9/14 – 12/18, 2012

Opening Reception:
Friday, September 14, 7–9pm

SMI Virginia S. Block Gallery
33 Plymouth Street (2nd Floor)
Montclair, NJ 07042

HOURS:

Monday-Friday 7am-7pm

973-744-1818
studiomontclair@aol.com

“Linear Vernacular: The Language of Line,” curated by Gallery Directors Virginia S. Block and Karen Nielsen-Fried, shows the unlimited ways artists use line, the most basic of elements, in their artwork. The works in the exhibit range from representational to non-objective, encompassing a wide variety of mediums and materials, including wire and cord. In most of the works in this exhibit, the line is clearly visible; however, in some the line is not so evident. The viewer must mentally convert a sweeping shape into a linear element.

“Line is the most basic element in art,” says Block, “It is usually the first thing a child will draw.” She notes the art vernacular used to describe line: straight, curved, bent, jagged, crosshatched, thick, thin, scribbled, and so on. Block explains, “Curved lines are soothing. Crosshatched lines create texture. Bent or angular lines can express anger or rage. Uncontrollable scribbled lines may express chaos; yet, controlled scribbling can create a shape signifying density or mass. A line can divide a space or create a shape. Horizontal, vertical, or diagonal lines can force the viewer’s eye to travel in a given direction.”

“How many of us see the line or are able to isolate the line from everyday objects?” asks Block. “A fence, a skyscraper, a bridge, a river, or a road; these are all linear elements in our daily landscape. An interior of a room is filled with lines, such as the line going from the floor to the ceiling in a corner of a room. It exists, but the eye needs to isolate it.”

Artists featured in this exhibit are: Francesca Azzara, Marion R. Behr, Ron Brown, Pamela Deitrich, Irene Feigen, Thomas Francisco, Lydia Frank, Beverly Fredericks, Ritika Gandhi, Alison Golder, Susan Hammond, Susan Hebert, Rita Klachkin, Clarence Mather, Nancy Ori, Chas Palminteri, John Rosica, Arlene Sokolow, and Lisa Suss.

Virginia S. Block is a fine artist whose work is in numerous private and corporate collections. She has had a long and varied art career, including working as an art teacher, package and logo designer, and director of incentive marketing. Block has been represented by galleries in Washington, DC, PA, NJ, and NY since 1980, and is currently represented by Fredrick Clement in NYC. Karen Nielsen-Fried is primarily an encaustic painter whose work has been shown extensively in New Jersey and is in numerous private collections. She has had gallery representation in Philadelphia and Seattle.

This program is made possible in part by funds from 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.