Belmont’s Rex Hall to feature art show

Belmont’s Rex Hall to feature art show
Community News Group / Jaime Williams

The first exhibit at Little Italy’s new arts center will open this October.

Sculpture and Mixed-Media exhibit “Ego versus Soul” will be presented by artist Jeanine Alfieri as the maiden exhibit at Rex Hall on 187th Street.

The space is an old ballroom that has been converted into an art center by the non-profit group the Belmont Society of Arts and Culture.

Alfieri, a long-time New York artist, moved her studio to the Bronx about five years ago, and said she loves it here.

“When I got here the Bronx art community welcomed me with open arms,” she said.

She’s had a residency at in Rex Hall throughout the summer since June, working on October’s exhibit, which will feature 12 pieces, all but two of which are new.

Alfieri, who works primarily as a sculpture artist, said she has been working within the theme of “ego versus soul” for years, creating art inspired by obervations of the separation of mind and spirit.

“I find it fascinating what our egos tell us to do,” she said.

Her new pieces include a “Facebook” series, which she said is an observation of how social media feeds our egos.

Despite the ideas behind her pieces, Alfieri said her work is accesible. She said she feels people can experience art no matter their level of education or previous exposure to art.

“Everyone can enjoy it, and everyone should be exposed to it regardless of financial situations or place in society,” she said.

They just need a place to go to in order to experience it, she said. which is where alternative art spaces like Rex Hall canhelp.

“I think every neighborhood needs something like this,” Alfieri said.

The Belmont Society of Arts and Culture has plans to host a wide variety of cultural events in the coming months and years. In November, the traveling art gallery that Alfieri founded, the Fountianhead Gallery, will be featured at Rex Hall.

Alfieri said she founded the gallery in order to meet new artists and bring them together in collaboration, as well as estabilish a non-elitist space for viewing art.

“It’s a place where everyone is welcome,” said Alfieri.

The opening reception for “Ego versus Soul” will be held Saturday, October 4, at 7 p.m., at Rex Hall 602 E. 187th Street. The reception will feature music by the Monticello Trio, a performance by Autumn Kioti, and food by Woopies Miniature Dessert Co.

The exhibit runs October 1 through October 29 and will be open Wednesdays through Fridays from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m.

Reach Reporter Jaime Williams at (718) 742–3383. E-mail her at jwill‌iams@‌cnglo‌cal.com.