Contrasting Abstractions opened at Gallery at 14 Maple on October 8th

On October 8, 2015, an enthusiastic crowd of nearly 120 people joined Morris Arts at the free opening reception for the Gallery at 14 Maple’s thirteenth exhibit, entitled CONTRASTING ABSTRACTIONS.  For this occasion, the Exhibition Committee of Morris Arts and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, with guest curator, Virginia Fabbri Butera, PhD, selected works by the following outstanding New Jersey artists, Christine Barney (Jersey City), Nancy Cohen (Jersey City), Susan Lisbin (Orange), Lisa Pressman (West Orange), Christine Tenaglia (Wildwood Crest), Ken Weathersby (Montclair) and Gail Winbury (Westfield). The exhibit explores the artists’ varied approaches to abstraction – through the use of different media (glass, wood, fabric, paint, resin, handmade paper, wire, etc.), composition, color and vision.  Christine Barney’s sculptural glass works highlight color and explore new geometric forms, while Susan Lisbin’s organic, almost anthropomorphic sculptures evoke whimsy and a sense of the fantastic. In Nancy Cohen’s hands, glass art assumes unexpected and fascinating organic forms – in combination with other media such as metal, glass, wire, handmade paper, and resin. Christine Tenaglia’s wood pieces have a sense of presence and monumentality far beyond their modest proportions while Ken Weathersby’s geometric approach to abstraction utilizes precise patterning and reveals underlying physical structures to engage his viewers.  Gail Winbury’s lyrical abstract paintings showcase her distinctive use of color and design while Lisa Pressman’s works focus on line and hint at hidden codes through incorporation of alphabetic and numeric marks.

Virginia Fabbri Butera, PhD, Photo by Wayne Roth

Curator Virginia Fabbri Butera, PhD, adds, “Since the mid-19th century, visual artists have been experimenting with the creation of non-figurative imagery in 2-D and 3-D objects. In this exhibition we have a wonderful opportunity to contemplate works by seven mid-career New Jersey artists who are focusing on important metaphors about contemporary abstraction. By manipulating varied substances, colors, and structures in nonrepresentational arrangements, the artists suggest energy, emotion, meaning and psychological inferences and interactions that underlie both 21st century art and life.”

Click HERE to see a catalogue of the exhibit. Click HERE to read art critic Ralph Bellantoni’s excellent writeup on this exhibit.

The Gallery at 14 Maple, is a distinctive space located on the 3rd floor of the LEED certified “green” building at 14 Maple Avenue in Morristown, NJ.

 

Morris Arts gratefully acknowledges sponsorship for this exhibit by

ISB009_03_Logomark_SG_HOR_NoTagand           MWA_Full_Color_stacked                   with partnership from

36 Annual MCM logo.indd   and additional support from Full_Color_Dodge_Logo_for_Websites_and_Online



The exhibit is open to the public Monday-Friday from 10am to 4pm and by appointment, and will remain on display until February 19, 2016Visit www.morrisarts.org or call (973) 285-5115 for additional information, including the exhibit catalogue which contains details and sale prices for all works. The Gallery at 14 Maple is a barrier-free facility. Individuals needing special accommodation should contact Kadie Dempsey at (973) 285-5115, x 17 or kdempsey@morrisarts.org.