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Gallery at 14 Maple – exhibits

In collaboration with the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Morris Arts sponsors two art exhibits each year in this LEED-certified “green” space, located in the common areas on the 3rd floor of 14 Maple Ave., Morristown, NJ. The gallery is open to the public Mondays-Thursdays from 10am to 4pm and on Fridays from 10am to 1pm and by appointment, call (973) 285-5115 for additional information

The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and Morris Arts work closely with the artists selected for the exhibits at the Gallery at 14 Maple.

 

Morris Arts’ opens Color is Joyful exhibit on March 9, 2023

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On March 9,  Morris Arts welcomed the public to the opening reception of Color is Joyful, its twenty-sixth exhibit in the Gallery at 14 Maple. Guest Curator, Professor Beatrice M.  Mady, selected 27 works created by five New Jersey artists for display in this distinctive space located on the 3rd floor of the LEED certified “green” building at 14 Maple Ave., Morristown.

The exhibit features works by artists Diane English (Jersey City), Andrea Epstein (Berkeley Heights), PE Pinkman (Bayonne), James Pustorino (Bayonne) and Vincent Salvati (Roselle Park). 
            

Spotlighting swirling colors, abstract shapes, movement and layered imagery, this fascinating exhibit delights the viewer with its passion, energy, unfettered playfulness and the sheer buoyancy of the vibrantly colored artworks.

 

Inspired by artist David Hockney, Curator Beatrice Mady offers insights regarding the genesis of the exhibit’s theme and the importance of color in our lives:

            In this moment of grayness with political mayhem, global climate change, the tridemic and the like, I felt a need to bring some joy into the world. Art can and does do this, not merely for the artist creator, but for the viewer, often in a deeply profound way.

            Color is a powerful communication tool used to influence mood or even increase   metabolism. The power of color is inescapable. In this exhibition, I have brought together  five artists who use color as their primary tool of expression. They are passionate. Their  work exudes a sense of delight in an unabashed and free way. Their work amuses us  and we cannot help but smile and feel lighter when we look at the work.”

She adds,

            Color is not just something we see, but also something that we feel. It is a wavelength of light. Color has a physical effect on our bodies and psyche. Wassily Kandinsky said, “Color is a power which directly influences the soul.” These artists open the door to our mind’s eye and allow us to take a journey into a blissful state of being.

Photos from the opening reception:

 

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Free visitation to the gallery exhibit is by appointment only. Please schedule an appointment here. The exhibit will remain on display until August 14, 2023. Visit www.morrisarts.org or call (973) 285-5115, x12  for additional information. The exhibit catalogue, posted online, contains details and sale prices for the works. The Gallery at 14 Maple is a barrier-free facility. Individuals needing special accommodation should contact Jenna Castano at (973) 285-5115, x 12 or jcastano@morrisarts.org.

 

 

Morris Arts’ Gallery at 14 Maple opens Move: Dance in Art I

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In late September, 2022, Morris Arts officially opens its Gallery at 14 Maple’s twenty fifth exhibit entitled Move: Dance in Art I . Curated by Virginia Fabbri Butera, PhD, who explains, “member institutions in the Arts & Culture Collaborative, Morris County, have created a series of events and programs around the ancient and universal theme of dance.  Morris Arts’ Gallery at 14 Maple and the Therese A. Maloney Art Gallery at Saint Elizabeth University are presenting: Move: Dance in Art I and II, both separate exhibitions but both building on the same theme.” 

The Arts & Culture Collaborative’s Dance Connections initiative is a festival of events highlighting the dance performances and dance-related work of New Jersey artists and organizations. These events will run from September through early 2023 and feature multiple styles of dance and a diverse group of performers. . The events will take place in venues across Morris County, publicized via members’ websites, newsletters and social media. For a general event listing, visit the Dance Connections webpage: https://www.morrisarts.org/dance-connections.

For the Gallery at 14 Maple exhibit, curator Dr. Virginia Butera selected works created by 27 artists (paintings, watercolors, mixed media, bronze, prints, photographs, digital art, and collage) for display at the Gallery, a distinctive space located on the 3rd floor of the LEED certified “green” building at 14 Maple Ave., Morristown.

VIEW THE CATALOGUE HERE

   

 The exhibit features works by the following artists: Peter Allen (Harding Township), Bette Blank (Madison), Serena Bocchino (Basking Ridge), Virginia Carroll (Plainfield), Lawrence Ciarallo (Hoboken), Robin Cross-Keller (Sussex), Pasquale Cuppari (Roselle Park), Nathalie de Zan (Jersey City), Ellen Denuto (Denville), Lisa Ficarelli-Halpern (Shrewsbury), Geri Hahn (Mountain Lakes), Alice Harrison (Morristown), Tammy Heppner (Peapack), MJ Hoehn (Montclair), Linda Howe (New Providence), Chris Kappmeier (Lyndhurst), Neal Korn (Union), Brian McCormick (Butler),  Len Merlo (South Plainfield), Barbara Neibart (Rockaway), Wayne Roth (Mountain Lakes), Fausto Sevila (Elizabeth), Marcia Shiffman (Highland Park), Jimena Vega (Union City), Anthony Waldmann (Convent Station), Lisa Westheimer (West Orange), Sue Zwick (Summit).

There is an almost visceral desire to move when viewing this exhibit  –  a natural response to the dynamism and energy embodied in these artworks. The works are highly varied, reflecting each artist’s unique vision of the theme, encompassing leaping ballet dancers, dancing deer, moving forests, multi-cultural ceremonial dances, break dancing, aerial ballet, courtly dances and even humorously evoking dance from the perspective of the “dance-challenged.”

As Curator Butera adds, “All the works celebrate various eras and places while emphasizing each individual visual artist’s unique viewpoints, styles, materials and interpretations”….”There are early Australian aboriginal rock art images and tribal figures and views of other traditional native dances from around the world” and host of other works that reflect “the joy, the intensity, the solemnity, and the excitement of dancing”…an art form “that connects us all! Remember to Move, Dance and Celebrate with us this Fall!”

Morris Arts gratefully acknowledges support for this exhibit from

 

 

 

 

Free visitation to the gallery exhibit is by appointment only. Please schedule an appointment here. The exhibit will remain on display until February 14, 2023. Visit www.morrisarts.org or call (973) 285-5115, x10 for additional information. The exhibit catalogue, posted online, contains details and sale prices for the works. The Gallery at 14 Maple is a barrier-free facility. Individuals needing special accommodation should contact Jenna Castano at (973) 285-5115, x 12 or jcastano@morrisarts.org.

 

SHIFTING GROUND opens at the Gallery at 14 Maple, 3/14/2022

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Morris Arts and The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation are proud to present the twenty-fourth exhibit, SHIFTING GROUND, in the Gallery at 14 Maple. Guest curator, Jeanne Brasile (Director of the Walsh Gallery at Seton Hall University) selected works by six outstanding artists (painting, mixed media, fabric art, and sculpture) for display at the Gallery, a distinctive space located on the 3rd floor of the LEED certified “green” building at 14 Maple Ave., Morristown.

The diverse and distinguished group of New Jersey artists, including Anonda Bell (Montclair), Martin Calvino (Highland Park), Hao Feng (Summit), Valerie Huhn (Summit), Troy Jones (Jersey City), and Danielle Scott (Plainfield), addresses the theme of the show, SHIFTING  GROUND  – using their unique artistic voices to examine elements of the strange and difficult times in which we live.   

  

       

L-R: Danielle Scott’s The Floods of Fear; Hao Feng’s Laughter In the Dark 1; Anonda Bell’s The Suburbs at 4am, #B

Click  HERE   for the catalogue of this exhibit.

Guest Curator Jeanne Brasile shares her insights about the approach of each artist in her Curator’s Essay on the exhibit:

Hao Feng created a series of mixed media works that reflect directly on people’s experiences of the pandemic, particularly isolation and its effects.  In his series of weavings, Martin Calvino also addresses lived experience during the pandemic by literally writing crowd-sourced personal narratives onto slips of paper then weaving them into the weft of each piece. The Black Lives Matter movement gained urgency as a rash of racially motivated crimes and killings catalyzed protests throughout the country.  Danielle Scott traces current events to the brutal legacy of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and its impact on present-day America.  Her work explores its multifarious effects through the layering of text, image and three-dimensional objects that dissect colonialism’s harsh legacy. Troy Jones paints portraits of Black resilience.   His subjects wear West African masks while unapologetically meeting the gaze of the viewer, emphasizing Black power and beauty.  Feminist themes occupy Anonda Bell’s prints which explore difficult truths about women in contemporary society… Invoking the past to speak about the present, Bell uses metaphorical objects; lace, framework, idealized female bodies, medical instruments and flies to investigate sexist tropes… Dreary, surreal and often disturbing, we get glimpses of women, domestic settings and quotidian objects residing in indeterminate spaces.

And, in response to concerns about the manipulation of personal data, Valerie Huhn’s works – made from her obsessive applications of her own fingerprints in brightly colored paints arranged in elaborate patterns simultaneously reveal and obscure the sinister content of contemporary surveillance society. 

L-R: Troy Jones’ Keep on Fighting #3; Valerie Huhn’s Migrations 1; Martin Calvino’s Interlaced Objects No. 1.

The art in this exhibit presents multiple perspectives while confronting some of the urgent narratives of life in our tense and worrisome times. The works examine the impacts of an international pandemic, as well as larger societal questions of equality, selfhood, and justice, with which we all are dealing.  The exhibit captures the uncertainties and “shifting ground” of modern life. When will life feel more settled and stabile? As Jeanne Brasile so aptly concludes in her essay, “Perhaps it is wise to recall ‘the only constant in life is change.’”

Morris Arts gratefully acknowledges support for this exhibit from:
 

 

 

 

 

Free visitation to the gallery exhibit is by appointment only. Please go to our website (www.morrisarts.org) to register and schedule an appointment. The exhibit will remain on display until August 22, 2022. Visit www.morrisarts.org  or call (973) 285-5115, x10 for additional information. The exhibit catalogue, posted online, contains details and sale prices for the works. The Gallery at 14 Maple is a barrier-free facility. Individuals needing special accommodation should contact Jenna Castano at (973) 285-5115, x 12 or jcastano@morrisarts.org.

 

VANISHING WORLDS (March 12, 2020 – extended until mid-December 2021)

Guest curator Yvette Lucas selected works created by nine outstanding artists (painting, mixed media, photography, and sculpture) for display at the Gallery, a distinctive space located on the 3rd floor of the LEED certified “green” building at 14 Maple Ave., Morristown.

To view the virtual gallery and be able to purchase artworks), click HERE.

To view a catalogue of the show, click HERE

Morris Arts’ Gallery at 14 Maple installed Vanishing Worlds, its twenty-third exhibit, just before the Covid shutdown. By extending the exhibition through mid-December 2021, Morris Arts hopes that the public will be able to see this magnificent and meaningful show in person as pandemic restrictions ease.  Most of the artwork is also available to see – and purchase – virtually on our website at https://www.morrisarts.org/programs/art-galleries/14-maple/.  Several works in the original show have since been replaced with new works, by artists Janet Boltax, Lisa G Westheimer and Philemona Williamson. The show’s updated catalogue (including details and pricing), is also available on our website https://www.morrisarts.org/programs/art-galleries/14-maple/.

Guest curator, Yvette Lucas, selected works by nine distinguished New Jersey artists including Susan Ahlstrom, Janet Boltax, Kate Dodd, Robert Lach, Diane Savona, Onnie Strother, Lisa G Westheimer, Bill Westheimer and Philemona Williamson. Each brings a unique perspective to the theme of Vanishing Worlds, whether confronting species extinction, lost libraries of the ancient world, disappearing professions, obsolete technologies, vanishing childhood or the gradual vanishings associated with aging. All of the artworks are rendered with creative, imaginative and intriguing insights that encourage the viewer to reflect on the fleeting nature of existence and the inexorable march of time.

Guest Curator Yvette Lucas adds the following insight about the exhibit:

This exhibit explores the ways that we experience transition and change, loss and growth through memories, mistakes, achievements, and time. By viewing these worlds that the exhibiting artists have revealed, we may be witnesses to those places or moments that have been lost or will be lost in future times. Change is inevitable but how we respond to it is a choice.

Morris Arts gratefully acknowledges support for this exhibit from  

 

 

 The Gallery at 14 Maple is a barrier-free facility. 

Here are some additional PHOTOS of the VANISHING WORLDS exhibit

 

 

Gallery at 14 Maple opens Expresiones Latinx I on September 12, 2019

On September 12, 2019, a crowd of 109 enthusiastic people joined Morris Arts at the free opening reception for the Gallery at 14 Maple’s twenty second exhibit entitled Expresiones Latinx I. Curated by Virginia Fabbri Butera, PhD, and Will Suarez, MFA, this is one of two paired exhibits conceived as part of LatinX ConeXiones, a project of the nearly 30 cultural organizations in the Arts & Culture Collaborative, showcasing the arts and culture of Latinx artists in Morris County and other communities through more than 26 performances, fine art and craft exhibitions, music, dance, literature, poetry, theatre, food, history, installations and other creative disciplines from August through November 2019. The events will take place in venues across Morris County, publicized via members’ websites, newsletters and social media as well as via The Collaborative’s calendar of events, online at https://artsandculturecollaborative.org, www.facebook.com/latinxconexiones and https://www.instagram.com/latinxconexiones/.

Santiago Cohen’s oil on canvas, 2017, Earth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the Exhibit Catalogue, click HERE .

Expresiones Latinx I focuses on the themes of Nature/Environment; Dreams; Barriers; Love; Dance; Music; Sports; and The Streets. It complements related themes (such as Home, Family, Memories, Places, Religion, etc.) highlighted in Expresiones Latinx II, also curated by Butera and Suarez and opening on September 18, 2019 at the Maloney Art Gallery at the College of Saint Elizabeth in Convent Station.
For the Gallery at 14 Maple, the Exhibition Committee and curators selected works created by 21 artists (paintings, watercolors, mixed media, prints, photographs, digital art and collage) for display at the Gallery, a distinctive space located on the 3rd floor of the LEED certified “green” building at 14 Maple Ave., Morristown.

The exhibit features works by the following artists: Luis Alves (South Orange), Josephine Barreiro (Springfield), Gregg Bautista (Metuchen), José Camacho (Montclair), Marcela Claros (Glen Rock), Santiago Cohen (Jersey City), Carlos M. Frias (Bloomfield), Luz H. Gallo (Towaco), Juan C. Giraldo (Paterson) , France Garrido (Weehawken), Luis Jesús Martínez Piar (Mine Hill), Maria José Navas-Espinal (Madison), David Oquendo (Landing), Walter F. Rodriguez (Budd Lake), Nancy Saleme (Brooklyn)/Patricia Cazorla (Brooklyn), Will Suarez (Bloomfield), Jhoan Sebastian Tamayo (Jersey City), Raúl Villarreal (Gainesville, FL), M. H. Yaghooti (Jersey City) and Layqa Nuna Yawar (Newark). Their artworks reflect each artist’s unique vision and mode of expression filtered through the lens of the Latinx experience.

“This is a wonderful chance for people to learn more about how our Latinx neighbors are responding visually to their myriad experiences in the United States as someone who is a recent newcomer or someone with deep roots here,” said curator Ginny Butera. Will Suarez and I are thrilled by the intensity of meaning that emerged from the colors, forms, subject matters and styles as we were looking at work by dozens of New Jersey Latinx artists. Come and be amazed!”

Here are some PHOTOS from the opening reception:

Here are some PHOTOS from the Closing Reception on February 6, 2020:

 

Morris Arts gratefully acknowledges support for this exhibit, with partnership from 

 

 

 

and additional support from and additional support from 

 

 

 

 

The exhibit is open to the public Monday-Friday from 10am to 4pm and by appointment, and will remain on display until February 12, 2020. Visit 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 Kaity DeLaura at (973) 285-5115, x 14 or kdelaura@morrisarts.org.

 

On March 14, SEEING THE UNSEEN exhibit opens in Morris Arts’ Gallery at 14 Maple

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On Thursday, March 14, nearly 100 people joined Morris Arts at the exciting opening reception for the Gallery at 14 Maple’s twenty first exhibit entitled seeing the unseen. The Exhibition Committee of Morris Arts and guest curator Greg Leshé selected works created by ten outstanding artists (painting, mixed media, photography, sculpture, collage, and digital art) for display at the Gallery, a distinctive space located on the 3rd floor of the LEED certified “green” building at 14 Maple Ave., Morristown.

To see a catalogue of the exhibit, click on  SEEING THE UNSEEN catalogue .

 

L-R: Ed Kashi’s portrait of Ahmed, an African torture victim and US detainee before being granted asylum;  Jeffrey Campbell’s digital composite/found photography, Here Be Dragons; Nyugen Smith’s  mixed media and collage on paper, Bundlehouse: Like oil + water; Detail from Hanna von Goeler’s multimedia work, Rags to Riches; Tian Hui’s  acrylic and oil on canvas, Friedrich Hayek.

 

The exhibit features works by a diverse and distinguished group of artists, many of whom have also had careers as curators, documentary photo journalists, and artists deeply concerned by injustice. The ten artists featured in this show include Jeffrey Campbell (Wanaque), Patricia Cazorla (New York), Angeles Cossio (Jersey City), Hanna von Goeler (Montclair), Grace Graupe-Pillard (Keyport), Tian Hui (South Orange), Ed Kashi (Montclair) , Nancy Saleme (New York), Nyugen Smith (Jersey City), and Wendel White (Galloway). Each artist brings a unique perspective to the theme of seeing the unseen,   depicting people and aspects of our world that often remain “invisible” in our society. 

L-R:   Wendel White’s Woman’s Hood NJ WKKK, Southern New Jersey Cultural Organization, Cape May, NJ; Grace Graupe-Pillard’s oil, Dadaab Camp/Kenya; Patricia Cazorla and Nancy Saleme’s charcoal pencil, ink marker, liquid silver leaf and acrylic on wood, The Garden of Opportunities, little boy; Angeles Cossio’s Styrofoam, coffee cups sculpture, Conglomerate.
  
Guest Curator Greg Leshé adds the following insight about the exhibit:
Within the show’s compass I regard the artwork as the beacon, the lighthouse, the signaler-object of the unseen, transmitting a critical light, projecting warning rays while asserting and proclaiming what’s out there that we can’t or choose not to see. These forces and realities pose a danger to an individual, a community, an environment, an ethnic group, a nation – and, if ignored or left untended, will imperil some level of our collective humanity.

Through these artists’ eyes, we visualize the beauty and poignancy of migrant farm workers, people who survived extended detention, political imprisonment, or torture as well as the working poor, tangible emblems of racism and, ultimately, our shared humanity. It is at once an exhibit of great beauty and profound awareness – making the viewer mindful of the truly important and fundamental matters in our world.

Additionally, at the opening reception, the winners of the Ehlers and Coladarci Arts Scholarships (dancer Leah Suskind and soprano Sophia Grace Donelan, respectively) were  introduced and recognized for their achievements.

Here are some PHOTOS from the reception:

Morris Arts gratefully acknowledges s support for this exhibit from:   

The exhibit is open to the public Monday-Friday from 10am to 4pm and by appointment, and will remain on display until August 21, 2019..  Visit 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 Tom Werder at (973) 285-5115, x 11 or twerder@morrisarts.org.

Gallery at 14 Maple opens powerful exhibit, COMPASSION: Is it the Radicalism of Our Time? on September 20th

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On September 20, 2018, nearly 80 guests attended Morris Arts’ free opening reception for the Gallery at 14 Maple’s twentieth exhibit entitled COMPASSION: Is It the Radicalism of Our Time?  The Exhibition Committee of Morris Arts,  guest curator Adrienne Wheeler and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation selected works created by 15 outstanding artists (paintings, mixed media, prints, photographs, sculpture, collage, and digital art) for display at the Gallery, a distinctive space located on the 3rd floor of the LEED certified “green” building at 14 Maple Ave., Morristown.

The exhibit features works by a highly diverse and distinguished group of artists, many of whom have had dual careers as curators, art directors, gallery founders and academic scholars. These include Anonda Bell (Montclair), Terry Boddie (Orange), Lisa Conrad (Newark), Cicely Cottingham (West Orange), Victor Davson (West Orange) Dominique Duroseau (Newark), Adebunmi Gbadebo (Newark), Dong Kyu Kim (Fort Lee), Steve McKenzie (Annandale), PaulA Neves (Newark), Nell Painter (Newark), Kay Reese (Irvington), Onnie Strother (East Orange), Amanda Thackray (Newark) and Nathan Williams (Brooklyn, NY). Their artworks encompass highly varied perspectives on the exhibit’s central theme, Compassion, examining the multitude of interpretations of its role and place in modern life. 

Click HERE to see the Catalogue for the exhibit.

Morris Arts gratefully acknowledges support for this exhibit, with partnership  from                

 

and additional support from                   

 

 

 

The exhibit is open to the public Monday-Friday from 10am to 4pm and by appointment, and will remain on display until February 14, 2019.  Visit 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 Carlos Sotelo at (973) 285-5115, x 17 or csotelo@morrisarts.org.

 This website made possible by funding from the New Jersey Cultural Trust.

Gallery at 14 Maple’s all woman artists exhibit, Approaching VIBRANCY, opened March 15, 2018

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Nearly 200 enthusiastic people attended the March 15th opening reception for the Gallery at 14 Maple’s nineteenth exhibit, entitled approachingVIBRANCY.  For this occasion, the Exhibition Committee of Morris Arts and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, with guest co-curators, Mary Birmingham and Sarah Walko (both from the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey), selected works by 39 outstanding New Jersey women artists (culled from over 1,000 submissions!). 

Click HERE to see the exhibit catalogue.

Focused on presenting the diversity of women artists working in this region, the exhibit will include art by Olga Alexander (Glen Ridge); Caren King Choi (Secaucus); Andrea Brooke D’alessandro (Toms River); Kate Dodd (East Orange); Shari Epstein (Long Branch); Lisa Ficarelli-Halpern (Shrewsbury); Asha Ganpat (Montclair); Suzan Globus (Fair Haven); Marsha Goldberg (Highland Park); Ellen Hanauer (Livingston): Susan Hockaday (Hopewell); Suzan Laura Kammin (Newark); Jill Kerwick (Fair Haven); Donna Conklin King (Roseland); Michelle Knox (Keansburg); Parvathi Kumar (Bridgewater); Pat Lay (Jersey City); Jean LeBlanc (Newton); Wendy Letven (Clifton); Sue Ellen Leys (Maplewood); Betty McGeehan (New Providence); Anne Q. McKeown (Secaucus); Deborah Guzmán Meyer (Montclair); Perri Neri (Highland Park); Katie Niewodowski (Jersey City); Carol Nussbaum (Short Hills); Erin O’Brien-Kenna (Bloomfield); Laurie Riccadonna (Jersey City); Sherry Beth Sacks; Lisa Sanders (Newark); Theda Sandiford (Union City); Fran Shalom; Jessica Skultety (Phillipsburg); Amanda Thackray (Newark); Marianne Trent (Bedminster); Claudia Waters (Montclair); Lisa Westheimer (West Orange); Gail Winbury (Westfield) and Barbara Wisoff (Summit).

The co-curators explain:  “In curating this show, we looked for art that conveyed the idea of vibrancy—a state of being that is filled with energy and life unhindered by internal or external barriers. We were rewarded with works by a diverse group of women artists from across the state that pulsates with dynamic energy.  The show includes vivid portraits of women and girls, work exploring the beauty and vulnerability of nature and more. The exhibition shows the diverse ways women artists are working now, from textile and fiber to painting, collage, photography, and various forms of sculpture. approachingVIBRANCY is an aspiration toward dynamism, action, passion, energy, ebullience, and vitality.” 

Additionally, at the opening reception, the winners of the Ehlers and Coladarci Arts Scholarships (pianist John Duc-Tuan Nguyen and actress Nicole Giordano, respectively) along with visual artist Coral Coad, who won Honorable Mention, were introduced and recognized for their achievements.

PHOTOS from the opening reception:

    

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iCandy, artwork by Dan Fenelon, opens Sept. 28 in Gallery at 14 Maple

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On September 28, 2017 from 6-8pm,  nearly 90 people joined Morris Arts at the  free opening reception for the Gallery at 14 Maple’s eighteenth exhibit entitled  icandy . The Exhibition Committee of Morris Arts and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation selected 28 works created between 2009 and 2017 by Morristown artist Dan Fenelon (paintings, mixed media, prints on wood and sculpture) for display at the Gallery, a distinctive space located on the 3rd floor of the LEED certified “green” building at 14 Maple Ave., Morristown.

Fenelon’s dramatic imagery references ancient tribal petroglyphs and reflects his study of and interest in mythology, art history and early civilizations. His unique, highly recognizable visual language has developed over years of constant sketching, drawing and painting (on surfaces large and small). No viewer can forget his intricate designs, the shapes within shapes, the fantastical creatures, or his vibrant colors – ranging from intense “pop culture” hues, to the bold red/black and white combinations or the subtle grey/black/ white blends. Fenelon’s distinctive images are infused with energy and often combine the lighthearted with deeply meaningful expressions, always encouraging that “closer look.” Perhaps most striking is Fenelon’s ability to simultaneously work across a wide stylistic range utilizing ever-evolving media, from canvas to surfboards to 3D printed objects – and to do so with artistic integrity and skill.

Montclair Art Museum Director Lora Urbanelli said; “Dan approaches his canvas intent on capturing a deep and serious cultural spirit.In the synthesis, myth and symbol are processed through a graphic filter that combines depth of meaning with a lighthearted and dazzling presentation. The result is both youthful and mature, thought-provoking and downright fun!” Speaking of his work, Fenelon stated, “My work is a response to the dissatisfaction in the world today. I have seen firsthand how art can transform people, places and neighborhoods. My goal is to create art that inspires and uplifts.”

Read more, see additional photos  from the opening in Kevin Coughlin’s article on MorristownGreen.com.

Here are some PHOTOs from the Opening Reception:

Morris Arts gratefully acknowledges sponsorship for this exhibit by  

with partnership from 

 

 

and additional support from

 

 

 

 

 

The exhibit is open to the public Monday-Friday from 10am to 4pm and by appointment, and will remain on display until February 24, 2018 .  Visit 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.

 

Common Ground opened  March 8, 2017 in Gallery at 14 Maple

Posted on On March 8, 2017 nearly 100 people attended the opening reception for the Gallery at 14 Maple’s seventeenth exhibit, entitled COMMON GROUND – along with the presentation of the Ehlers and Coladarci Scholarships. It was a fascinating and inspiring evening.

Here are some photos from the Opening:

For this show, the Exhibition Committee of Morris Arts and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, with guest curator, Jeanne Brasile, selected works by six outstanding New Jersey artists, including Alaine Becker (South Orange); Dominant Dansby (Jersey City); Dahlia Elsayed (Palisades Park); Heejung Kim (Bogota); Mel Leipzig (Trenton) and Alex Piccirillo (Nutley). As Curator Brasile states, “There are many sayings in many cultures that note the importance of the collective.  Unfortunately, in difficult times such as now, we tend to focus on the things that divide us…This group exhibition, Common Ground endeavors to express the interconnectedness of the human experience through a variety of artistic impressions.” 

Click HERE to see the exhibit catalogue.

Featured image: Mel Leipzig’s June Wilson

 

The public is invited to view this exciting exhibit and to meet the artists at the free opening reception on Wednesday, March 8, 2017 from 6-8pm at Gallery at 14 Maple, a distinctive space located on the 3rd floor of the LEED certified “green” building at 14 Maple Avenue in Morristown, NJ. Refreshments will be served. 

The exhibit continues until August 24, 2017. The Gallery at 14 Maple is free and open to the public 10am-4pm Monday-Friday and by appointment.

Morris Arts gratefully acknowledges sponsorship for this exhibit by 

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Gallery at 14 Maple opens new exhibit, IN FLUX,

 September 21, 2016 – February 16, 2017

 

On September 21, 2016 nearly 135 people attended the opening reception for the Gallery at 14 Maple’s sixteenth exhibit, entitled IN FLUX.  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 eleven outstanding artists. The exhibit reflects the complexities and ever- shifting nature of our contemporary world, captured by the works by these very distinctive, diverse artists.

Click  HERE to see the Catalogue for this show.

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clockwise from top left: Sunil Garg’s light sculpture, Blissful Delusion; Photographer Joe Freeman’s striking Keechelus 2116; Michael Wolf’s sculpture, 1/7 Heaven; Nupur Nishith’s Dheeya, the Girl Child; Danielle Masters’ Untitled 2016;  Bascove’s Southwest Reservoir Bridge.

A trained physical chemist, Sunil Garg’s sculptures literally  glow with light, color and organic energy while the exquisite precision of Joe Freeman’s stark black and white photos of clearcut landscapes testify eloquently against the destruction of precious natural resources. Bascove’s works pay homage to Art Deco and demonstrate her masterful collage techniques while Ed Fausty’s keen fisheye lens spotlights the beauties of often hidden, miniature natural worlds.  Asha Ganpat’s works blend mystery, depicting ephemeral smoke with her unique black and gold palette, and humor, with her Art Vending Machine (whose capsules contain an original work of art, available for $1).  By contrast, Danielle Masters’ art embodies millennial sensibilities, with energetic geometric shapes and bold, dramatic colors. Nupur Nishith provides a contemporary reinterpretation of traditional Indian artistic themes, whose intricate details, specific cultural references and striking colors intrigue the eye and mind. Ray Ogar’s vision is disturbing and nihilistic – featuring the “redacted” faces of zombie-like modern workers whose individuality and warmth has been brutally excised. A softer side of technology is seen in Pamela Shipley’s works, data-derived yet humanistic, with delicate colors and softly delineated forms. K.C. Tidemand’s architectural, structural works reveal a world of extreme precision and order and Michael Wolf’s small sculptures explore multiple media (alabaster, gold leaf, metal and wood) and evoke a sense of home, history and open doors to the universe.

 

       Here are some photos from the Opening Reception:

Morris Arts gratefully acknowledges sponsorship for this exhibit by

ISB009_03_Logomark_SG_HOR_NoTag

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 16, 2017.  Visitwww.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 orkdempsey@morrisarts.org.

 

Black, White and Green


March 3-August 24, 2106

Black, White and Green opened at Gallery at 14 Maple on March 3

On March 3, 2016,  Morris Arts hosted a free opening reception for the Gallery at 14 Maple’s fifteenth exhibit, entitled Black, White and Green – attended by an enthusiastic crowd of 180 people.  Guest curator Katherine Murdock, the Exhibition Committee of Morris Arts and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation selected works by the following outstanding New Jersey artists, Pat Brentano (Westfield), Jose Camacho (Montclair), Kathy Cantwell (Maplewood), Thea Clark (Maplewood), Carol Nussbaum (Short Hills), Casey Ruble (Milford), Nancy Ori (Berkley Heights), Jessica Rohrer (Bloomfield), and Raymond Saá (Maplewood). Two outstanding artists from New York are also featured: Richard Bottwin (Brooklyn) and Riad Miah (New York).

Click HERE to see the catalogue for the exhibit.

Inspired by the biowall, the vertical garden of living plants within the exhibit space, Curator Murdock chose to focus the exhibit on plants and selected the title,Black, White and Green, to purposefully reflect that limited color palette as a means of unifying the exhibit. What is striking, however, is the richness and variety of the artists’ unique approaches to the theme – through their use of different media (collage, oil, cold wax painting, photography, charcoal drawings, wood sculpture, etc.), composition, and subtle gradations of color. As Murdock notes, “Casey Ruble’s paper collage illustrates a bundled bouquet of invasive plant species and Kathy Cantwell’s oil and cold wax on panel explores green color fields that resemble landscape. Richard Bottwin uses plant material as a medium and highlights the wood grain with stain and paint.”  Pat Brentano combines cut paper and acrylic on canvas to highlight subtleties within the spectrum of green while Thea Clark, in essence, “creates” plant life with artificial turf, acrylic textile, cotton thread, wood and foam. Jose Camacho’s work focuses on the abstract, ghostly images of possible plant life in his black and white oils on paper.  Similarly, stark black and white is used to highlight Nature’s geometric precision in Carol Nussbaum’s striking flower mandala photos. Riad Miah’s use of electric green and geometric units suggests plant life on a cellular level while Nancy Ori’s photographs cut to the essence of botanical forms, revealing hidden structures. Jessica Rohrer’s gouache captures the green fluidity and grace of a hosta plant while the dramatic and intense charcoal drawings of Raymond Saá suggest the explosive release of energy of segmented structures that seem to collapse, yet still bristle with vitality.

 

Here are some photos from the opening:

 
 

Morris Arts gratefully acknowledges sponsorship for this exhibit by
NJ_logo_cmyk

 

 

 

with additional with 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 August 24, 2016.  Visitwww.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 orkdempsey@morrisarts.org.

 
 Contrasting Abstractions Title

October 8, 2015-February 19, 2016

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.

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

Curator Virginia Fabbri Butera, PhD (photo by Wayne Roth)

Curator 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.”

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_NoTag
and    MWA_Full_Color_stacked

with partnership from  36 Annual MCM logo.indd  and additional support from  Full_Color_Dodge_Logo_for_Websites_and_Online     31small  Discover Jersey Artslogo

The exhibit is open to the public Monday-Friday from 10am to 4pm and by appointment, and will remain on display until February 19, 2016.  Visit 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.

 

 

 

 A  SURE HAND
February 25-August 27, 2015

small, squared Sassona Norton The GiftOn February 25, 2015, from 6-8pm, Morris Arts will host the opening reception for its thirteenth exhibit, A SURE HAND,  at the Gallery at 14 Maple.  For this occasion, the Exhibition Committee of Morris Arts and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation selected Sassona Norton (Bedminster), Doug DePice (Secaucus), Neal Korn (Union) and Arlene Gale Milgram (Trenton) for their expertise, talent and vision.  As Curator Dick Eger, notes: “We selected works that embodied the defining element of drawings – simplicity…Drawing juxtaposes the austerity of the single line with the power of the image that emerges. It is the sure hand of these artists that transforms the humble into the extraordinary.”

Left: Sassona Norton’s drawing, The Gift.

Responding to the “rich architecture” of hands, Sassona Norton’s works focus on the intricacies and complexity of the hand.  Providing Norton with its variety of shapes and forms, the hand can mark the passing of time and express a remarkable range of emotions through gesture and position. By using a much larger scale, filling an entire canvas with hands, Norton intensifies the details of the hands, capturing a sculptural quality, implying what is absent and reflecting both tangible and intangible qualities of humanity. As Curator Eger adds,  Norton philosophizes  “about the shortness of life, the concept of yearning, the sadness of want and the fierce desire to change reality. She effortlessly folds these themes into her exuberant charcoals of hands.”

small, Doug DePice's Portrait of Anne Frank, white with tapesmall, Neal Korn's Head Over to Seaport Marine, hi rez

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L-R: Doug DePice’s Portrait of Anne Frank with Tape; Neal Korn’s drawing, Head Over to Seaport Marine.

With work that is both visceral and metaphorical, Doug DePice captures the horror of the Holocaust in his dark and powerful drawings.  Inspired by Eli Wiesel’s book, Night, Depice describes his works such as The Chimneys  thus: “I found the imagery of the smoke to appear heavy with the death of countless souls, and also thick with madness.” Images of the Crematorium are “succinct, frightening” and he adds, “To me, these forms are like giant tombstones of history.” With his portraits of Anne Frank, DePice strives to give some artistic expression to Anne Frank’s haunting words. In the portrait of Anne’s face with tape and charcoal, he states, “I wanted the surface to be scarred, marked and ripped as a visual reminder of the distress, anxiety, and uneasiness which gnawed daily at Anne’s psychological well-being.” DePice wants art to be a light in a world filled with the “darkness of ignorance and hate.”

The Chimneys 049

small,Milgram_Constant Motion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L-R: Doug DePice’s drawing,The Chimneys; Arlene Gale Milgram’s drawing, Constant Motion.

Artist Arlene Gale Milgram considers her art to be abstract but, at its core, her way “of processing my life experience.” She channels her thoughts and works in different densities and rhythms, often reclaiming resources from “failed” works to start new pieces. Mixed media works are layered as is life – “full of false starts and new beginnings.”  She adds, “The scars that remain are maps of time and experience.”  More  recently, she has focused on aging, support systems and “the fragile threads that hold us together.”  She doesn’t expect the viewer to read her “story” in the works but rather to engage them, involve them in her images and enable them to connect to “shared humanity.”

The drawings of Neal Korn present us with a unique juxtaposition of familiar imagery and unusual, striking perspectives. A simple portrait is literally “turned on its head” in a wash of color in Head Over to Seaport Marine and his portrayal of iconic images such as Lincoln’s monument or the Union Cannon grab the eye with their imaginative and dramatic vantage points as well as with a touch of humor and whimsy. “That is my head being blown out of the cannon,” he remarked. His “Icon” series includes drawings of images from Sandy Hook (NJ), Philadelphia (PA), NYC (NY) and Baltimore (MD).  Combining a tight, analytical drawing style with the “loose” application of rice paper, to provide texture and contrast and add an intuitive component, Korn creates images of dramatic and intriguing appeal.

Each of these four artists uses the medium of drawing to capture subtleties, delicacy, monumentalism and gesture in distinctive and memorable ways. Not the two dimensional tracing of a line on a surface here -but rather the power, the volume, motion and weight of each artist’s vision is captured in these exceptional and dramatic drawings which redefine the usual understanding of this medium and enhance our appreciation of its inherent magic.

To view the catalogue for this exhibit, click HERE.

Morris Arts gratefully acknowledges sponsorship for this exhibit by

NJ_logo_cmyk

 

 

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 August 27, 2015.  Visit 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.

31smallDiscover Jersey Artslogo

 

 

 

 

 

 SANDY: Destruction/Constructions 

September 11, 2014 -February 12, 2015

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  .

 

 

CAPTURING NATURE, April 3-August 27, 2014 

 

Nearly 180 people attended the April 3rd free opening reception for Morris Arts’ exciting new exhibit, Capturing Nature at the Gallery at 14 Maple? The Gallery’s 11th exhibit and 2nd invitational, Capturing Nature is curated by Dick Eger and features works by textile artist Natalia Margulis (Livingston) and Joseph Losavio (Sandyston), selected specifically for the high quality of their work and for their distinctive and imaginative interpretation of nature by the exhibition committee of Morris Arts and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

Internationally exhibited fiber artist Natalia Margulis, born in Russia, has worked as a full-time artist in the USA since 1993, consistently gaining recognition and winning top awards for her works.  She describes her approach to textile art as follows: “Inspired by nature’s sublime beauty, I use a needle as a versatile instrument to recreate our natural environment as an embroidered textile. With my stitchery, I investigate and express the endless transformation of nature through the seasons, from new life to decay. The fluid and supple qualities of fiber allow me to reconstruct the natural forms and textures which fascinate me… I am especially interested in creating the illusions of movement, delicacy, light and shadow.”

Commenting on her medium, she adds, “Embroidered pictures, by means of their softness and vulnerability, awaken a deep sense of belonging to the organic world: through visual perception we experience physical tactility. The fragility of fiber is used to indicate the fragility of the world and reflects my passionate desire to help save and protect it. Trying to expand the possibilities to express myself, I include all kinds of hand and machine stitches and often some elements of other fiber techniques such as dyeing, fusing, gilding, beading, heat distressing and embossing. These are my tools to achieve my art.”

Above: Natalia Margulis’ textile, Blue Reflections

Losavio-The-Music-That-Transcends

Joseph Losavio’s works utilize a variety of media including oil, collage, and handmade papers and reflect his complex, nuanced and intellectually layered life view. Although inspired by a number of Eastern and Western masters, Losavio’s work is nevertheless strikingly fresh, with bold shapes, colors and images that he describes as capturing “earthly desire and spiritual transcendence, realism and abstraction.” Often combining multiple landscapes within one work, Losavio creates scenes which have a mystical, haunting and highly poetic quality and which draw the viewer into his lush and intricate world.

Left: Joseph Losavio’s The Music That Transcends All Coming In And Going Forth”, oil on canvas.

Citing the timelessness and astonishing power of 25,000-40,000 year old cave paintings in Spain and Curator Dick Eger comments, “But, it is the very act of an artist interrupting, then rendering an image directly from nature – capturing nature – that is at the heart of this exhibit.” Eger likens Margulis’ works – which can take form two months to three years to complete – to the perfection found in the radiant illuminated manuscripts of the early Renaissance. Instead of liturgical verse, however, Margulis’ subject matter is the natural world which she captures with uncompromising skill and detail.

Of Losavio’s work, Eger states Losavio’s canvases “are not merely scenes conjured in Joe’s mind but rather each, a record of this visionary’s journey – a painterly travelogue.”  Eger notes that Losavio blends multiple streams of thoughts and ideas into a cohesive philosophy and then presents it “in front of us so that we too can enjoy his world. His rich palette and exotic treatment of his subject is often suffused in the mysticisim that so fascinates him and that he has embraced in his life.”

Hot off the press: photos from the  Opening Reception:

  

L-R: Curator Dick Eger, guest, Artists Joseph Losavio and Natalia Margulis with Tom Werder, Executive Director of Morris Arts;  Dodge Foundation panelist Elaine Rastocky with artist Joseph Losavio and Dodge Foundation CEO, Chris Daggett; Dodge Foundation CEO Chris Daggett with artist Natalia Margulis; the artists, Natalia Margulis and Joseph Losavio.

L-R: Curator Dick Eger with Gallery Coordinator Bethany Russo and artist Joseph Losavio; Artist Natalia Margulis with Curator Dick Eger; Back-Paul Flowerman and colleague, front- Morris Arts Board President Tom McMillian with Dodge Foundation panelist Elaine Rastocky and artist Natalia Margulis; Artist Wayne Roth, Dr. Virginia Butera, director of the Maloney Gallery and Chair, Art Department at College of St. Elizabeth with artist Natalia Margulis and her husband Michael.

 

L-R: Crowds enjoying the artworks in conference room and main hall; Artist Joseph Losavio, Morris Arts Development Director Gina Moran and artist Natalia Margulis; Grow It Green staff flank Morris Arts board member and artist Dan Sroka.

Photos of some additional works on exhibit:

L-R: Natalia Margulis’ textile artworks: In a Necklace of Mushrooms and Ice Berries.

  

L-R: Joseph Losavio’s paintings, Iram and Atop An Underwood

Click HERE to see the catalogue of the exhibit.

Morris Arts thanks our corporate partner, NJ.com, for their generous support of the upcoming exhibit, CAPTURING NATURE .

The exhibit is open to the public Monday-Friday from 10am to 4pm and by appointment, and will remain on display until August 27, 2014.  Visit www.morrisarts.org or call (973) 285-5115 for additional information, including the exhibit catalogue which contains details and sale prices for all works.

 

 

SEEING SPACE 

 September 26, 2013 – March 21, 2014

 

On September 26, 2013, 199 enthusiastic people enjoyed the opening reception for Morris Arts’ tenth exhibit and first invitational show entitled Seeing Space. The Exhibition Committee of Morris Arts and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation selected Willie Cole (Newark), Wayne Charles Roth (Mountain Lakes) and Kiyomi Baird (Far Hills) specifically for the high quality of their work and for their imaginative treatment and interpretation of space.

As the curator, Dick Eger notes: “Space can be as mundane as the comfortable distance between two people or as territorial as ‘you’re in my space’… Today, computers run out of space in their memory. Humans do too. Space, like air, (for most people), is taken for granted but is an essential ingredient in our lives … Space can be both ephemeral and permanent – yet ever changing.” He adds, “The three artists whose works contributed to Seeing Space use their concept of space as a vehicle to direct, express and propel their work into another dimension.”

Noted contemporary African American sculptor and winner of numerous national awards, Willie Cole, is best known for assembling and transforming ordinary domestic and used objects such as irons, ironing boards, high-heeled shoes, hair dryers, bicycle parts, wooden matches, lawn jockeys, and other discarded appliances and hardware, into imaginative installations and powerful works of art. Cole’s transformation of common objects and the space they inhabit is clear in the intimacy of his Mother and Child, an assemblage of black patent leather high heels, and in his Downtown Goddess, the bronze painted assemblage of women’s shoes which portrays a beguiling, intriguing female figure.

Above: Wayne Charles Roth’s Resolution.

“A painter for the 21st century,” Wayne Charles Roth uses pixels instead of brush strokes and pigments,blending the worlds of fine art, photography, and technology. With old world craftsmanship and attention to detail, he uses multiple layers of composition to create compelling, fluid and dramatic images through digital printing on Plexiglas. Eger notes that Roth’s “works seem to freeze a moment in a stellar explosion or supernova,” capturing that intense energy and reflecting what Roth describes as the “hard-edged world we inhabit, filled with technology, noise, color and movement.”  Roth’s largest work, Immersion, is overwhelming in its size, power and presence and, as with his other works, it presents the viewer with a sense of layered depth and the complex relationship between inner and outer space.

L-R: Wayne Charles Roth, One Night; Willie Cole, Downtown Goddess; Kiyomi Baird, Suspension.

Kiyomi Baird blends Western and Eastern sensibilities and varied media in her treatment of space. As Eger notes, her mixed media and oil pieces, including Bamboo, Celestial, Cloud, Vibration and Endless Vow “embrace her Asian sensibilities and radiate a Zen quiet of inner rapture and peace.”  Her elegant and “meticulously executed” monotypes such as On the Road, Surfing, and Red Planet reflect the West while her digitally printed pieces on Plexiglas, Cosmic Blush and Colloidal Suspension, blend elements both worlds.

Some photos from the opening reception:

L-R: Artists Willie Cole, Kiyomi Baird and Wayne Charles Roth; Sponsors from the Morristown CraftMarket Caryl Anne McBride (on left) and Janice Stevens (3rd from left) , Gina Moran, Morris Arts’ Development Director (2nd from left),  and Tom Werder, Morris Arts’ Executive Director ; friends of Willie Cole enjoying the reception.

L-R: Artist Willie Cole and Paula Stephens, Program Officer/Community Arts for the NJ Department of State, New Jersey State Council on the Arts; Morris Arts’ Development Director Gina Moran and Executive Director Tom Werder with sponsors from investors Bank; Artist Wayne Charles Roth, Curator Dick Eger, Artist Kiyomi Baird, Artist Willie Cole and Morris Arts’ Executive Director,  Tom Werder.

Click HERE to see the catalogue of the exhibit.

Morris Arts gratefully acknowledges support from

and    and 

 

The exhibit, housed in the Gallery at 14 Maple  on the 3rd floor of the LEED certified “green” building at 14 Maple Ave. in Morristown,  is open to the public Monday-Friday from 10am to 4pm and by appointment, and will remain on display until March 21, 2014.  Visit 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.

 

  

         March 27th- August 21, 2013

On March 27, 2013, 227 people attended the opening for the latest juried exhibition, Rites of Spring, honoring the 100th Anniversary of Igor Stravinsky’s influential ballet score and the controversial Armory show in NYC, touted as the first International Exhibition of Modern Art.  The avant-garde nature of Stravinsky’s score introduced dramatically new approaches to tonality, meter and rhythm. In a narrative sense, Stravinsky’s work draws upon Russian pagan rites in honor of spring. Similarly, the Armory Show, which opened in March of that same year, reflected breaks with artistic traditions with the introduction of new visual languages such as Cubism, Fauvism and Futurism. In the spirit of that iconoclastic and innovative moment, this exhibit presents 37 artworks by 36 artists which challenge conventional approaches to media, push the limits of traditional uses and processes or address themes of transformation, ritual and rebirth to herald the coming of spring. The exhibit is guest curated by Jeanne Brasile, Curator of the Walsh Gallery at Seton Hall University.

Above: Sharon Reed’s Harebringers of Spring

Participating artists include: Barry Altman(East Windsor), David Axelrod (Chatham), Rob Barth (Lafayette), Richard Bedkowski (Morristown), Ron Brown (South Orange), Bernadette Calnon-Buote (Moorestown), Lisa Conrad (Newark), Lauren Curtis (Somerset), Dominique Duroseau (Irvington), Kate Eggleston (Hillsborough), Amy Evans (Califon), Sara Fattori (Morristown), Harriet Finck (East Orange), Andrea Geller (Paramus), Freya Gervasi (Denville), Eva Han, Alice Harrison (Morristown), Susanna Kopchains (Far Hills), Ahni Kruger (Pottersville), Jamie Levine (Short Hills), Beatrice M. Mady (Jersey City), Patricia Malarcher (Englewood), Kevin McCaffrey (Weehawken), Irmari Nacht (Englewood), Nancy Ori (Berkeley Heights), Arthur Paxton (Montclair), Kathy Rebek (Englewood), Sharon Reed (Westfield), David John Rush (Stanhope), Kenneth Schnall (Newark), Wes Sherman (Denville), Daniel Sroka (Morristown), Miriam Stern (Teaneck), Mary Ellen Timko, Eric Valosin (Warren), Anna Vranckx (Basking Ridge), and Dennis Joseph Yanoski (Morristown).

L-R:Lauren Curtis’ Brainflower; Alice Harrison’s aMUSEment; Anna Vranckx’s Fire Dance; Freya Gervasi’s Lily; Kathy Rebek’s Colors Gone Wild.

Click HERE to see the catalogue of the exhibit.

 

Hot off the press, some scenes from the opening reception:

L-R: Artist Irmari Nacht with her work Books 93Classic Botanica; Guest Curator Jeanne Brasile with Tom Werder, Executive Director of Morris Arts; Busy crowds enjoying the exhibit; Sculptor Jamie Levine with her work, Unknown Composer.

L-R: Freeholder Ann Grossi talks with Board member Dick Eger; artist Alice Harrison with her work aMUSEment; Sculptor Freya Gervasi with her work Lily; artist Wes Sherman with his work, National Park #3. 

L-R: artist Barry Altman with his work, OZ Defunct; artist Eric Valosin with Meditation 1.1 (Thusness, Elseness, Omnipresent); artist Susanna Kopchains with her work, Fragmented, No. 1; artist Kevin McCaffrey with Gin Midnight.

L-R: Signing in; artists mingling with viewers; artist Rich Bedkowski with The Fish Always Gets Bigger.

The public is invited to view the exhibit at The Gallery at 14 Maple, a distinctive space located on the 3rd floor of the LEED certified “green” building at 14 Maple Avenue, Morristown, NJ. The exhibit is open to the public Mondays-Fridays from 10am to 4pm,and by appointment, and will remain on display until August 21, 2013. Visit www.morrisarts.org or call (973) 285-5115 for additional information.

Morris Arts gratefully acknowledges support from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

The Gallery at 14 Maple is a barrier-free facility. Individuals needing special accommodation should contact Kadie Dempsey at (973) 285-5115, x17 or at kdempsey@morrisarts.org.

 

L-R: Signing in; artists mingling with viewers; artist Rich Bedkowski with The Fish Always Gets Bigger.

Morris Arts gratefully acknowledges support from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

The exhibit located in  the Gallery at 14 Maple, a distinctive space located on the 3rd floor of the LEED certified “green” building at 14 Maple Avenue, Morristown, NJ. It is open to the public Mondays-Fridays from 10am to 4pm, and by appointment, and will remain on display until August 21, 2013. Visit www.morrisarts.org or call (973) 285-5115 for additional information.

The Gallery at 14 Maple is a barrier-free facility. Individuals needing special accommodation should contact Kadie Dempsey at (973) 285-5115, x17 or at kdempsey@morrisarts.org.

On June 8, 20213, The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Morris Arts welcomed concertgoers and art lovers to hear Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring performed live by the NJSO and to see the “Rites of Spring” juried exhibition at the Gallery at 14 Maple on Saturday, June 8, 2013.

Stravinsky’s landmark ballet score for The Rite of Spring sparked a riot at its premiere with its pulse-pounding rhythms and musical innovation.

      

Joffrey Ballet’s recreation of the original ballet; Composer Igor Stravinsky

Immediately following the concert, concert patrons were  invited to experience the piece again—visually—at the GALLERY AT 14 MAPLE, 3rd Floor, 14 Maple Ave., Morristown, NJ 07960.

Some photos of concertgoers who visited the Gallery at 14 Maple after the concert:

L-R: Examining Jamie Levine’s  Unknown Composer; checking out Barry Altman’s Oz Defunct and Freya Gervasi’s sculpture, Lily;   looking at the main wall including Arthur Paxton’s Runner, Kew Gardens; viewing Dominique Duroseau’s Voodoo Leeches. 

 

GIVING VOICE  Opened September 19, 2012

Over 160 people attended the Opening Reception for the Arts Council’s latest juried exhibition entitled Giving Voice, featuring 34 works by 25 artists who live or work in New Jersey.  Curated by Margaret O’Reilly, Curator of Fine Art at the New Jersey State Museum, the exhibit showcases these artists’ unique and creative interpretations of the theme, Giving Voice. This exhibition celebrates and is in conjunction with the 14th biennial Dodge Poetry Festival, North America’s largest poetry event, which takes place on October 11-14, 2012.

An overarching theme of the Festival, the process of “giving voice” allows the individual to bring his or her individual experience (their “voice”) to the words of a poem.  In keeping with that theme, artists were invited to submit a visual interpretation/response to this excerpt from the poem entitled “Time’s Passage” by Fernando Pessoa (which is also quoted on the 2012 Dodge Poetry Festival poster):

I was brought up by Imagination,
I always travelled by her hand,
And thus I always loved, hated, spoke, thought,
Having every day this window before me,
Every hour being mine in this way.

Artists featured in this exhibit include: Danielle Austen, Willie Baez, Kiyomi Baird, Serena  Bocchino, Vincent Buchinsky, Fred Cole, Pasquale Cuppari, Liz Demaree, Buel Ecker, Dan Fenelon, Carlos Frias, Kathryn Keller, Jessica Lawrence, Allan Luisi, Karen Lundquist, Patricia Malarcher, Elaine Provost, Larry Ross, Wayne Charles Roth, Kiyoko Sakai, Fausto Sevila, Jen Soma, Sandra Styer, John Tetz and Linnea L. Tober.

   

L-R: Enjoying the Opening Reception: Sponsors Mr. & Mrs. Geoff Price; Photographer Danielle Austen in front of her work Daisy Dome; Artist Pasquale Cuppari with his work Fuori Dell’Ombra; Artist Elaine Provost with her work, Dark Passage; Exhibit Curator Margaret O’Reilly, Curator of Fine Arts, NJ State Museum;

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

 

L-R: Carlos Frias’ Seeds; Karen Lundquist, My Pegasus; Larry Roth’s Silent Revelation; Dan Fenelon’s Super Dreams.

The Arts Council gratefully acknowledges sponsorship for this exhibit by The Morristown CraftMarket which takes place October 19-21, 2012 at the Morristown Armory, 430 Western Ave., Morristown, NJ. Show hours are Fri. 10/19 from 5pm-9pm; Sat., 10/20 from 10am-6pm; and Sun., 10/21 from 10am-5pm. Visit www.morristowncraftmarket.org for more details. The Arts Council gratefully acknowledges additional support from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. Visit www.grdodge.org for more information on the Dodge Poetry Festival.

Click HERE to see the exhibition catalogue.

The exhibit is open to the public Mondays-Thursdays from 10am to 4pm, on Fridays from 10am to 1pm and by appointment, and will remain on display until March 1, 2013.  Visit www.morrisarts.org or call (973) 285-5115 for additional information, including the exhibit catalogue which contains details and sale prices for all works.

 

 

 

Prior exhibit:

disconnected

 

    

Lisa Ficarelli-Halpern’s Noveau Richelieu and Lady with Bluetooth

Nearly 250 people attended the the May 2nd opening reception for the new  juried exhibition entitled disconnected at the Gallery at 14 Maple. Featuring 48 works by 36 artists who live or work in New Jersey, the show is curated by Jonathan Greene and showcases these artists’ visual commentaries about how people, places and things can today be uniquely connected, disconnected or both at the same time. The works utilize a wide variety of media, including vinyl laminate, oil, acrylic, graphite, fabric collage, photo encaustic, pencil/wax crayon, ceramic raku, charcoal, wood, Scrabble tile mosaic, and more. “With humor, whimsy, and poignancy, these works inspire us to think about our contemporary world and the way we connect (or don’t) with others,” said Anne Aronovitch, Executive Director of the Arts Council.

 Pictured above Lisa Ficarelli-Halpern’s Nouveau Richelieu and Lady With Bluetooth

Participating artists include Eva Albert (Somerset), Peter Aldrich (Boonton Township), Laurie Arends (Randolph), Francesca Azzara (Westfield), Kiyomi Baird (Far Hills), Rob Barth (Lafayette), Amy Becker (Madison), Richard Bedkowski (Morristown), Ron Brown (South Orange), Lisa Cerny (Morristown), Jill Cliffer Baratta (Tenafly), Joanne Connolly (South Orange), Lyman Dally (South Orange), EJ Davis (Chatham), Ellen Denuto (Denville), Lorraine DeProspo (Montclair), Alphonso Dunn (Hackensack), Fran Eber (Chatham), Michael S. Fenton (Morris Plains), Lisa Ficarelli–Halpern (Shrewsbury), Marla Fontanez (South Orange), Robert Gagauf (Montville), Colleen Gahrmann (Spotswood), George Garbeck (Township of Washington), Joseph Holtzman (Montville), Kathryn Keller (Springfield), Neal Korn (Union), Ted Largman (Morris Township), Susan Lisbin (Orange), Deborrah Markette (West Orange), Don Myles (Belvidere), Monique Sarfity (Jersey City), Miriam Stern (Teaneck), Shirley Supp (Great Meadows), Heidi Sussman (West Orange), Michael Wiley (Ewing).

The public is invited to see this thought-provoking exhibit at the Gallery at 14 Maple, a distinctive space located on the 3rd floor of the LEED certified “green” building at 14 Maple Avenue in Morristown, NJ.

 

             

L-R:  Shirley Supp’s Love and Addiction; Don Myles’ The Bridge to Where?; Alphonso Dunn’s Stuff Mama Said; Deborrah Markette’s Flotsam; Ron Brown’s Man Holding Head.

 

 

 

 

L-R: Sponsors from TD Bank including Martin Frey, Brigitte Richter and Rick Sandillo (in front of Richard Bedkowski’s painting, Grandma’s Boots);  Photographer Ellen Denuto in front of her work, Blank Man; Artist Monique Sarfity in front of her work Broken Words; Eva Albert (holding daughter), with curator Jonathan Greene (with his daughter, Chloe) and Artist Heidi Sussman.
 

           
L-R; TD Bank Vice President Martin Frey with Assistant Vice President Rick Sandillo and Curator Jonathan Greene;
Artist Robert Gagauf with his work, St. Bart’s Girl; Artist Lyman Dally with his works, Disparate Objects #1 and #2; Artist Eva Albert with her daughter.

To read the artists’ statements and see the works included in the exhibit, click on catalogue.

The Arts Council gratefully acknowledges sponsorship for this exhibit by

Additional support is also provided by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

The exhibit is open to the public Mondays-Thursdays from 10am to 4pm and on Fridays from 10am to 1pm and by appointment, and will remain on display until September 5, 2012.  Visit www.morrisarts.org or call (973) 285-5115 for additional information.