No Longer Empty's "How Much Do I Owe You?" opens tonight - here is a preview of the art

We’ve talked about No Longer Empty’s installation, How Much Do I Owe You? before, and we’re delighted to tell you that the opening is tonight! This is No Longer Empty’s 14th site-specific exhibition, taking place on the first floor, basement (vault), and mezzanine of LIC’s Bank of Manhattan Building. We attended a preview on Monday and wanted to share with you want we saw; hopefully this will whet your appetite to check out this amazing exhibition/installation.

Ghost of a Dream – In Banks We Trust. Hundreds of bank slogans are handwritten on the walls here in this area below the stairs that go up to the mezzanine. Below is one detail that caught our eye, with the slogan “Dare to Dream.” You can also make out “a true liberator,” too.

Detail of Ghost of a Dream – In Banks We Trust – “Dare to Dream”

Ghost of a Dream – The Price of Happiness. This is made of discarded scratch off lottery tickets, some from China. Were struck by the colors and design. It’s in the shape of a house, reflecting one of the biggest dreams lottery players keep, hoping to hit it big with a scratch off.

Sal Randolf – Give and Take. Plates, money, and people – the artists giving away and receiving money at this exhibit.

Jongsun Jay Lee – Shifting Landscape. LED lighting and rice. The artist was in the middle of covering this strip of LED lighting when we visited. Rice is used to represent currency here (as it has in the past in various parts of Asia). Hanging in the back are sacks of rice.

Guerra de la Paz – Sealing the Deal. This is located downstairs just outside of the vault itself. Mannequins dressed in found garments and shoes, with men’s neckties wired up to look like snakes (“snakecharmers”).

Colleen Ford – Saving for Our Future. Colleen was kind enough to talk with us on Monday. She is an artist based in Brooklyn and is originally from Colorado. She played all these lotto tickets; the glass pigs were made by a glass-blowing friend of hers. Student Loan debt and the desire to be unshackled from that played into her lottery habit. This is also located just outside of the vault downstairs.

Orit Ben-Shitrit – Vive le Capital. This film, which plays inside the building’s vault, illustrates the tenuous and often contentious relationship between money and art. It was filmed in various vaults in banks in Manhattan.

Erika Harrsch – US Dollar Kites and Mao Dragon Kite. These are whimsical and made us smile.

This exhibit/installation will be here in LIC for the next three months. Tonight from 7-9pm is the opening reception  with special remarks by City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, the area’s representative and the chair of the NYC Cultural Affairs Committee.

The Bank of Manhattan building is located at 29-27 41st Avenue in Long Island City.

No Longer Empty heads to LIC with an exhibition in the old Bank of Manhattan [QNYC]