With labels that read "Fragile Contains: Peace,
Freedom or Justice", visual artist Franck de Las
Mercedes sends abstractly painted, seemingly
empty boxes to anybody, anywhere in the world,
for free.
The "Priority Boxes" project is a public art
series that makes people reconsider their
ability to influence change and question the
fragility, value and priority of entities like
peace. Each box, sent by mail to anyone who
requests one, is both a canvas for a unique
abstract painting and a platform for
communication through art. A mixture of art and
activism, the boxes are sent free to show that
something of such priority as peace should not
have a price and that art can be both inclusive
and accessible at all.
The project which started as an experiment and
is funded by the artist and donations from
supporters, has evolved into a movement that has
been embraced by popular culture, the mainstream
media and schools and art educators across
America. From his small New Jersey studio, the
artist has sent over 6500 boxes around the
globe, to countries in every continent.
With his boxes, de Las Mercedes is in the
process of creating a phenomenon that is as
visceral as it is visual. The boxes fuse
elements of painting, sculpture and conceptual
art that transform the exhibition space into a
broader environment than that of a gallery. By
having the art on the outside for all to see,
the addressees and spectators are incorporated
as part of the work and the concept.
Franck de Las Mercedes is a New York area artist
who has exhibited alongside important artists
like Romero Britto and Robert Rauschenberg. He
has also been featured in many publications
around the world including, Art Business
Magazine (USA), School Arts (USA), La Prensa
(Nicaragua), Selecciones (USA) and Diario Clarin
(Argentina). FdLM has also appeared on several
national television shows including, CNN En
Espanol, Univision's "Primer Impacto",
LatinNation and Noticiero Telemundo. He has also
been the subject of films by Dan Yadin and Cara
Weiner.
For more information on the boxes go to:
http://fdlmstudio.com/PriorityBoxes.html