Studio Montclair Presents "ViewPoints 2016," 19th Annual Juried Exhibition

Studio Montclair’s 19th Annual Open Juried Exhibition, “ViewPoints 2016,” will feature the work of nearly 100 American and international artists. The show, co-sponsored by Aljira, A Center for Contemporary Art, will run from June 2 to June 30, 2016. The exhibition will be held at Aljira, located in the heart of Newark’s arts district at 591 Broad Street, Newark, New Jersey.

The opening reception and award ceremony on Saturday, June 11th from 6 to 9pm, is expected to welcome hundreds of art lovers, collectors, curators, and participating artists.

Exhibition juror Mary Birmingham, curator at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, finds “ViewPoints” the perfect word to define this show, since artists offer “their unique perspectives on the world and on the art making process” and let us see through their eyes. “By switching up viewpoints, exploring different mediums and adopting distinctive styles, artists continually seek fresh ways of looking and seeing.”

Viewers will discern within similar themes a rich diversity of treatments. To illuminate that perspective, Birmingham cites the contrast in the presentation of tree bark between Linda Brooks Hirschman’s wool felt “bark” in Tree Skins: Chopped, Strangled, Burnt, the textured close-up abstract tree bark patterns of Jane Soodalter’s photographs, and Jennifer Weigel’s worm’s-eye view photograph, gazing up the tree in Reaching for the Sky.

During the reception a number of awards will be given out to selected artists. Studio Montclair would like to express gratitude to our lead sponsor, Investors Bank for its generous donation, and our award sponsors Jerry's Artist Outlet, Montclair Art Museum, Red Lion Framing, and Viridian Environmental Inc. Special thanks to Bartlett Greenhouses and Florist for its always beautiful floral art.

Featured Artists:

Cary Africk, Emily Allison, ShinYoung An, Peter Arakawa, A. Bascove, Constance Bassett, Donna Bassin, Amy Becker, William Beckett, David Bogus, Barbara Brill, Zel Brook, Aleksandra Bury, Sarah Bush, David Cann, Serban Chelariu, Pauline Chernichaw, Thea Clark, Dorothy Cochran, Sara Conklin, Pam Cooper, Marcie Cooperman, Galina Dargery, Dawn DiCicco, Kurt Dyrhaug, Carla Falb, Bin Feng, Jack Ferriday, Dana Flynt, Leslie Ford, Lynne Friedman, Bennett Gewirtz, Michael Giles, Jack Girard, Alison Golder, Allan Gorman, Inguna Gremzde, Kate Hamilton, Beth Heit, Charity Henderson, Tom Herbert, Linda Brooks Hirschman, Paul Hitchen, Linda Jacobs, Susan Jacobs, Paul Jervis, Anne Kerr, Martha Kerr, Ann Kim, Richard Koch, Sassoon Kosian, Scott Leahing, Dorine Lerner, Eric Levin, Colleen Lineberry, Yvette Lucas, Dave Magyar, Ellen Martin, David Mazure, Lucretia Mcguff-Silverman, Florence Moonan, Dennis Murray, Ray Ogar, Daniel Pailes-Friedman, Lisa Redburn, Stephanie Regen, Szilvia Revesz, William Dean Reynolds, Bob Ricciotti, Brooke Rogers, David Rogers, Kathleen Rogers, Lisa Sanders, Theda Sandiford, Toni-Lee Sangastiano, Michael Scherfen, Kate Shannon, Pamela Shipley, Elaine Shor, Barbara Simcoe, Jenny Singleton, Jane Soodalter, Lizzy Storm, Abie Sussman, Carol Tanenbaum, Nathan Taves, Nicholas Teetelli, Amy Tingle, Marianne Trent, Eric Valosin, Ira Wagner, Jenny Walker, Ginger Ware, Jennifer Weigel, Kenneth Weiner, Lisa G Westheimer, Sandra Wolf, Susan Yankoski

Listing information about the exhibit:

Juror: Mary Birmingham

Exhibition Dates: June 2 through 30, 2016

Gallery: Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art, 591 Broad Street, Newark, NJ 07201

Gallery Hours:Wednesday to Friday noon to 6pm, Saturday, 11am to 4pm.

Reception: Saturday, June 11 from 6 to 9pm.

Studio Montclair Contact Info: smi@studiomontclair.org, 862-500-1447

Website/Social Media: www.studiomontclair.org; Instagram: @studiomontclair, #smiviewpoints2016; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/studiomontclair

Images for press:

Donna Bassin, “Drawing from the Edge.Bhutan.1,” digital inkjet, 18 x 24”

Allan Gorman, “Williamsburg Red,” oil on linen, 30 x 30”

Marianne Trent, “Fractal Doorway,” mixed media assemblage, 15 x 16”

Lisa. G. Westheimer, “Echo Chamber,” sculpture, 10 x 4.25 x 3.5”

Sandra Wolf, “Introspection,” dry pastel on Clairfontaine Pastelmat, 12 x 15”

About Studio Montclair:

Studio Montclair Inc. is a nonprofit organization of exhibiting professional artists and others interested in the visual arts. Its mission is to promote culture and education in the visual arts and encourage emerging artists. Founded in 1997, the organization includes over 300 members, including artists from around the United States. www.studiomontclair.org

This program is made possible in part by funds from Investor Savings and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts and administered by the Essex County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs.

About Mary Birmingham:

Mary Birmingham is Curator at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, where she directs an ambitious program of contemporary art exhibitions. Since 2010 she has organized more than thirty-five group and solo exhibitions for the Art Center, which is the largest public institution in NJ devoted exclusively to contemporary art. She began her career at the Whitney Museum and worked at the Montclair Art Museum from 1994-2003; she was Director of Exhibitions at the Hunterdon Art Museum from 2007-2010. Birmingham has an MA in Art History from Hunter College, with a concentration in American Modernism. She is the author of Dynamic Impulse: The Drawings of Stuart Davis and co-author of Montclair Art Museum: Selected Works. She has organized numerous exhibitions, and has written and lectured on a variety of topics in American and contemporary art.