Excerpt from the Greenpoint Star:
For love of the game
Amélie Mancini is a huge baseball buff. The New York Mets fan and admirer of baseball greats Keith Hernandez, Hank Greenberg, Roger Maris and Daryl Strawberry even has a baseball-themed skin on her cell phone. When Mancini arrived stateside from France six years ago, however, the beloved American pastime was a complete mystery to her.
She picked up some old children’s books about baseball as part of her exploration of America and before long, she was hooked on the sport. The University Paris-Sorbonne graduate, who studied fine arts in college, had found the subjects of her newest series of paintings, titled Sacrebleu! Napoleon Would Have Made A Fine Shortstop!
“Athletes, particularly baseball players, are our modern-day gods and heroes like the Greeks had,” she said. “We look up to them, live through them. They can run faster and hit harder than us.”
Mancini pointed out that just because one embraces a new culture, it doesn’t mean they are getting rid of their old one. Her paintings are those of a French person trying to explore an American thing, which in this case is baseball.
“Every time you come to bat you have the opportunity to do something exceptional,” she said. “That’s sort of what America is like for expatriates.”
‘Sacrebleu! Napoleon Would Have Made A Fine Shortstop!’ is Mancini’s first solo show in New York City. The exhibit opens with a reception on Tuesday, November 2, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Yashar Gallery, 276 Greenpoint Avenue, Brooklyn. Visit www.ameliemancini.com for more information and to view paintings from the series.
Link to the complete article: http://greenpointstar.com/printer_friendly/10053799
She picked up some old children’s books about baseball as part of her exploration of America and before long, she was hooked on the sport. The University Paris-Sorbonne graduate, who studied fine arts in college, had found the subjects of her newest series of paintings, titled Sacrebleu! Napoleon Would Have Made A Fine Shortstop!
“Athletes, particularly baseball players, are our modern-day gods and heroes like the Greeks had,” she said. “We look up to them, live through them. They can run faster and hit harder than us.”
Mancini pointed out that just because one embraces a new culture, it doesn’t mean they are getting rid of their old one. Her paintings are those of a French person trying to explore an American thing, which in this case is baseball.
“Every time you come to bat you have the opportunity to do something exceptional,” she said. “That’s sort of what America is like for expatriates.”
‘Sacrebleu! Napoleon Would Have Made A Fine Shortstop!’ is Mancini’s first solo show in New York City. The exhibit opens with a reception on Tuesday, November 2, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Yashar Gallery, 276 Greenpoint Avenue, Brooklyn. Visit www.ameliemancini.com for more information and to view paintings from the series.
Link to the complete article: http://greenpointstar.com/printer_friendly/10053799
