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QUEENS WEEKLY, JAN. 13, 2019
Queens artist to debut ‘glitzy’ paintings in Bayside
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Lisa Gindi will be adding
a touch of glamor to an
annual Bayside art show.
On Sunday, Jan. 13, the
self-taught artist will join
35 artists at The Castle at
Fort Totten to debut her
newest works at the 18th
Annual Winter Art Show
organized by the Bayside
Historical Society. She first
began participating in the
show back in 2012.
Each artist will show
two works, ranging from
sculptures and watercolor
paintings to photographs.
Gindi’s paintings are from
her “Gindi Glitz” art collection,
which she began working
on in 2008. One is a take
on a Life magazine cover
from 1962 featuring Marilyn
Monroe while the other
is a surprise for the guests
who attend the event.
Gindi’s love of art began
long before she decided to
pursue it as a full-time career.
In 1985 she won an
award for best student artist
at Edward R. Murrow
High School after she decorated
the school’s display
cases with her hand-drawn
fashion designs. Her hobby
turned lucrative when she
decided to design tie-dye
beach cover-ups to pay her
way through college.
“My mother didn’t have
money for college so I had to
pay for my own tuition. So
I was making T-shirts for
these women on the beach
and they the stores didn’t
have all the different kinds
of sizes,” Gindi said.
She recalled how she
would go to the store to
buy Hanes T-shirts in extra
large sizes and make attractive
cover-ups that the
stores did not provide back
in the 1980s. Gindi said
that women were “fighting
over” her designs when she
went to sell them at a private
beach in Brooklyn.
Gindi added that when
the tie-dye designs got
messed up, she would
paint over them by hand
and charge extra for the
added labor.
The artist went to the
Fashion Institute of Technology,
where she majored
in fashion marketing and
sales and pursued that
straight after college in
the 1990s. She then transitioned
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to teaching and
earned her master’s of science
in education from
Adelphi University.
But art was always something
she practiced even as
a teacher, so she left her job
as a tenured high school
math teacher and decided
to pursue a career in art.
The Winter Art Show
will feature two selections
from her “Gindi Glitz” collection
which is based on
a collage-style that incorporates
images from highfashion
brands like Gucci,
Louis Vuitton and Coach.
Her collection includes
paintings and mixed-media
giclee prints that portray
pop culture figures, recreations
of fashion ads or her
own original designs.
“Say I’m not doing glitter
or stones anymore and it’s
plain. I have to have some
kind of aspect that still gives
you the concept of glitz, of
the good life and things we
dream about but we really
can’t afford,” Gindi said.
Gindi’s works often include
glitter, magazine clippings
and rhinestones and
jewels that she’s collected
from old clothing items
over the years.
Her work is available
for purchase on lisagindiart.
com. She donates
parts of the proceeds
from her works to one
charity a year.
The art show will take
place at 208 Totten Ave.
on Jan. 13 from 2 p.m. to
4 p.m. Admission is $5 at
the door. For more information,
visit baysidehistorical.
org or call (718)
352-1548.
Lisa Gindi will debut two new works in Bayside this month. Photo by Jenna Bagcal