More than 150 people attended Morris Arts’ opening reception on September 11, 2014 for its new exhibit at the Gallery at 14 Maple, entitled SANDY: Destruction/Constructions. For its 12th show, the Exhibition Committee of Morris Arts and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation selected artists Bruce Perlmutter (Red Bank), Kevin Burkitt (Manasquan), Laura Petrovich Cheney (Asbury Park) and Roddy Wildeman (Belmar) specifically for the high quality of their work. As curator Dick Eger, notes: “This exhibit by four artists from the Jersey shore memorializes the destruction from Superstorm Sandy and celebrates artists for their tenacity, perseverance and creativity of the human spirit through their art.”
As noted in Eger’s essay, photographer Kevin Burkitt explores “the post-Hurricane landscape one night at a time in his series, 91 Days, Countless Nights.” He uses “long exposures to shoot only at night, his work amplifies the ‘sadness and desperation,’ shore town by town. The quiet eeriness of his photographs uncovers the desolate beauty within the tragedy.”
Above: Roddy Wildeman’s Collective Memory, Triburst – courtesy of Robbert and Clair Gray.
L-R: Kevin Burkitt’s Garage Sale; Laura Petrovich Cheney’s Relative Confusion; Bruce Perlmutter’s Ambrosia Maple Bowl.
While Burkitt focuses his energy on documenting the destructive power of the storm, the other three artists turn their attention to constructing new visions from the detritus of the storm.
Inspired by her knowledge and experiences with traditional quilt designs, Laura Petrovich Cheney preserves the original, now scarred painted surfaces of wood from damaged or destroyed structures to create powerful three dimensional patterns in her wall pieces. These wooden “quilts” evoke a sense of comfort rather than a reminder of the destructive power of the storm.
Eger notes that, in the wake of thousands of trees felled by Hurricane Sandy, woodturner Bruce Perlmutter “literally turned these fallen souls into elegant vases, bowls and plates on his lathe. His woodturnings transform dead wood into functional art. When light hits the newly exposed surfaces, the subtle graining, warm tactile nature of his pieces draws the viewer to hold and caress each piece … It is less of a restoration and more of a second life that he imbues in his pieces.”
Artist Roddy Wildeman’s dramatic starburst formations pulsate with enormous vitality…drawing the eye into multiple vortex points and sometimes creating optical illusions in the process. Intensely mindful of the history inherent in his materials, Wildeman carves the names of the cities and towns onto each work – thus documenting the location from which he has salvaged the wood used in each piece. Wildeman “feels an intimate connection working with these materials knowing that they have passed through the hands of others. They have sentimental value because they have been part of homes and the families that lived and died there.”
Each of these four artists has a unique response to this devastating storm. Whether documenting the hurricane’s destructive power or creating beauty from its detritus, each artist adds a new, inspiring dimension to our understanding of Nature’s fury and its aftermath.
To see a catalogue of the exhibit, click HERE.
Here are some photos from the reception:
L-R: The four artists: Laura Petrovich Cheney, Roddy Wildeman, Kevin Burkitt, Bruce Perlmutter; Laura Petrovich Cheney with her work Washed Up; Roddy Wildeman with his Composite Memory/triple starburst piece.
L-R: Woodturner Bruce Perlmutter with three of his ambrosia maple bowls; photographer Kevin Burkitt with his piece, Garage Sale; Roddy Wildeman with curato Dick Eger and Laura Petrovich Cheney and her husband, Peter.
L-R: Sponsors from investors Bank with Morris Arts’ Development Director Gina Moran and Executive Director, Tom Werder; Sponsors from the Morristown CraftMarket; Dodge Foundation CEO Chris Daggett with Morris Arts’ Gina Moran and artist Roddy Wildeman.
L-R: Artist Bruce Perlmutter explains ambrosia beetle staining to Dodge CEO Chris Daggett; Chris Dagget and Gina Moran listen to artist Laura Petrovich Cheney explain her work; Kevin O’Brien, 1st Vice Chair of New Jersey State Council on the Arts with Anne Aronovitch, former Executive Director of Morris Arts.
L-R: Curator Dick Eger, artist Kiyomi Baird, Selection Committee member Elaine Rastocky, and members of the public enjoy the reception; the Carcich family explres the exhibit (artist Dan Fenelon in background); Bruce Perlmutter discusses his bowls with Morris Arts Board President Tom McMillian.
Be sure to check HERE to see additional photos and coverage by Kevin Coughlin in MorristownGreen.com. Click HERE for additional coverage by the AIR Gallery about the exhibit.
Morris Arts gratefully acknowledges sponsorship for this exhibit by 
with partnership from 
and additional support from 
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