Upon Closer Inspection

at The New York Transit Museum - 30th Anniversary Exhibition

The Art of Laura Cantor

The New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn Heights, celebrating its 30th Anniversary, is currently presenting a fine-art exhibition entitled, "Upon Closer Inspection: The Art of Laura Cantor."

Showcasing the work of a single artist, this exhibit presents 30 original works of art on paper using pastels, charcoal, oil and linoleum block prints.

The artist transforms ordinary nuts, bolts, and subway car components into a symphony of abstract shapes bursting with color.

Subway Car Under Carriage by Laura Cantor

Artist Laura Cantor has worked as a New York City Transit Subway Car Inspector for the past 23 years.

At work, where others see nuts, bolts and steel parts, she sees beauty in the mechanical symmetry of the undercarriages, stripping away the grit and grime of these components and changing them into artistically abstracted details with a beauty all their own.

Says Laura jokingly, "Maybe I was staring at the subway parts for too long, but I saw something in the glint of the light refracting off of the undercarriage of subway cars.

What, upon first glance, was an indefinable shape covered in grease and steel dust, was transformed into a symphony of abstract shapes, and subtle tones on paper and canvas. Shades of gray began to burst with color, transforming their appearances to reveal an interpretive picture of subway cars from a visual perspective not usually seen by the general public."

"As the images of her workplace find their way to paper, the grimy gray tones of the oil and steel dust coating the machinery are transformed to a more luminous palette.

Mechanical systems are shown accurately, but are seen as disengaged fragments creating enigmatic compositions.

While recognizable as machinery, the drawings seem to be abstract industrial landscapes," said Rob Del Bagno, New York Transit Museum Exhibitions Manager.

Portraits of Ms. Cantor's co-workers inspecting, repairing and cleaning the subway's rolling stock are also included in the exhibition.

Rendered in a painterly style, these portraits maintain a sense of realism that neither glamorizes nor trivializes the tasks. In one print, a man cleans the interior of a car. An oil painting depicts a worker operating a forklift.

Bombardier 142A Assembly

Magnetic Latch

For additional information about Museum tours, special events and programs, children's workshops, and other exhibits, please log onto www.mta.info/museum or call 718 694-1600

On View:
The New York Transit Museum
130 Livingston Street
Brooklyn Heights, NY 11201