Fortunes of Comfort
by Adina Andrus
November 14-29, 2020
Opening November 14
2-6pm
Because of COVID the gallery allows 4 people at a time and mask wearing is required.
“Fortunes of Comfort” is a collection that explores the yearning for belonging in a new place.
The artist draws on her personal experience as an expat to highlight the nostalgic connection
sparked by familiar foods. Hanging ceramics, collages and beadwork reference elements of
prehistoric and folk art blended with modern day ethnic food packaging. The result is a display
of contrasts: old/new, clay/plastic, lasting/disposable, remote/convenient. Each is meant to
describe the pull between an idealized “back-home” and the deliberately chosen new “home” of
present life. Gold accents reinforce the idea of discovery through a treasure-trove of small
connections that bind the two.
Whether experiencing life as an immigrant, or looking to understand a broader perspective, the
collection welcomes all cultural backgrounds. Viewers are invited to identify symbols, tastes,
shapes and memories by recognizing their universality and the powerful need for continuity and
community.
Adina Andrus (born in Bucharest, Romania, currently based in New York) works across various
media, creating 2D mixed media pieces, sculptures, drawings and installations that confront
questions of memory, belonging, and visual culture across time and space. Her works allude to
a shared pool of images that we inherit, consume and are being guided by, while simultaneously
interpreting and contributing new meanings to it. Much of her process is akin to map making —
using found objects, textiles, collage, and ink to create the tension between organic relief
shapes and contained, linear borders and passageways.
Andrus studied art at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Art Students
League in New York City. She has been exhibiting work in New York and in numerous galleries
across the United States, including the St. Louis Artists Guild, El Barrio’s Artspace in NY,
Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild and the Delaware Contemporary, as well as in Bucharest, Romania.
In 2020 she was a recipient of the Queens Council for the Arts New Work Grant.
This exhibition is made possible (in part) by the Queens Council on the Arts with public funds
from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.