Wantagh Teen Has Artwork Displayed in NYC Gallery

A Wantagh teen was selected to have her artwork put on display at New York City’s Lobby Gallery.

Lauren Bertocci of Wantagh is among five young artists whose work is exhibited for a new show titled Duality, paintings and mixed-media works by students of Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts’ Portfolio Preparation Track program. The exhibit began on Feb. 12 and lasts until March 8 on the ground floor of 430 Park Ave. in Manhattan. The exhibit is free and open daily to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.   

Bertocci, a senior at Holy Trinity High School in Hicksville, said the "inspiration" for her artwork is the song “Remembering Sunday” by the band All Time Low. 

"The song is about a man who feels lost and lonely after his girlfriend commits suicide,"Bertocci said. "My photographs use symbolism to portray the feelings of the story’s two characters.  Butterflies and broken watches, rings and torn pages contrast to express the inability to accept loss and the broken promise of what might have been."

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Derek Mainhart, a  teacher in Usdan's Portfolio Preparation Track program, said the theme of Duality "stems from the concept of human existence as a struggle between good and evil, emotion and intellect, and how the tension of balancing these forces has affected each artist." Mainhart is an art teacher at Hofstra University, Molloy College and Boricua College.  

Other teen artists feautured in the exhibition include Denise Lose of North Bellmore, Chaz Scala of Merrick, Noelle Velez of Riverdale and Joshua Toor of Huntington.   

Usdan's Portfolio Preparation Track is a pre-professional program combining rigorous development of technique and on-site explorations of art history with advice from some of the most prestigious art colleges in the country. This selective program has offered dedicated art students an intensive seven-week course designed to build their skills and encourage their vision.