Lots of halves
With Art2Cure launching in New York, half of the artists come from New York, half from Luxembourg. Of the money raised, half will go to the artists and half will go to Parkinson’s disease research. Half of this research money will be used by Colombia University in New York, half by the University of Luxembourg. Prof. Serge Przedborski of Columbia University, and Prof. Rejko Krüger of the University of Luxembourg, will collaborate and lead the research projects. Philippe Lamesch, vice-president of Art2Cure, looked delighted at the turn-out and is thrilled by the prospect of accelerating research results, with the partnerships of Columbia and Luxembourg Universities.
A union of culture and science above politics
The Prime Minister gave an elegant toast to the artists and all who had worked so hard to develop this partnership:
“It’s a great way to foster relations between our countries. Culture can help us to understand each other and should never be used for political reasons.”
Mr. Bettel went on to describe the strong connection between a scientist and artist’s mind:
“Both need to be artists. You have to think about what you did and what you will do.”
The Commissioner of Cultural Affairs for New York City, Thomas Finkelpearl, made a poignant reference to his family’s experience of Parkinson’s disease:
“My Dad had Parkinson’s. The medication he had changed my family’s life”.
Artists expanding their reach to other communities
The artists present were extremely approachable and eager to share their passion for the project.
Amanda Dow Thompson, British, living in New York for over a decade, had carved three fascinating sculptures within three long pieces of wood.
“You can see inside and outside at the same time. The outside is more than armor. It represents the different stages of a woman’s life; being pulled apart in all directions yet having this inner rod”.
Whilst Amanda is happy to explain her thinking in depth, it’s the opposite for fine artist Scott Hunt:
“I never tell the story of a picture. It’s private. I let the onlooker work out the story and it can be a different one every day.”
Roland Quetsch and Sergio Sardelli, both from Luxembourg, had striking sculptures on show.
Darryl Westly, born in Chicago but living in New York, produces powerful pop paintings. His current work, he explained, is about visual layering:
“The layers are like thoughts in our heads; different thoughts come to the fore at different times.”
The artists showing work are:
Jhemp Bastin, Amanda Dow Thompson, Joe Fyfe, Scott Hunt, Lauren Luloff, Martine Pinnel, Roland Quetsch, Sergio Sardelli, Stick, Joachim Van der Vlugt, Darryl Westly, Rachel Eulena Williams and Sydney Goldstein.
Full article on rtl.lu.