Blackwell Street Juried Student Show marks its 30th Anniversary, opening April 6th

On Friday, April 6, 2018 nearly 500 attended the Opening Reception for the 30th Anniversary of the annual Blackwell Street Juried Student Show at the Atrium Gallery, located on Floors 2-5 of the Morris County Administration and Records Building, 10 Court Street in Morristown. The selected artists, their teachers, families and friends as well as the general public were excited and impressed by the impressive amount of talent on display in the Atrium exhibit. Embracing a wide variety of media (sculpture, oil, acrylic, collage, multimedia, etching, charcoal, pen and ink, graphite, photography, etc.), the artworks are a stunning tribute to the creativity, skill and passion of these young artists from throughout Morris County.

 L-R: 2018 BEST IN SHOW, Kevin Kahwaty’s handbuilt ceramic, (cone 10 reduction), Anubis (Montville Twp);  Anneai Zheng’s Sharpie and ink work, The Organic City (Mt. Olive); Coral Coad’s multimedia piece, Let Them Eat Cake (West Morris Mendham); Samantha Zhong’s photo, Split (Whippany Park); and Hannah Wetter’s charcoal, What Am I Thinking? (Chatham).

There is additional coverage online in www.MorristownGreen.com – which includes more photos by Jeff Sovelove.

 

A panel of five professional artists from the Blackwell Street Center for the Arts comprised the jury selecting approximately 300 wall-hung works and 100 sculptures from nearly 800 submissions by talented high school students from throughout the County. The show was then organized, hung and administered by the all-volunteer members of the Blackwell Street Center for the Arts, their friends, family and students – with additional help this year from Joanne Del Rio and her assistants from Novartis. There are multiple ribbon categories, with Best In Show and the 1st Place ribbons receiving monetary prizes. The opening reception included an awards presentation (in the 5th floor Freeholder meeting room) and the opportunity to meet these talented young artists in person. The exhibit runs through May 4, 2018. 

L-R: Julia Malczynski’s Song of the Moon (Roxbury); Isabella Bobitka’s watercolor, micron pen piece, Timeless Music (Mt. Olive); Closeup of Melissa Gambino’s mixed media, Grandpa’s Spirit (Whippany Park); Daphne Nydam’s acrylic, Rudy (Mendham); Emma Shaberg’s ballpoint work, DaVinci’s Anger vs. Warhol’s Fear (Mendham); and Gabrielle Frueh’s earthenware, Basket of Joy (Jefferson Twp).

Evolving from the 1988 exhibit that featured approximately 90 pieces of art, to this current, massive undertaking, the Juried Student Exhibit is unique in its democratic approach: there are no restrictions on the number of pieces a school can submit and submissions are open to public, private, parochial and home-schooled high school student artists from throughout Morris County.  Each year, hundreds of students, parents, teachers and friends attend in support of these exceptional young artists.

L-R: Chelsea Knoll’s oil, Still Life (Mendham); Ben Bariso’s pen, ink and watercolor, Rocket Pop (Butler); Richard Warren’s floss sticks, wood and marble piece, White Lotus (Chatham); Kerianne McClay’s ceramic set, Cerulean Cluster (Madison); and Jennifer Redvanly’s mixed media, Color Cross Track (Hanover Park).

 

Here are some PHOTOS from the Opening Reception:

Morris Arts manages the Atrium Art Gallery, selecting artists and scheduling exhibits on behalf of the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders.  The Atrium Gallery is free and open to the public during business hours, from 8:30am – 4:30pm, Monday-Friday. The exhibit will run from April 6, 2018 through May 4, 2018. For additional information about the show, contact Dr. Lynn L. Siebert, Gallery Director, and Director of Arts Participation & Communication for Morris Arts, (973) 285-5115, ext. 10 or Lsiebert@morrisarts.org