26th Annual New Jersey Small Works Show

Susan Fidlon, City Life

The Mikhail Zakin Gallery at the Art School at Old Church is celebrating the 26^th Annual New Jersey Small Works Show with 47 works by 39 artists whose lives are connected in some way to the state of New Jersey.  The exhibition runs through July 31, 2015. An opening reception with the artists will be Wednesday, July 8 from 5:30 – 7:30 PM. The show and opening reception are wheelchair accessible and free to the public. All are encouraged to attend for conversation and light refreshments to celebrate the arts.

Patricia Malarcher, She

This year's juror is Meredith Lippman, a curator and arts professional in Hudson County who taught at the Art School for 17 years. Lippman’s expertise includes contemporary fine art and public arts programming. With deep roots in the arts and the Art School in Demarest specifically, Lippman’s curatorial cameo with the 26^th Annual Small Works Show is not to be missed. 

Artists from all over NJ are invited to submit their work and take part in the open competition. Meredith Lippman juried the show based on the individual merits of each work of art. The artist’s identity is not known at the time the selections are made. The single criteria for submitting work to this juried show is to have an autobiographical connection of some kind to the state of New Jersey. Submissions are received from Jersey ex-pats in places as far afield as Texas and California as well as from North, South and Central Jersey. The show becomes an artistic portrait of New Jersey by some of the many creative individuals who have called it home.

Win Zibeon, Beach Sleeper

The only limitation for the artists is that the work cannot exceed eighteen inches in any direction.  With size as the only restriction, the diversity and range of artwork becomes an exciting feature of the show. Works include photography, ceramics, printmaking, sculpture, drawing, painting, papermaking and collage. Functional and decorative works in clay, fiber and mixed media represent a range of treatments of familiar materials.  Sculptural pieces achieve a kind of moodiness and grace that brings ceramics to a new level. Works in the show from the vast field of photography are printed in traditional black, white and color, digitally manipulated and printed using alternative processes. Paintings and drawings depict scenes from backyards, world travels and great imaginations. The juror selected works that shared an edgy quality, while taking care to present a range of styles and techniques. The selections make for a well-rounded exhibition of works representing a range of artists living and working in NJ.

For more information about the exhibit or classes at the Art School, please visit our website at www.tasoc.org or call 201-767-7160.