November Exhibits at the Watchung Arts Center feature NJ Photography Forum and Childhood Memories

The New Jersey Photography Forum will celebrate its 20th Anniversary and the opening of its 20th Annual Juried Photography Exhibit with a Gala Reception at the Watchung Arts Center on Sunday, November 2 from 1-4 PM. The reception will feature light fare and an opportunity to meet the artists.
The NJ Photography Forum Exhibit will be on display in the Arts Center’s Upper Gallery from November 2 through Novermber 26. At the same time, the Center’s Lower Gallery will feature the works of Indian-born artist Mitu Banga Malhotra.
Photographers are invited to submit photographs to be considered for the NJ Photography Forum Exhibit, which is open to any photographer able to hand-deliver their work to the Watchung Arts Center on the Watchung Circle in Watchung, NJ on Saturday, October 25th from 1-4 PM. The cost is $20 for every two photographs entered. There is no limit to the number of entries; however, all entries must be professionally presented and securely wired for hanging. Cash awards for Excellence and Merit will be presented during the Opening Reception.
The exhibit will be curated by Nancy Ori of Berkeley Heights. All of the images will be for sale with a portion of the proceeds going to support the Watchung Arts Center.
The jurors for the show are: Paul X.O. Pinkman: professional fine artist, lecturer, owner of Paul Pinkman Creative Design in Plainfield NJ. Reviewed and exhibited throughout metropolitan area. Keith Smith: Dean of Liberal Arts & Professor in Visual Arts Department at County College of Morris. He is a working fine artist in the mediums of paintings and fine art photography. Nancy Ori: exhibitor, curator, freelance photographer and educator; director of NJ Photography Forum and Digital Arts Group; owner of NJ Media Center in Berkeley Hts.
The New Jersey Photography Forum is dedicated to furthering the interests of professional and serious photographers living or working in the New Jersey area. Over the past 20 years under the direction of Nancy Ori, the NJPF has become the largest and most recognized group of fine art exhibiting photographers in the state. The monthly meetings are held at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey in Summit and encourage attendees to share expertise and advance their skills. The meetings provide access to a wide variety of current creative and technical information through informal presentations and demonstrations by manufacturers and photographic artists. Regularly, photographers have an opportunity to display their work for critique by others. Exhibition possibilities within the fine art community are constantly explored, which has become an invaluable resource for photographers interested in becoming fine art exhibitors.
Mitu Malhotra’s exhibit, entitled “Tales from Ma’s lap”, is a collection of paintings and mixed media drawings, inspired by childhood stories told to Mitu by her mother. Of the exhibit, Malhotra says, “The yarns that were woven of love; those threads still remain, weaving in and out of my subconscious, comforting and calming through the years. Childhood stories are part of our psyche, they allow us to dream and grow. The process of reading is a prelude to painting; as I delve into these stories in my mind and reread them from books, I am able to extract the threads that connect to me. Then I can weave the tales on my bare canvas.
Myths, legends, fairytales, gods, demons and others flash through and etch themselves, flowing out with the black ink. The pen and ink drawings are meandering and meditative at the same time. Sometimes I am tempted to add splashes of color; it’s like being a child again, playing with paint. I am a nomad in spirit and person, travelling and living in different places; assimilating and sifting through visual and tactile symbols which we hold special in our beings. These motifs appear in my artwork, be it trees of life, anthropomorphic birds and deities. That’s why I never tire of painting Ganesh, one of the most popular Hindu gods, elephant headed, long trunked and pot bellied. I enjoy playing with this form and abstracting it so that it transforms into a mass of joyous color.”
Mitu Banga Malhotra trained in textile design at the prestigious National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India (1985-1988). She then graduated with honours in fashion design from the National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi (1988-1990). For over fifteen years, she has been a designer doing diverse work including womenswear & accessory design, textile research, movie costume and fashion illustration. Painting became a pivotal healing tool post a traumatic turn in her life and Mitu’s first solo show in Dubai, UAE in Oct 2000 was a new beginning for this multi faceted artist. Mitu’s nomadic existence, as an expatriate, echoes in her work where multicultural motifs and a global inspiration intermingle with the myths of India which she carries at the root of her expressive work. She currently lives and works in New Jersey, USA Mitu has shown her work in solo and group exhibitions in New Delhi, Dubai and New York.
The Watchung Arts Center is located on the circle at 18 Stirling Road ,Watchung ,NJ . The Gallery is open Tues.-Fri. noon-5pm and Sat. 10:00am-3:00pm. For more information go to watchungarts.org or call 908 753 0190.