By 2015, Maloney found himself on the cusp of something new.
“I thought to myself, wow, I must be happy being around art and artists and I quit my job,” he said. “I couldn’t be creative pushing paper.”
He start CUSP (Creativity Unleashed to Solve Problems) NYC, a creative consultancy working with up-and-coming artists and helping those seeking private and commercial collections and other services, opening his own space, CUSP Sunset Park in Brooklyn, earlier this year.
For his upcoming exhibition, “Make Room,” celebrating the work of 12 women who use uncommon techniques or unique processes to transform traditional media, Maloney is reconnecting with his hometown.
He tapped Annie Lee-Zimerle, an assistant professor of art at Cedarville University and education committee member at the Springfield Museum of Art, for the exhibition, opening Oct. 25 and running through Jan. 21, 2018.
Maloney was always interested in art and living in the Big Apple you can’t help but find it all around.
“I became a collector and would study what I liked and loved being around it. I was comfortable for 30 years and just forged my way and just did it. It was terrifying but exhilarating,” Maloney said of the decision to start CUSP.
An early client wanted his new condo to resemble a gallery, which led to another couple and curating the prestigious Norwood Club.
“Every piece I have touches me in some way. It’s about being able to tell a story, for art to touch them,” said Maloney.
“Make Room” focuses on female artists in different media. A trip back to Springfield for a niece’s wedding last spring led to his connection with Lee-Zimerle.
A patron of the Springfield Museum of Art got Maloney in touch with Erin Shapiro, museum curator. They talked about ways of collaborating in the future and she suggested Lee-Zimerle, who had an exhibition at the time for “Make Room.”
“There was clever content with her scale of work with magnificent color,” Maloney said of Lee-Zimerle’s silkscreen on paper works.
The works are titled “Bed and Chandelier” and “Chair and Radiator,” depicting everyday objects used in a different way.
This has been a breakout year for Lee-Zimerle, as her Museum of Art exhibition opened doors. A Dayton arts group named her an artist to watch and she’s received a commission for the Dayton Metro Library.
“I’m taking this as an opportunity to venture out,” she said of “Make Room.” “It’s a step up.”
She hopes to visit the exhibition over the upcoming holidays.
Maloney also runs The Idea Trip, a business for inspiring creativity and new ideas. But he also looks forward to further work with Springfield, which he still values.
Maloney spent his younger years delivering the Springfield News-Sun – saying he was one of the few who actually got the paper out during the blizzard of 1978 – worked at Wendy’s on Main St. and acted in Summer Arts Festival shows.
“I had a very fortunate upbringing there,” he said. “I’m New Yorker now, but a Springfield Midwest guy at heart.”
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