Main Gallery
Al Diaz "Words, Objects, Notions"
Thursday, October 19th - Sunday, November 12th, 2023 

Van Der Plas Gallery presents two solo exhibitions featuring Al Diaz’s “Words, Objects, Notions” in the gallery space, and Danny Cortes’ “Disappearing Urban World” in the downstairs showroom, with an opening reception for both exhibitions on Friday, October 20th from 6 to 8 pm.

“Words, Objects, Notions” is an exhibit of Al Diaz’s latest text based work. The exhibition includes paintings, collages on paper, and sculptures. For over a decade, Diaz has been utilizing wet paint signage used by the MTA to construct a constrained alphabet of 24 characters. With this alphabet, Diaz generates humorous, sarcastic, pithy, and sometimes poignant writings, not unlike the well known SAMO© graffiti he co-created with Jean Michel Basquiat in 1978.

From October 19th to October 22nd, the film “Al Diaz: Like A Bomb," produced and directed by Jane Brill, will be shown in the Dumbo Film Festival. This short documentary illustrates the life and work of Al Diaz from the present to the past, from his early days as Bomb One, spray painting the subways and streets of New York City, to his current position, where he's exhibiting artwork at Van Der Plas Gallery in the Lower East Side.

Showroom
Danny Cortes' "Disappearing Urban World"
Thursday, October 19th - Sunday, November 12th, 2023

​Danny Cortes’ “Disappearing Urban World” showcases nostalgic remembrances of the city that Cortes grew up with, pieces of a rapidly changing landscape that are thus immortalized through his work. In a New York Times article, Cortes notes “I love everything abandoned, everything rusty, dirty. When you pass by a dumpster, most people usually don’t take time to stop, breathe, forget about your daily life in New York and the hustle and bustle. Take your time, look around. You can see beauty in a rust drip.” Cortes’ miniatures shed light on urban beauty, generating a new perspective towards the otherwise unnoticed corners of New York City.