. With a love of art and an eye for design, Condes fuses her talents to create beautiful pieces of art through both ART+Technology. Condes focuses on the creation of large scale, contemporary and interactive ARTificial intelligence “iSculptures”. Condes’ work displays attribute of minimalism, surrealism and pop art. Some of her works include a 16-foot iSculpture inspired by Zaha Hadid Architecture, which was created for Biennale di Venezia. She brought this to the iconic Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach with a special installation during Art Basel Miami Beach 2017. Abroad, you can find her work in galleries located in Monaco, Geneva, London and Dubai. Her pieces have been placed in collections of notable names including the Tisch family, John DeLuca, Patti and Stanley Silver’s, Susan Estes, Bruce A. Beal Sr., and more. Her pieces are also on display in sheiks collections in the Middle East and private residences in Monaco and Ibiza. (condesart.com/) Queens Crossing is a state of the art mixed-use development by F&T Group in the heart of downtown Flushing, one of New York City’s most active and most diverse urban areas. Situated at the corner of Main Street and 39th Avenue in Queens with a beautiful view of local stores, Queens Crossing includes over 110,000 sq. ft. of retail space with shops, restaurants and the Food Hall, all conveniently served by multiple modes of public transportation, including the #7 Subway line. (queenscrossing.com) Crossing Art was established by Catherine Lee, Managing Director of F&T Group and a New York/Shanghai based art patron and collector with the opening of the original gallery in Queens, New York. It was founded with the belief that Contemporary art can broaden dialogues among cultures and discourses and should be shared with communities not limited to certain locale or audiences. The gallery subsequently moved to Chelsea with representative offices in Shanghai. Crossing Art offers a unique perspective on the contemporary art world, and its mission is to forge closer ties between the East and West, and to inspire the appreciation and understanding of art and design and its role in society. (crossingart.com)