NEWARK ARTIST ROYCROSSE PRESENTS VARIETY OF WORKS IN EXHIBIT AT WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY’S BEN SHAHN GALLERIES

Roycrosse, a New Jersey artist who examines elemental and universal themes of life through a variety of mediums, presents a one-person exhibit in 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, in Ben Shahn’s Court Gallery, features drawings, paintings, sculpture, prints and books. Drawing inspiration from different cultures, roycrosse, who was born in Trinidad, includes references to African sculpture, Caribbean folk art and religion, and Modernism.

"Roycrosse moves effortlessly from one media to another," says Nancy Einreinhofer, director of the Ben Shahn Galleries. "The work is spirited and inventive and full of earthy fertility, but also studied and serious and skillfully composed."

His paintings contain abstract figural images composed largely of organic and geometric shapes which are layered and often interlocking. Many examine the life-force aspect of female sexual and generative powers. "The compositions are enticingly edgy, emotionally explosive but never out of control," says Einreinhofer.

In his sculptures, roycrosse uses found materials to create assemblages of wood, cloth and steel, often resulting in a totemic object. He incorporates signs and symbols into the works as he explores both ancient and primitive cultural and spiritual sources and contemporary American urban-industrial representations.

A graduate of the Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Toronto, Canada, roycrosse moved to Newark in 1989. He serves as a member of the board of trustees of City Without Walls Gallery and is a member of Aljira, A Center for Contemporary Art. He has taught at Bloomfield College and the Massachusetts College of Art.

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 East Gallery, Patricia Cudd of Freehold presents a one-person show of prints titled "Myths and Tales: Growing Up Female." 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