Content — JerseyArts.com Feature Stories

Article, Visual Arts

The theme for the New Jersey Arts Annual 2022 is “Reemergence.” It is on view through April 30, 2023, at the New Jersey State Museum. The exhibition, supported by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts (NJSCA), annually rotates venues throughout the state. Each year, the exhibition “is one way that we recognize and highlight new work, and provide the opportunity for audiences to see artworks from some of the most innovative and accomplished artists in the state,” according to Danielle Bursk, Director of Community Partnerships & Artist Services for NJSCA, in a prepared statement. This year’s exhibition drew 2,000 submissions from nearly 400 artists, from which 127 works by 95 artists were selected by the State Museum’s Director, Margaret O’Reilly, and assistant curator, Sarah Vogelman.

Vogelman, who has worked at the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, started at the State Museum in January of this year, when the theme had already been set. “A lot of the works look at the theme from a different perspective, posing their own questions. What is the reality we’re looking at, and how do we approach these times? Are we able to?”

Not only are there 127 works to view, but each piece is deep and thought-provoking. Vogelman estimates viewers will need 45 minutes to a full hour to take it all in, but I found I needed even more time, and want to go back for subsequent visits. (The museum’s free admission makes that an inviting possibility.)

Oct 27

Oct 27 "Bold Will Hold" — An Exhibit of Tattoo Life at Artworks Trenton

“Bold Will Hold,” the exhibition on view now at Artworks Trenton, is a look at tattoo art in a broad and accessible way. The exhibition will run through Nov. 19, with an artist reception Friday, Nov. 4, from 6 – 9 p.m.

Curated by the Trenton Punk Rock Flea Market, the exhibition showcases work by two dozen artists, both tattoo artists and those who have been inspired by them.

As Artworks notes on their exhibition page, tattooing is an ancient art form. “For thousands of years, tattoos and the artists that create them have utilized their human canvases to tell tales of survival and the hunt, lost love, life at sea, and the weary road traveler.”

But recently, tattoos have emerged from the underground and become a much more commonplace and widely recognized form of personal and creative expression.

The works include watercolors, acrylics, photographs, mixed media, screenprints, ink on paper, and illustrations.

Oct 20

Oct 20 Video-based Art at the Morris Museum Evokes Roman Festivals of Excess and Greed

In past visits to the Morris Museum, I have admired music boxes from the collection of mechanical instruments. Viewing Federico Solmi’s Joie de Vivre, on view at the Morristown-based museum through Feb. 26, I felt as if I were inside a music box.

Enormous video-based works of art, each accompanied by its own soundtrack, fill the walls of the gallery space. A wall of windows looking out onto the autumnal foliage of surrounding mountains provides a peaceful respite among the cacophony – and one can benefit from a bit of respite, after viewing conquistadors in tricornered hats, bayonet at the ready, high on horses with coiffed manes, sporting the grin of greed.

This multimedia exhibition “examines the absurdities of the human experience through the lenses of colonialism, nationalism, religion and consumerism” from the “perspective of a cultural voyeur,” say the exhibition materials. The words used to title the works of art offer further clues into Solmi’s video-based world: Bacchanalian, debauchery, bathhouse.

Sep 27

Sep 27 A ‘Circle of Black Artists’ is, at Long Last, Receiving Recognition in Princeton

A selection of Black artists from the Greater Princeton Area, long overlooked, is finally getting its due thanks to a group of collectors who recognized and preserved the body of work and two ambitious curators.

Retrieving the Life and Art of James Wilson Edwards and a Circle of Black Artists, on view at the Arts Council of Princeton Oct. 14 – Dec. 3, is celebrating the intertwined lives and stories of James Wilson Edwards, Rex Goreleigh, Hughie Lee-Smith, Selma Hortense Burke, and Wendell T. Brooks. The exhibition kicks off with a panel discussion, “Art Collecting as an Act of Love,” Oct. 14, 4-5 p.m., featuring the lenders to the exhibition and moderated by curators Judith K. Brodsky and Rhinold Ponder.

Sep 8

Sep 8 The Wallpaper Speaks in “To Whom It May Concern”

“To Whom It May Concern,” a solo exhibition by Los Angeles-based multidisciplinary artist Genevieve Gaignard on exhibition at Rowan University Art Gallery through Oct. 29., is a survey of her works in self-portraiture, collage, sculpture, and installation that explores race, beauty, and cultural identity.

“Many scenes seem to hearken back to a simpler time, but Gaignard is saying that life wasn’t that rosy,” said Rowan Art Gallery Director/Curator Mary Salvante. “The exhibition is rich with storytelling and symbols and narrative, and she is trying to point out that there is more to the viewpoint than just nostalgia.”

“I am addressing folks who want to engage in the work, share the work's message, and critically think about the implications of the world that this work comes from,” said Gaignard.

A reception Thursday, Sept. 15, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. will include an artist talk at 5:30 p.m.

Sep 1

Sep 1 Zimmerli Art Museum Offers First Look at Newly-Acquired Jersey City Museum Collection

Maddie Orton

Podcast, Visual Arts

For the first time, The Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University in New Brunswick is showcasing its newly-acquired American art collection from the former Jersey City Museum. "American Stories: Gifts from the Jersey City Museum Collection” shares Jersey City history through work from artists like Chakaia Booker, May Stevens, Shelia Pepe, Melvin Edwards, and Jaune Quick-to-See Smith.

Host Maddie Orton spoke with Zimmerli Chief Curator Donna Gustafson about what we can look forward to seeing.

Jul 14

Jul 14 Two Exhibitions Cross the Lines Between Art, Craft and Poetry

Visual Arts, Article, Poetry & Literature

Two exhibitions at the Hunterdon Art Museum, Rina Banerjee: Blemish, In Deep Pink Everyplace Begins and Maxwell Mustardo: Dish-Oriented, on view through Sept. 4, cross the lines between art, craft and poetry.

The titles of Banerjee’s works, whether paintings or sculptures, read like poems. Mustardo’s works, all vessels, are nonfunctional.

Banerjee’s words talk about the content and perspective of her works of women and women’s identity in post-colonial, urban surroundings.

Mustardo, who has been conducting rigorous material research with plastics and glasses for the past few years, has created works of iridescent colors and textured surfaces that are unique to him.

One will find that the art speaks to the times — at the intersection of craft and fine art.

Jul 14

Jul 14 Portraits of Victims of Gun Violence

Every day, we read an all-too-familiar report on our news feed — another life is lost to gun violence. It is a deadly epidemic.

Violent deaths are also police matters, and the details quickly become fodder for the public, leading to misunderstandings and misconceptions. It seems to be human nature to look for something or someone to blame, whether it’s the victim, the parents, the circumstances or the places to avoid. But the undeniable fact is people close to the victims are dealing with a personal loss and need support and compassion.

Those are the stories we often don’t hear.

But in two exhibitions, “Souls Shot Portrait Project” and “The Potential Project: 21 Stories of Trenton,” on view through July 16 at Artworks Trenton, we are shown the world beyond the headlines.

Jun 3

Jun 3 Move Over, Tea Sets – Ceramic Artists of Color Respond to the World of Today

Roberto Lugo: The Village Potter, is on view at Grounds For Sculpture through January 8, 2023. Kudos to the Hamilton-based sculpture park for getting Lugo, a hot phenom who has been featured at "Hyperallergic" no fewer than three times in the past few years.

Grounds For Sculpture describes his work as a reimagining of traditional European and Asian porcelain forms and techniques with a 21st-century street sensibility, creating multicultural mash-ups.

In addition to the works created by Lugo is a smaller exhibition on the mezzanine level that he curated. It is worth a visit on its own.

A concurrent exhibition of contemporary works in ceramic, Fragile Earth, can be seen in the Domestic Arts Building. It is curated by the Color Network, a group whose mission is to advance people of color in ceramics.

May 26

May 26 “For the Culture, By the Culture” Exhibit Spotlights 19 Local and National Black Artists of Influence

Carolyn M. Brown

In celebration of Art in the Atrium’s 30th anniversary, the Morris Museum and Art in the Atrium (ATA) present the exhibition, For the Culture, By the Culture: 30 Years of Black Art, Activism, and Achievement. This exhibition brings together prior ATA-featured artists in a group retrospective that spans 30 years and spotlights local and national Black artists who are masters of their craft and who have contributed to Black culture by creating impactful works.

May 18

May 18 Garden of Earthly Delights? Artists in Rowan University Art Gallery Examine the ‘Cultivated Space’

Ever since – even before – Joni Mitchell penned the words “and we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden,” humans have been seeking to do just that. A return to the “Garden of Eden,” the original utopia. Paradise.

Contemporary scientific studies reported in medical journals repeatedly point to the health benefits of being in natural spaces. And more than 100 years ago, Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City Movement advocated the importance of designing cities around spokes of greenery.

The Rowan University Art Gallery is building on this with the exhibition Cultivated Space, on view through July 16. When the daily bombardment of news proves to be too horrific, what better salve than to escape to a garden, here, one cultivated by artists using natural and recycled fibers and materials.

May 13

May 13 The Space Belongs to Them: Artist and Community Collaboration on New Harriet Tubman Monument in Newark

Rachel Fawn Alban

Visual Arts, Festivals, Article

Architect Nina Cooke John has been commissioned to design and build a monument to honor the legacy of Harriet Tubman for the newly renamed Tubman Square (former Washington Park) in Newark.

As part of the development of the monument, children and community members are invited to participate in workshops to make mosaic tiles around the theme of “liberation.”

Apr 27

Apr 27 Award-Winning Artwork Helps Cope With the Stresses and Anxieties of Our Time

An exhibition of visual arts by Fellowship Awardees of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts is on view at Artworks Trenton through May 21. It comprises current work of 37 artists awarded between the years 2019 and 2021. In this group exhibition, several themes emerge and provide poetic insights into the stresses and anxieties of our time.

Apr 20

Apr 20 Roxey Ballet and Artist Malcolm Mobutu Smith Join Creative Forces at the Hunterdon Art Museum

Christopher Benincasa

Podcast, Dance, Visual Arts

This Saturday at the Hunterdon Art Museum, visitors are invited to a unique experience that brings together the visual and performing arts. Roxey Ballet Company has teamed up with artist Malcolm Mobutu Smith – whose exhibition Evermore Nevermore closes this weekend – and have created an exclusive 45-minute showcase that will be presented outdoors on the Toshiko Takaezu Terrace, overlooking the museum’s iconic view of the Raritan River. (This event is free, but please register to attend.)

We recently spoke with the Hunterdon Art Museum’s Executive Director Marjorie Frankel Nathanson, Roxey Ballet’s Executive Director Mark Roxey, artist Malcolm Mobutu Smith, and Roxey Ballet’s Director of Education and Outreach Lees Hummel about this special collaboration.

Apr 13

Apr 13 Elizabeth Colomba Is Claiming Her Place in the History of Art

Apr 12

Apr 12 Up, Down and in Another Town — Perkins Center for the Arts Adds a Third Gallery

Perkins Center for the Arts adds a second-floor exhibition space in Collingswood, opens it with an exhibition of the work of three Ukrainian artists, and exhibits two solo shows — Carlos A Gil and Sandra Koberlein.

Apr 1

Apr 1 Carlos Villa: Worlds in Collision, Explores Cultures Through Paint, Bones, Bodies, and Feathers

Rachel Fawn Alban

Villa made a life-long exploration of his Filipino American background, as well as exploration of other artistic cultures that had been disrupted by colonization and war, including Asian, African, Indian, and Oceanic cultures.

Mar 22

Mar 22 Arts Utopia in Frenchtown