November 2014 • The Gallery

Call for artists for next show
Still Life Exhibit January 16 to April 10, 2015
Download application here

or submit application information via web form.

CURRENT EXHIBIT
NJManyCulturesPostcardNoReceptionWebResJuror Joan Arbeiter writes about the exhibit:

This exhibition is a celebration, featuring local artists, devoted to American religious beliefs and ethnic traditions including Hindu, Judaic, Christian, Japanese, West African and Native American. These themes influence the artists’ subject, meaning and choice of media and technique.

Lakshmi Durga’s Mother and Son illustrates the story of the naughty young god, Shiva, being admonished. It is painted in tempera on wood in the traditional South Indian Tanjore style, including gold foil and semi-precious stones. Janis Blayne Paul represents the dancing elephant-headed god, Ganesh, in two distinct stone carvings; one illustrates his dance with realistic detail and the other seems totally abstract but clearly expresses the flowing movement. Smita Nedunuri also provides an elephant headed Lord Ganesha in mixed media.

Carl Frankel carefully renders in charcoal a small Bar Mitzvah boy reading from the Torah in the quiet and supportive presence of the Rabbi and elders. In contrast, Jewish Wedding Fantasy, a photograph by Gerry Feldman, is blurred making us feel as if we also are being jostled by the ecstatic crowd, as the bride and groom are lifted up on chairs to the joyful beat of the music.

In his photos Jerry Spielman shows us attractive views of the interior and exterior of two contemporary New Jersey houses of worship – a temple and a church. Elizabeth Peck offers a beautiful sketch of a church. Carole Grand pays a touching tribute to her immigrant grandparents in her mixed media collage, Remembered.

Barbara Hochberg shares six of her Jewish New Year watercolor greeting cards. Hebrew letter forms and words are inspiration for Vadim Levin’s colorful, painterly, exuberant abstractions. And Stephen Cohen meticulously employs calligraphy to acquaint us with the Hebrew alphabet and two exquisite Judaic texts in ink, watercolor, gouache and gold leaf. Also using an exacting illumination technique in these same materials, Catherine Kurtz Gowen reproduced the letter “A” from the Gutenberg Bible, ca. 1455.

The inspiration of her Japanese, Taiwanese and American cultures come together in Sue Chiu’s elegantly carved and raku fired clay products. Stephanie Barbetti shows dignity in sensitively rendered portraits of Native American Lenape Indians. Ghana Beauty is presented by Rhonda Goodwin in a creatively cropped and stunning portrait of her West African friend wearing native dress and handmade jewelry.

Disability sports is very active in our state and Joan Wheeler’s stop action photographs introduce us to three of New Jersey’s disabled athletes competing in top form.

Nancy Scott’s Inner City collage juxtaposes vibrant graffiti against decaying landscape. An older Italian neighborhood with a stucco building is rendered by Rosalind Orland who mixes small pasta into the paint. The figs you would expect to find growing in this neighborhood are provided by artist Andrea Orlando.

Did you know that there are monumental sculptures by Seward Johnson temporarily on exhibit at the Grounds For Sculpture? Valerie Williams, in her close up photos, shows us the iconic Marilyn and the emerging giant in Awakening.

Finally, don’t miss the bucolic references to our Garden State with Jersey Rolls by Valerie Williams and NJ Shore by Elizabeth Peck.

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