Studio Montclair presents “Inspired by Dance,” its first in-person exhibit since SMI’s public gallery was closed in March 2020 due to Covid19. It will be open for public viewing from September 11 through October 16 at Studio Montclair Gallery, 127 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair, NJ.
A welcoming reception will take place on Sunday, September 13 from 12 to 4pm. Please note that SMI will be following strict guidelines for indoor gatherings—masks will be required and the number of people in the gallery will be limited. For those not yet comfortable with viewing in public, an online tour of the exhibit, including audio, is available for viewing.
“Inspired by Dance” features artwork—both literal and metaphorical–relating to movement and dance in its many forms and is comprised of multiple artistic genres including painting, sculpture, photography, video, mixed media, and others.
Due to COVID, viewing will be by appointment only until further notice.
Studio Montclair Gallery
127 Bloomfield Avenue
Montclair, NJ 07042
HOURS: By appointment
Get the press release here.
This exhibit is the third in SMI’s Community Partnership Exhibition Program. This year we have partnered with Freespace Dance to produce an exhibit inspired by the human body and movement. Curator, Virginia S. Block commented “This year’s program became exceptionally challenging due to the coronavirus pandemic, which placed unforeseen restrictions on in-person interactions. Luckily, Freespace Dance was able to offer our members access to their online video archive. The submissions were substantial in number, comprising all mediums and genres. Our members never fail to dazzle us with their diverse creativity of interpretation and new use of materials in their art.”
Participating Artists:
Maureen Bennett, Carol Black-Lemon, Nell Breyer, Bob Calleja, Virginia Carroll, Gwen Charles, Jodie Fink, David Fitzgerald, Andrea Fortunoff, Yolanda Fundora, MJ Hoehn, Helen Hosking, Patricia Hutchinson, Shoshana Kertesz, Kathleen Liao, John Masi, Aidan Mirowsky, Mandi Moerland, Ruth Bauer Neustadter, Jean-Paul Picard, Joseph Schembri, Lubomir Tomaszewski, Cindy Wagner, Lisa G Westheimer, Nalla Wollen
Studio Montclair’s Virginia S. Block Community Partnership Exhibition Program
Each year Studio Montclair partners with another nonprofit or creative organization to produce an exciting collaborative exhibition. These partnerships are designed to inspire our membership, create new connections, and to reach new audiences.
About Freespace Dance
Freespace Dance is a contemporary modern dance company renowned for creating emotionally driven work with a bold, athletic signature style. Comprising exceptionally strong and seasoned performers, this vibrant company continues to create humanistic works. Artistic Director Donna Scro collaborates with composers, dancers, musicians, visual artists, designers, etc. The vision is to open the doors to all artists to come and create, rediscovering dance with each collaboration
Virginia S. Block is a native of New Jersey and presently maintains her studio in Upper Montclair. She holds a B.A. degree in Art Education and a M.A. in Visual Arts from William Paterson University along with a NJ Teaching Certificate. Ms. Block is one of the five co-founders of Studio Montclair and served as its first president from 1997 – 2002. She is now the Director of the SMI Virginia S. Block Gallery at Academy Square. Ms. Block’s work is included in hundreds of corporate and private collections throughout the east coast and the mid-west. She has had a long and varied art career, including working as an art teacher, package and logo designer, and director of incentive marketing for an advertising company. Throughout this time, she has continued to develop her career as a fine artist.
Artistic Director Donna Scro Samori has toured professionally as a dance artist for over twenty years and is fortunate to have experienced so many varied and beautiful aspects of the dance world. Donna received a 2008 Fellowship from New Jersey State Council on the Arts for excellence in choreography. She has performed at some of the most internationally prestigious venues, including The Paris Opera House, Theatre de la Ville, the American Dance Festival (Korea and North Carolina), Spoleto Festival, Jacob’s Pillow, The Egg, and in New York City at the Joyce Theater, The New Victory Theater, Central Park SummerStage, Symphony Space, Dance Theater Workshop, Danspace Project, and Lincoln Center Out of Doors. She has been applauded by The New York Times, The Village Voice, The Star-Ledger, The Houston Chronicle, Dance Insider, Backstage, and The Boston Globe for her compelling signature style.
Prior to establishing Freespace Dance, Donna was a principal dancer with the Nikolais and Murray Louis Dance Company and toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia with the company. She was also a founding member of Sean Curran Company and continued her affiliation with Sean by setting his works on university dance departments. Additionally, Donna has been a member of Peter Pucci Plus Dancers and a guest artist with Heidi Latsky Dance, Neta Pulvermacher, Risa Jarsalow, Michael Mao and many other established New York choreographers.