Donna Cleary's new installation featured at Ayza Wine and Chocolate Bar

A new art installation at a popular West Village wine and dessert bar is catching the eye of many neighborhood residents. Featured on display inside the Ayza Wine and Chocolate Bar’s window is an installation by artist Donna Cleary called Helix.  This intriguing work of art features a giant, spiraled black and yellow tube snaking its way around a mannequin with a brown dress. The tube can be seen entering through her chest and exiting through a hole located in the lower part of the dress, while another hole in the chest has a candle pointing from it.

Cleary’s body of work consists of sculptures, collages, works on paper, and mixed media installations. She often collects objects most of which have been broken or thrown away and combines them with natural elements such as those growing on trees in the forest. Cleary see trash as a symbol of a disposable society and a material culture.

"Helix" by Donna Cleary

Helix was selected this month to be part of Ayzart, an art space at Ayza’s West Village location. Ayzart was established in February 2013 with the intention of highlighting both emerging and established artists’ creativity within a small space, and bringing their art out into the open blending in with urban life. The bar itself is known for serving up the most original variations of wine and chocolate treats such as their Peppermint Chocolate Martini made with Godiva chocolate liquor and Peppermint Schnapps, or their Silky Chocolate Mousse. 

Ayza has locations in both the West Village and one in West Midtown just a few blocks away from Macy’s and Penn Station. At Ayza Wine and Chocolate Bar, One Seventh Ave. South, through Aug. 29.