Curtis Cuffie

EAST VILLAGE

This Time, Sanitation Won't Take His Art Away

Curtis Cuffie takes objects that other people consider garbage and recycles them into outdoor sculptures that wend their way in and out of fences, drape over concertina wire and jut out of traffic circles downtown. He has lived in the East Village since the mid-1980's, mostly on the streets. And a solo show of his work has found a home under the roof of an art gallery for the first time.

''He makes work in the street,'' says the guest curator of the show at the Tribe Gallery, Carol Thompson, ''and mostly this work gets reworked or destroyed or carted off by the Sanitation Department.''

In addition to regular appearances outdoors, Mr. Cuffie's art was previously part of a group show at the Tribe Gallery and on the walls at the Flamingo East, a bar on Second Avenue at 13th Street.

''Meet Me at the Margin: Sculpture by Curtis Lee Levon Cuffie'' at the Tribe Gallery; 285 East Third Street, between Avenues C and D; through Oct. 31; free; by appointment, (212) 674-3778 or E-mail at tribes@interport.net.