BLACK WINE, ILLEGAL CHEESE
ANGELHEADED by French artist Sunny Buick is among the gamut of eye-popping works by and about — but not necessarily just FOR — women, as the Asbury Lanes hosts the Sisterhood of the Traveling Paints known as LADIES FIRST, one of ten top picks on the oRBit art tour this week.
It’s official! The latest studies show — don’t you always just implicitly trust any article that begins that way? — the latest studies show that wine and cheese, the favored diet of art gallery reception bums like us, can extend your life expectancy for at least one more Senatorial term. Of course, those latest studies were confined to Sardinia, where a black, vegetabley homegrown vintage and an unpasteurized, maggot-writhing variety of illegal cheese are the breakfast of champions (check out the link; we’ll wait).
But hey, and hey again — what more ringing endorsement do you need to get out there over the coming days and hit those galleries (and not-galleries) around the greater Red Bank orbit, for a cube of muenster, a plastic tumbler of merlot, and an illuminating look at what’s going on within the regional art scene. From the debut of an all-new gallery run by a collective of women artists, to a free seminar on staying competitively creative in the age of social networking, to solo shows by artstars like Josignacio and Timothy Hutchings and group shows going on at bowling alleys, yoga studios, restaurants and hotels, we’ve got your number on this week’s openings and events. In fact, we’ve got ten of them, for your art, and your ‘ealth. Continue Reading for best results.
Thinking upside the box: THE BATTLE and other cattywampus cardboard creations of sculptor Timothy Hutchings are on display at Monmouth University, with the artist himself dropping in on Thursday.
1. Sculptor Timothy Hutchings at Monmouth University. A dabbler in digital and video, pencil and plaster (not to mention the occasional customized demolition-derby car), Timothy Hutchings is perhaps best known for his eye-popping sculptures in cardboard — whether gravity-defying abstract studies in wack perspective, or (as with The World’s Largest Wargaming Table and a room-size recreation of a Battleship board) detailed projects that turn toyshop games and hobbies into weapons of vast distraction. The NYC-based artist visits Wilson Auditorium at Monmouth University on Thursday for a lecture (4:30pm) and a reception (5:30pm) keyed into a solo show of his work (at the 800 Gallery on the West Long Branch campus) that remains on display through December 16. Thursday November 5, 4:30 - 7pm
2. Illustrations by Jacob Landau at Monmouth University Library. In a feature that appeared here earlier this year, the president of the Roosevelt-based Jacob Landau Institute described the artist’s work in a way that appeals to us — “Seductive and threatening, endlessly inventive, and exhilaratingly imaginative, with a sinewy honesty and a note of obsession, the works of Jacob Landau immediately draw us into their orbit.” Known as a master printmaker and educator, Monmouth County resident Landau (1917-2001) was also a sought-after book illustrator of dynamic graphic style and social passion — and it’s his series of images created for an edition of Dante’s Inferno that currently graces the walls of the library at Monmouth University. They’re on display inside Seminar Room 102 and Reading Room 104; contact Professor Susan Douglass at (732)923-5509 or sdouglass@monmouth.edu for info on guided tours Thursday through Saturday. From Thursday, November 5
JELLIES and CITY GATES are among the works by Bonnie McKee Tortora now on display at Red Bank’s Oyster Point Hotel.
3. Paintings by Bonnie McKee Tortora at Oyster Point Hotel. Perched at the tip of the borough’s Navesink bank, the Oyster Point Hotel has always been about its billion-dollar view of the Red Bank skyline and the stately riverfront homes of Middletown. Beginning this weekend and continuing through year’s end, the view from the boutique hotel’s lobby and ballroom areas will be enhanced by the visions of Fair Haven artist Bonnie McKee Tortora. Twenty-three paintings (employing oil, acrylic and melted wax applied in repetitive patterns) representing Tortora’s Deep Sea Series and Tuscany Series will remain on display throughout the first and second floors — a pleasing arrangement for the artist, who says, “These paintings become an extension of the Navesink River, which flows visually into the hotel. The strong natural light enhances the sunny Tuscan paintings…what a perfect environment for my work.” From Friday, November 6
4. AsburyPop Art Event at Parlor Gallery. Heard about AsburyPop? It’s an organization that “brings together artists, writers, musicians, filmmakers, merchants, foodies, and all those connected through Twitter,” to “share their talent and experience through exhibition, performance and education.” While the people of the Parlor Gallery prep for their new two-woman show Tragically Delicious! (opening next Saturday, November 14), they’ll be playing host (along with The ShowRoom screening space across Cookman Avenue’s “Arts Block”) to a FREE one-evening-only event that “provides a venue for the social media community to share their talent and insight in five-minute audio/visual presentations.” Marilyn Schlossbach’s wonderfully ubiquitous Langosta Lounge furnishes complimentary refreshments, while a gauntlet of presenters (including M Studio’s Jenna Zilincar, Molly Mulshine of New Jersey Film Alliance and Dustin Racioppi of our mothership site redbankgreen) direct you to the nexus of art and social media. Register for the free event right here — then present your AsburyPop registration at Mike and Nancy’s Showroom for FREE admission to the NJFA’s 140 Second Film Festival, screening at 8:30pm (and inspired in its brevity by the culture of Twitter). Friday November 6, 5:30 - 7:30pm
The Cuban-born artist known as Josignacio (pictured with his painting SIETE) is the subject of a solo show at Art629 in Asbury…while Thor Fister of A Diary of Need entertains at the grand opening of In Spirit Living Studio’s art gallery in Long Branch. (Fister photo by Kristian L. Jensen)
5. Paintings by Josignacio at Art629. It’s a major event for Art629, the recently opened Asbury Park artspace that’s been brought to you by owner Pat Schiavino and the people of the M Studio design and marketing firm. The contemporary “Plastic Paint” creations of the Cuban-born, Miami-based artist known as Josignacio are on display for a single weekend only, in a show presented by Colts Neck creative Laura Brunetti as part of her Traveling Canvas Art Series. While attendance is free of charge, donations (of cash or of art supplies) will be accepted toward the Project Vision community art program organized by the locally based nonprofit Prevention First. Brunetti will be donating an original canvas from Josignacio (as well as an installment created by the teen artists of Project Vision) at an unveiling of the remodeled Asbury Park Transportation Center in 2010 — and this Friday’s opening reception features cocktails and hors d’oeuvres from event co-sponsor Branches Catering (in addition to sweet treats from nearby Market In The Middle). Call (732)721-0890 for more info. Friday November 6, 6 - 9pm
6. PULSE Group Show at In Spirit Living Studio. We’ve had the pleasure lately of meeting some young business owners who’ve been homesteading new territory (both literal and figurative) along the oft-neglected main-vein of Broadway in Long Branch — perhaps none of them as full of ideas and energy (and personification of the phrase “beautification project”) as Christine Murphy and Ksenia Poulber, partners in In Spirit Living, the Yoga Studio in Broadway’s Uptown neighborhood that recently celebrated its first anniversary. This Friday evening, the mats are rolled up and the doors are opened for a public-invited party celebrating the debut of the studio’s all-new Spiritual Art Gallery space. Pulse is the name of the inaugural event; a group show that includes work in various media by Red Bank “belly dance artist” Eryka Andrex — plus Janet Anderson, Elizabeth Hanlon, Erika Rainey and mad furniture maker Kenny Schuyler, as well as the Russian-born Ksenia and “Reverend Chris Murphy” themselves. There’s live music too, by Long Branch’s own Deftet Jazz Trio and Thor Fister, who local rockers would surely recognize as frontman for A Diary of Need. In Spirit Living is located on the second floor (suite 202) of 560 Broadway (corner of Pearl Street); free parking is available in the nearby municipal lot at Broadway and Branchport Avenue. Friday November 6, 7pm
It’s the grand opening of the Shore Women’s Abstract Gallery (SWAG), a new collectively-owned and operated artspace in downtown AP.
7. Grand Opening of SWAG in Asbury Park. You won’t see it from the street — it’s situated inside The Shoppes at the Arcade, that always browseworthy mini-mall (featuring the still-functioning Photobooth from Palace Amusements!) that offers access from both Cookman and Lake Avenues — but if you feel strangely drawn to investigate its charms come Saturday evening, it may be due to the debut of The Shore Women’s Abstract Gallery (SWAG), an all-new space owned and operated by Medy Quiroz and a collective of seven other female artists (Sheilagh Casey, Janet Esposito, Mercedes Farrugia, Lorraine Madsen, Tyrrell Masse, Susan McLean, Despina Statelova) with ties to the local area. Sneak-peeking with a Media Reception tonight (November 4), they’ll be opening to the public at large this Saturday with a group show exhibit of their own works. Saturday November 7, 5 - 9pm
8. Statewide Juried Exhibition at the Art Alliance of Monmouth County. It’s the 23rd annual group event at the borough-based Art Alliance on Monmouth Street, and they’ve called in a formidable player on the statewide artscape — Beth Venn, Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art and Senior Curator of the Department of American Art at The Newark Museum — to judge the entries at Saturday evening’s opening reception. More than $1000 in awards will be presented at the event, with the exhibit continuing through the end of the month during regular gallery hours (Tuesday thru Saturday, from 12 to 4pm). Saturday November 7, 6pm
Hey Ladies: Parlor Gallery associate curator Sarah Potter wants one and all to know about Saturday night’s sole East Coast appearance of the LADIES FIRST touring artshow at Asbury Lanes (the poster by featured artist Rheanna Fancypants is at left).
9. LADIES FIRST at Asbury Lanes. With the aforementioned Parlor Gallery quiet this Saturday, associate curator Sarah Potter has put out the word that Asbury’s atom-age alterna-arts odditorium will be the setting for the Third Annual Ladies First art show, a Sisterhood of the Traveling Paints dedicated to “showcasing the artistic endeavors (painting, illustration, digital, textile, woodcut and photography) of underground and rising international female visual artists.” It’s the only East Coast whistlestop for the display of naughty/nifty pinup popart, which also features installations in Phoenix, AZ and in Vancouver, BC — and its cast of creatives from Canada, the US and Europe include Megan Besmirched, Sunny Buick, Rheanna Fancypants, Megz Majewski, Mia Snow and a whole lot more. The nu-vaudeville stylings of NYC’s Sugar Shack Burlesque augment the mood, with Pabst on tap and Tots in pots. Saturday November 7, 8pm/ $10
10. Martina Smejkalova and Robert Redmond at Jamian’s. Along with the local-organic music, Jamian LaViola has augmented the cool cuisine at his eponymous Monmouth Street bistro with a featured artshow that changes monthly. On November 8 — just before Rob Dye and company commandeer the place for their justifiably famous musician’s-choice Sunday night open jam — Jamian welcomes Czech-born painter Martina Smejkalova, whose images of figures from the local music scene will be accompanied by tunes from her husband, singer and songwriter Kevin Hinninger. Also exhibiting in the show (which stays up on the walls through November) is Red Bank’s own Robert Redmond, whose imaginarium of colorfully painted images draws breath from Dali, Magritte, Munch, Hopper and assorted other nighthawks at the diner of inspiration. Sunday November 8, 6 - 9pm
Posted
November 04, 2009
in
under
