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March 4, 2008
WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY HOSTS NATIONAL JURIED ART EXHIBIT
“Currents,” the annual national juried art exhibition sponsored by Studio Montclair, will be on view at William Paterson University’s Ben Shahn Galleries from March 24 through April 22, 2008. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. A reception for the exhibit will be held on Sunday, March 30 from 3 to 5 p.m.
The show, in Ben Shahn’s Court Gallery, includes works by 77 contemporary artists from across the United States. The exhibit, curated by Beth Venn, curator of modern and contemporary art and senior curator of the Department of American Art at The Newark Museum, includes artworks in a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, photography, ceramics, mixed media and installation art.
“At a time when so many aspects of life seem to depend on the wonders of the virtual world, there is a certain comfort in knowing that objects—real, physical things—still retain their power and gravity,” says Venn. “The submissions to the 2008 Studio Montclair Annual Juried Exhibition are a testament to the single-minded dedication of artists to their craft…it is refreshing to see such a strong group of artists who do not shy away from the difficult, the time consuming, and the pursuit of an uncertain result.”
For example, Venn says, “Things To Do When You’re Alone” by Joseph Gerard Sabatino of Paterson “is a poignant meditation on life’s everyday challenges and decisions.” Written with white pencil on asphalt paper, it has the immediacy of an artist’s sketchbook or an author’s notebook. “But one cannot help but get enthralled by the trails that each thought takes,” she adds.
The sense of the obsessive, the ability to pursue an idea to its rightful end, inspired many of the artists in this year’s exhibition, says Venn. Carole Loeffler of Philadelphia meditates on one simple idea—the ubiquitous red balloon as a symbol of celebration—in her work “99 Red Balloons.” Loeffler’s installation of 99 red balloons, each embroidered onto a small piece of fabric and installed in a random grouping, like a bunch of balloons preparing for flight, “suggests the balloons’ spontaneous travels while inherently referencing the imperfections of the hand-embroidered image,” Venn explains.
There are artists for whom the object holds sway. “Radio Tubes,” an assemblage of found objects by Tina Stevens of Brooklyn, is an intriguing meditation on modernity and technology. “The tight grouping of the vintage tubes of various shapes and sizes is both jewel-like and oddly unsettling,” says Venn.
Many of the submissions of photography were surprisingly fresh and inventive, Venn says. John Fletcher of Ringwood, in his work “The Puppeteer,” “creates a funny though menacing scene of a shadow-like puppeteer hovering over an array of tiny American flags—serious political commentary with a humorous twist,” Venn explains.
Prior to joining the Newark Museum in 2005, Venn served as associate curator and curator of touring exhibitions for the Whitney Museum of Art, curator of the Peter Norton Family Collection and Family foundation, and as an independent curator. A graduate of Augustana College, she earned a master’s degree in art history from the Universit5y of Delaware, and received a National Endowment for the Arts Curatorial Fellowship. She is a member of the board of Art in general, an alternative arts space in lower Manhattan.
The exhibit is one of three shows on view concurrently in the Ben Shahn Galleries. On view in the East Gallery is “Prints and Company,” which features an exploration of the state of various printed matter today. The South Gallery features “Primary,” an exhibit about drawing.
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.
The Ben Shahn Galleries are wheelchair-accessible. Large-print handouts are available. For additional information, please call the Ben Shahn Galleries at William Paterson University at 973-720-2654.
Downloadable photos: http://ww2.wpunj.edu/publicityphotos/BenShahnGalleries/StudioMontclair/
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