Betty Cuningham Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition of new sculpture and works on paper by Mia Westerlund Roosen at 541 West 25 Street, between 10 and 11 Avenues. This is the second solo exhibition for Mia Westerlund Roosen at Betty Cuningham Gallery, where it will remain on view from October 17 through December 6. The artist will be present for a reception on October 23, from 6 – 8pm.

Westerlund Roosen has been exhibiting her sculpture since 1971. She has had several one-person shows in New York, most notably her first shows at the Willard Gallery in 1974 and another in 1975 and four one person shows at the Leo Castelli Gallery, in 1977, 1979, 1982 and 1986.

Born in New York with Cuban heritage, Westerlund Roosen considered two careers, one as a dancer the other as an artist. She cites her interest in dance to be the reason her sculpture often refers to the body, its sexuality, its flow and its movement. The current exhibition features Mettawee, a major work which invites the viewer to experience the sculpture from the inside as water cascades around the upper edge of this 10 foot high spiral. Also included in this exhibition are several works on paper and five wall pieces, some of felt and resin, others of ceramic and plaster.

In addition to her upcoming show at Betty Cuningham Gallery, Westerlund Roosen currently has Battenkill, the sister piece to Mettawee, on view in Thomas Paine Park (between Centre and Lafayette Streets, just south of Worth Street) as a part of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation’s Art in the Parks program. Battenkill will remain on view through November 30, 2008. Both pieces are in collaboration with Eric Westerlund.

Mia Westerlund Roosen has received several prestigious awards, including a National Endowment for the Arts grant, a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, and a Fulbright Fellowship. Her work can be seen in numerous public collections, most notably the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY; and the Storm King Art Center, Mountainville, NY. She divides her time between New York City and Buskirk, NY.