Art For Change Commissions Six Limited-Edition Prints to Support the Fight Against Hunger in New York

For 35 years, City Harvest, a New York City-based food redistribution charity organization, has been feeding millions of New Yorkers in need. The charity continues its work in 2021, pledging to distribute 111 million pounds of food to nearly 400 soup kitchens, food pantries, community partners, and the charity’s own Mobile Markets across the city’s five boroughs. In the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic precarity faced by New Yorkers of all backgrounds, this work is more important than ever. 

To aid City Harvest in this tremendous effort, Art For Change—a company that reimagines the practice of art collecting as a force for social good—will renew its partnership with the nonprofit for a third time. This season, Art For Change has commissioned limited-edition, signed and numbered, and even a few hand-embellished prints from contemporary artists.

“There is nothing more crucial to our city and our community than caring for those in need and providing hope and dignity,” says Jeanne Masel, founder and chief curator of Art For Change. “While we are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel, the recovery in the wake of a slowly easing pandemic continues and the number of people in need of food remains historically high. It fills me with gratitude to provide assistance to those in need this holiday season while simultaneously supporting these incredible contemporary artists.”

As a whole, the six-piece collection echoes similar themes of identity, social uncertainty, and a complicated relationship with the world around us. Applying her signature airbrushed form, the L.A.–based artist Molly Greene meditates on the relationship between nature and machine with Insinuator, a nearly symmetrical configuration of tulip stems that takes on a mechanical appearance. Similarly, Emma Kohlmann uses flora, fauna, and mythological creatures to portray symbolism in her vivid paintings. In the Tree of Life, the faces of humans, butterflies, and birds adorn bulbous branches of a titular tree, representing the interconnectivity of life.        

Spurred by themes of gender, identity, and sexual desire as a creative impulse, Mexico City artist Carlos Rodriguez explores the male body through paintings, drawings, and ceramic. His second Art For Change commission, titled Garras Protectoras, depicts a bear big-spooning a large bearded man under a star-filled nighttime sky—a nod to mankind’s worship of animals as magical spirits in early Paleolithic cultures.

“I strongly believe in helping each other, especially in these times. If you are in the position to genuinely help others, or if you can generate actions that benefit your community and inspire others, go ahead. It is vital,” Rodriguez says of the series that evokes feelings of protection and companionship.

In contrast, Xiao Wang’s Slumber Under A Shade channels a timely feeling of anxiety fueled by rapid social and cultural shifts, environmental crises, and ideological uncertainties. Employing his realist approach to figurative painting, the China-bred wields acrylic paints in his moody work featuring a hand arching over a male character’s head, beneath the cascading leaves of a ginkgo tree.   

Kristen Deirup’s still life, Bio Hack, sees the earth turning itself into a glossy advertisement by sprouting decorative bows alongside dandelions—a commentary on consumerism and humanity’s impact on the environment. An ominous and foreboding forest-like island is the setting for Marin Majić’s dreamscape, Helpless at Best, which touches upon our shared vulnerability in the age of pandemic and socio-political upheaval.

Every Tuesday and Friday, between now and December 3rd, Art For Change will release a print for purchase at an affordable price point—though the limited edition prints will sell out quickly. You can shop the Art for Change x City Harvest collection here. Half of the proceeds will go directly to the artist and 20% will be donated to City Harvest.