ARTIST EXAMINES WOMEN’S LIVES IN ONE-PERSON EXHIBIT AT WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY’S BEN SHAHN GALLERIES

Artist Patricia Cudd, whose artwork examines the lives of women, presents a selection of her recent prints in an exhibit at the Ben Shahn Galleries at William Paterson University in Wayne from March 24 through April 17. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.

The exhibit, titled "Myths and Tales: Growing Up Female," features Cudd’s prints on fabric. The works, one view in the East Gallery, combine text and images to explore the construction, deconstruction and reconstruction of women’s lives.

"I’ve always been fascinated with how text and images intertwine and how language – written, oral and visual – cannot be viewed or changed in isolation," she says. "Stories, rhymes and songs heard during childhood have catchy phrases that resonate throughout our lives. By juxtaposing these with familiar childhood images or by combining two images I explore ways to expand our perceptions."

Many of Cudd’s prints on fabric are fashioned into aprons, which are displayed on a round clothes rack similar to those found in clothing stores. One work, "Sampler," a lithograph with hand-stitching and hand-stamping, features numerous panels of the same photo of a mother with two children.

"The focus of my work is the world that women inherit," Cudd continues. "Whether I utilize photographic images, both past and present, or whether I depict the items in our lives…I explore thoughts and ideas that are transmitted through generations, without or in spite of words, either spoken or written."

Cudd was selected to receive the one-person show as the grand prize winner of NorthEast Prints 2002, a juried show of works by professional printmakers held at the Ben Shahn Galleries in spring 2002. A print instructor with the Printmaking Council of New Jersey, Cudd previously served as assistant curator of prints and drawings for the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University in New Brunswick.

She has shown her works in numerous exhibitions throughout the United States. The recipient of a New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowship for 1995-1996, Cudd is a graduate of the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in fine arts.

The exhibit is one of three shows on view concurrently in the Ben Shahn Galleries. On view in the South Gallery is "Northeast Prints 2003," a juried show featuring works by 25 professional printmakers from New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut. In the Court Gallery, artist roycrosse presents a selection of his diverse artworks, which include drawings, paintings and sculpture. All exhibits are free and open to the public and are wheelchair accessible.

This exhibit is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

For additional information, please call the Ben Shahn Galleries at William Paterson University at 973-720-2654.

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3/20/03
For Further Information, contact:

Mary Beth Zeman, Director, Public Relations 973-720-2966