YONKERS, NY.- In a summertime extravaganza, the Hudson River Museum presents a 3-dimensional land and riverscape inspired by the dreams of Columbian artist Federico Uribe. Fantasy River is the artist’s first New York exhibition, in a roster of national and international shows. Acclaimed for his fascinating transformations of objects from daily life into art, Uribe creates the site-specific 5,000 square foot installation for the Hudson River Museum, filling its galleries with the flowing “water” of a winding river, its banks planted with rows of “corn,” made from shovel handles, a “boat” built of suitcases (a must for travel), bright birds in continual flight, and everywhere dazzling sunshine.

Uribe concocts his very real fantasy from new and old materials to provide a spectacular theatrical experience. Everything is grist for his art ─ shoelaces, the color pencil as tool and sculpture, baby bottles, coins, and screws. He brings fresh connection between objects and those connections lead us to new reality. Uribe said, “ This is about thinking about objects in a different way. A screw is a screw and a shoe is a shoe, until it becomes something else.”

Uribe’s art is a unique hybrid that uses the language of pop art to transform the objects of daily life, while acknowledging the history and tradition of classical art. Uribe studied art at the University of Los Andes in Bogota and later studied with conceptual artist Luis Camnitzer in New York. As part of his global vision, Uribe’s career includes years of work in Cuba, Mexico, Russia, England and Miami.

Watch an interview with Uribe:http://vimeo.com/31547267

Fantasy River, organized by the Hudson River Museum, is curated by the Museum’s Director of Curatorial Affairs, Bartholomew Bland.