August 30, 2017

Arts Festival at Plainsboro Library September 16

PLAINSBORO ARTS FESTIVAL: Local artist Nelly Kouzmina, center, demonstrated the art of felt making at last year’s Arts Festival at the Plainsboro Public Library. Ms. Kouzmina and many other artists will be on hand for this year’s festival, to be held on Saturday, September 16 from noon-4 p.m.

Local artists will take center stage at the Plainsboro Public Library on Saturday, September 16, when the library holds its annual Arts Festival from noon — 4 p.m. The festival will feature resident artists and members of the Plainsboro Library Artists’ Group. In addition to showing their work in a variety of media, they will also demonstrate their techniques and will help visitors develop their own artwork to take home.  more

MCCC Gallery Faculty Exhibit Now Open

“WONDER WOMAN”: A ceramic piece by Ingrid Jordan is among the works featured in the “2017 MCCC Visual Arts Faculty Exhibit,” on display at the Mercer County Community College Gallery through September 28. An opening reception takes place August 30 from 5 to 7 p.m.

The Gallery at Mercer County Community College (MCCC) puts its own faculty in the spotlight for the “2017 MCCC Visual Arts Faculty Exhibit.” The show runs through Thursday, September 28. The community is invited to an opening reception on Wednesday, August 30 from 5 to 7 p.m. The gallery is located on the second floor of the Communications Building on the college’s West Windsor campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road. more

MC Seeks Entries for Photography Show

“PRECIOUS”: This photograph by Andrew Wilkinson won Best in Show, Mercer County Photography 2015. This year’s juried competition will take place October 26 through December 8 at the Silva Gallery of Art at The Pennington School.

Attention, photographers! “Mercer County Photography 2017,” a juried competition, will take place October 26 through December 8 at the Silva Gallery of Art at The Pennington School. more

Fall Classes, Workshops at Center for Contemporary Art

The Center for Contemporary Art’s fall schedule of art classes and workshops begins September 11 and runs through December. There are over 45 classes and workshops for adults and over 15 classes for children ages 5 through teens. Classes are offered for artists with all levels of expertise in a variety of media including oil and acrylic paint, watercolor, drawing, photography, and ceramics.  more

August 23, 2017

Doylestown Arts Festival September 9 and 10

CELEBRATING THE ARTS: Now in its 26th year, the Doylestown Arts Festival will feature 160 juried artists, live music on five stages, local food vendors, art-making, interactive demonstrations, and bike races. The festival will be held on Doylestown’s downtown streets from 10 a.m to 5 p.m. on Saturday, September 9 and Sunday, September 10.

Recognized for its picturesque setting and rich year-round arts and culture offerings, the small town of Doylestown, Pa., will once again host the Doylestown Arts Festival, a two-day celebration that is expected to draw tens of thousands of visitors from the Mid-Atlantic region. The festival will be held on Doylestown’s downtown streets — converted to pedestrian-only avenues during the event from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, September 9 and Sunday, September 10. more

August 9, 2017

Pop In Space Comes to Palmer Square, An Arts Council-lead Collaboration

SEW EASY: Alexa Cavalli of Montgomery works on an apron at the Pop In Space at 10 Hulfish Street. Ms. Cavalli is no newcomer to sewing, having even made a headband for her cat, but she was glad to exercise her skills in textiles on Monday.

Maria Evans, artistic director for the Arts Council of Princeton, had long had plans to host a makerspace — a collaborative workshop for all manner of tinkering, building, and fixing, the likes of which have been appearing in ever-increasing numbers across the country for roughly the past decade. Earlier this year, when the Arts Council was offered a large space in the Princeton Shopping Center, her hopes were on the cusp of realization; the large space, less than two miles from downtown Princeton, would be an ideal satellite location. more

“Seashells by the Seashore” At Olivia Rainbow Gallery

“SEASHELLS BY THE SEASHORE”: Scenes such as this inspired the interpretations by Johnson Park School fourth-grade students now displayed on the Olivia Rainbow Gallery walls, along with actual shells brought into the classroom. “Seashells by the Seashore” is on view through September 6.

D&R Greenway Land Trust’s Olivia Rainbow Gallery presents a virtual seaside stroll in “Seashells by the Seashore” by Johnson Park School fourth-grade students, on view through September 6. For this exhibit, the young artists re-created the spirit of beachcombing along the Jersey Shore, while learning the science of shells.  more

Plein Air Workshop at Dvoor Farm Aug. 20

PLEIN AIR PAINTING WORKSHOP: Artist Oscar Peterson, right, offers hands-on instruction at a recent Hunterdon Art Museum plein air painting workshop. The Museum will be hosting another workshop on August 20 at 10 a.m. at the Hunterdon Land Trust’s Dvoor Farm.

Create art outdoors on the 40-acre Hunterdon Land Trust’s Dvoor Farm on Sunday, August 20 with the Hunterdon Art Museum’s Plein Air Painting workshop.

Artist Oscar Peterson will teach the techniques to start, establish, and finish a painting en plein air. Fundamental principles of capturing color, light, planes, and structure will all be covered. This workshop, which begins at 10 a.m., is for adults and teens ages 16 and up. more

August 2, 2017

Project Turns Dohm Alley Into an Art Exhibit

ALLEY GALLERY: Dohm Alley’s first exhibit features sculpted portraits of Romantic poets, as well as acoustic guitar and birdsongs played over speakers. (Photo by Will Uhl)

After years of planning, the construction and assembly of Design at Dohm Alley’s (DaDA) first exhibit is underway. The public art project seeks to merge Princeton University’s scholarly sensibilities with the public life of the town by adorning the alley with art exhibits. The first exhibit, currently unfolding as the weeks pass, is a tribute to Romantic-era poets.  more

July 26, 2017

Art That Follows You Home – Elizabeth Siddal and Anna Alma-Tadema

The image shown is Anna Alma-Tadema’s Girl in a Bonnet with Her Head on a Blue Pillow, 1902, watercolor and bodycolor with some graphite on board, The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Image © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford. 

BBC America’s Broadchurch and HBO’s Game of Thrones have descended on our household just in time to impact my impressions of the Princeton University Art Museum’s (PUAM) current exhibit, “Great British Drawings from the Ashmolean Museum.”  more

“Celebration III by Creative Collective Group” at Gourgaud 

“SALT MARSH, BIRDS”: This painting by Lucretia E. McGuff-Silverman is featured in the exhibit “Celebration III by Creative Collective Group,” running August 6 through August 25 at the Gourgaud Gallery in Cranbury. An opening reception will be held on August 6 from 1-3 p.m.

The Gourgaud Gallery in Cranbury will host the exhibit “Celebration III by Creative Collective Group” from August 6 through August 25. An opening reception will be held on August 6 from 1-3 p.m.  more

July 12, 2017

Princeton Student Film Festival Has Local and International Entries

ASPIRING FILMMAKERS: “The Last Playboys,” directed by Luke Momo (son of local restauranteur Raoul Momo), is among the entries in the 2017 Princeton Student Film Festival, on screen at the Princeton Public Library July 19 and 20.

Everett Shen isn’t sure he wants to make filmmaking a career. But the rising Princeton High School senior, who will do an independent study in film next fall, has plenty to think about as he considers his future.

Mr. Shen is among 22 filmmakers showing their work at the upcoming Princeton Student Film Festival, screening at Princeton Public Library July 19 and 20. He also served on the selection committee, helping to decide which of the nearly 60 short films, culled by librarian Susan Conlon from nearly 150 submitted by young people across the globe, would be included in the annual gathering. more

“Healing Art Stories”

The art of Jane Zamost and nine other artists will be featured at a reception for the exhibit “Healing Art Stories” on Thursday, July 13 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Investors Bank Art and Healing Gallery at Capital Health Medical Center — Hopewell. The exhibit, which features artists who are or have been patients, caregivers, and individuals faced with health care challenges, also includes works by Priscilla Algava, Tyler Bell, Janis Blayne Paul, N.J. DeVico, Jan K. Lipes, Tasha O’Neill, Janet Purcell, Aurelle Sprout, and Andrew Weiss. “Healing Art Stories” runs through October 16.

Best In Show

Amelia Chin received First Place and Best in Show honors in the watercolor/non-professional category at the 2016 Mercer County Senior Art Show. This year’s show will run from July 19 through August 4 at the Meadow Lakes Gallery in East Windsor.

July 5, 2017

“The Magic of Vernal Ponds” At Olivia Rainbow Gallery

“THE MAGIC OF VERNAL PONDS”: Art by young students of Heather Barros of Art Collaborations! is featured in this exhibit running through July 28 at D&R Greenway Land Trust’s Olivia Rainbow Gallery in the Johnson Education Center in Princeton.

The Magic of Vernal Ponds, by students of Heather Barros, fills D&R Greenway Land Trust’s Olivia Rainbow Gallery through July 28. The art may be viewed from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. The Gallery is in the Johnson Education Center, One Preservation Place, Princeton 08540. There is no need to call to see if this gallery is open at the time of visit.

D&R Greenway contributor and Princetonian Suzanne Nash donated the vivid poster on life in and near vernal pools to the land trust in early spring. Heather Barros, of Art Collaborations!, immediately set her young students to work to study the vernal paradigm and recreate their varied population.  more

Michener Exhibit Spotlights Art in Public Schools

Beginning on July 8, the James A. Michener Art Museum will present “Dedicated, Displayed, Discovered: Celebrating the Region’s School Art Collections,” an exhibition that explores the longstanding tradition of art collecting by public educational institutions in southeastern Pennsylvania. The exhibition will be on view through January 7, 2018.

From the 1890s to the mid-20th century, artists and educators in the Delaware Valley region embraced opportunities to introduce original works in hallways and classrooms, advancing a holistic approach to educating and enriching the lives of students. Now, in collaboration with six educational entities, the Michener Art Museum is presenting the first-ever exhibition of these long-hidden artistic treasures, inviting the public to view these historically significant works and to learn the stories of the schools, artists, and educators behind them. The exhibition will draw from various collections throughout school districts in Bucks and Montgomery counties as well as from The School District of Philadelphia. more

June 28, 2017

British Drawings and Watercolors Show Spans Three Centuries With 102 Works 

“BEATRICE AT A MARRIAGE FEAST DENYING HER SALUTATION TO DANTE”: The Princeton Museum exhibit also includes this work in watercolor and pen by 19th century artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

The Princeton University Art Museum has a special “peer” relationship with the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology at Britain’s University of Oxford, England. So it makes sense that Princeton would serve as the only international venue for “Great British Drawings from the Ashmolean Museum,” an exhibit of more than 100 rarely-seen drawings and watercolors by artists ranging from the 17th to 20th centuries. The show opens Saturday, July 1 and runs through September 17. more

“Cadwalader Park — An Olmsted Vision”

“SUNDAY IN THE PARK”: This painting by Graham Holmes is one of the works of art specific to Cadwalader Park that will be featured in “Cadwalader Park — An Olmsted Vision.” The exhibition runs from July 8 to September 17 at the Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie Mansion.

The Trenton Museum Society (TMS), along with the Cadwalader Park Alliance, presents “Cadwalader Park — An Olmsted Vision,” highlighting Cadwalader Park and its world-famous designer, Frederick Law Olmsted. Exhibitions on both floors of the Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie Mansion will run from July 8 through September 17 with various complementary events, lectures, and tours. Frederick Law Olmsted is widely regarded as the father of landscape architecture in America. more

“Our World Through Artists’ Eyes” at Johnson Center

“CHOP ON THE ROCKS”: This painting by Kimberlee Nentwig is among those featured in “Our World Through Artists’ Eyes,” the Garden State Watercolor Society’s 48th annual exhibition, running through August 21 at the Johnson Education Center in Princeton.

D&R Greenway Land Trust is hosting the Garden State Watercolor Society’s 48th annual exhibition, “Our World through Artists’ Eyes,” at the Johnson Education Center through August 21.

Artworks by 67 artists, from Cape May to Sussex County, were selected for the exhibition by juror Susan Weintraub. Many of the artists are nationally known, such as Lucy and Charles McVicker, Sandy O’Connor, and Donna Read. more

June 21, 2017

PACF Names Artist Fund Award Winner

AWARD WINNER: Recent TCNJ graduate Piper Torsilieri is the winner of Princeton Area Community Foundation’s 2017 Thomas George Artist Fund Award. Graduating art majors from Mercer County colleges and universities are eligible to apply for the annual award of $5,000. (Photo courtesy of Princeton Area Community Foundation)

The Princeton Area Community Foundation has named Piper Torsilieri as the winner of the 2017 Thomas George Artist Fund Award.

Ms. Torsilieri, 23, who grew up in Flemington, graduated from The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) in May. more

“Digital Alchemy” at The Gourgaud Gallery

“THE SON AND THE HOUSE”: This glitch art painting by Phillip McConnell is part of the “Digital Alchemy” exhibit at The Gourgaud Gallery in Cranbury from July 9-28. A reception will be held at the gallery on July 9 from 1-4 p.m

The Gourgaud Gallery in Cranbury presents “Digital Alchemy” by Trenton artist Phillip McConnell from July 9-28. A free reception will be held at the gallery on July 9 from 1-4 p.m.

Mr. McConnell describes himself as a glitch artist with a focus on abstract, surrealist digital art.

“‘Digital Alchemy’ is a project where I blend different aspects of photography (landscape, portrait, urban, nature and macro) with different concepts of glitch art (VHS, aesthetic, vapor wave) to create something new out of something broken,” said Mr. McConnell. “With almost everything in photography being digital, it leads the mind to wonder what can really be done when pushed a step further. more

June 14, 2017

Tracy K. Smith Appointed Poet Laureate Consultant

Tracy K. Smith, the Roger S. Berlind ’52 Princeton University Professor in the Humanities and a professor of creative writing in the Lewis Center for the Arts, has been named the 22nd Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry for 2017-18.

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced the appointment today. Ms. Smith will take up her duties in the fall, opening the Library of Congress’s annual literary season with a reading of her work at the Coolidge Auditorium. more

“Proud and Passionate Manhattan”: A Celebration of Elegance, Style, Beauty, and Life

The city of such women, I am mad to be with them! I will return after death to be with them!

—Walt Whitman, from “Mannahatta”

The beautiful women on view in the James A. Michener Museum’s vision of Jazz Age Manhattan in “Charles Sheeler: Fashion, Photography and Sculptural Form” range from elegant ladies in “dragonfly-stitched ermine coats” to Ziegfield dancers like the exhibit’s cover girl Bobbe Arnst and little (4’10) Ann Pennington, who can be seen in a series of Sheeler photographs performing Black Bottom moves like “Bon Bon Buddy,” “Down Baby,” “Step Out,” “Raggedy Trot,” and “Clap Hands.” more

June 7, 2017

“Impulse” Seesaws at Grounds For Sculpture

INTERACTIVE ART PLAYGROUND: “Impulse,” a new installation at Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, features 15 giant seesaws that, once in motion, produce a harmonious sequence of sounds and lights. It will be at GFS from June 11-July 9. The above photo shows “Impulse” at Leicester Square Gardens in London, as part of the Pause and Play Festival. (Photo by James Munson)

Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) is featuring “Impulse,” a new installation at the 42-acre sculpture park comprised of 15 giant see-saws that will transform the southern end of the Great Lawn into a vast, illuminated interactive art playground. more

Paintings by Local Artists At Sawmill Gallery

“MY GARDEN”: This floral painting by Joanne Smith Bodner is among the 16 works by local artists that will be on display from June 10-24 at the Sawmill Gallery at Prallsville Mill in Stockton.

The Hunterdon Watercolor Society will be hosting its 2017 art exhibit at the Sawmill Gallery at Prallsville Mill. Sixteen artists will be displaying not only watercolor paintings, but all media of art including oils and acrylics. The show opens Saturday, June 10 and runs through Saturday, June 24. Viewing hours are Monday through Friday from 1 to 5 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.  more