Studio Montclair (SMI) presents “Inspired by an Object,” a concurrent exhibition from September 10 to October 15 at both Montclair Art Museum’s Vance Wall Art Education Gallery, 3 South Mountain Avenue, and Studio Montclair Gallery, 127 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair, NJ. An opening reception will take place on Sunday, September 12, 11am-5pm at Montclair Art Museum and 3-5pm at Studio Montclair Gallery.

This exhibition features the artwork of 51 artists. It is based on the words of Jasper Johns, who made a note to himself in 1964 to “Take an object. Do something to it. Do something else to it.” Since then, these instructions have referred to artwork that uses everyday objects and other non-fine art materials and describes a revolutionary approach to art-making that developed during the early 20^th century and continues through the late 1950s, 1960s, and beyond.

This exhibition is the fourth in SMI’s Community Partnership Exhibition Program created by cofounder and past president Virginia S. Block. This year SMI’s Community Partner is the Montclair Art Museum (MAM). 

About the Montclair Art Museum
The Montclair Art Museum, together with its Vance Wall Art Education Center, engages our diverse community through distinctive exhibitions, educational programs, and collections of American and Native American art. Our mission is to inspire and engage people of all ages in their experience with art, including the rich inter-cultural and global connections throughout American history, and the continuing relevance of art to contemporary life.

In addition to the partner exhibits, the museum will also be installing an exhibition titled “Transformed: Objects Reimagined by American Artists,” which will focus on works mostly from their permanent collection of American and Native American art.  Organized by Chief Curator Gail Stavitsky, the exhibition will include historic, modern, and contemporary works by Jasper Johns, Maurice Prendergast, Arshille Gorky, Andy Warhol, Man Ray, Louise Nevelson, Romare Bearden, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Sanford Biggers, just to name a few. This exhibition will run from September 11, 2021 – January 2023.

Click here to view and purchase the artwork in our online gallery.

Participating Artists:

Olga Alexander, Gabrielle Baker, A Bascove, Stacy Bogdonoff, Bob Calleja, Pam Cooper, Bettina Cousineau, David Derr, Philip Drill, Anne Dushanko Dobek, Harriet Finck, Leslie Ford, Yolanda Fundora, Michael Gabriele, Bennett Gewirtz, Anita Gladstone, Jay Goldberg, Bart Gorin, Pam Grafstein, Beth Heit, Jang Soon Im, Nancy Iovino, Paul Jervis, Martta Kelly, Robert Kogge, Annette Kushen, Steven Kushner, Eleni Litt, Lara Lo Re, Dave Magyar, Deborah Morris, Harold Olejarz, Denis Orloff, Oscar Peterson, Sharon Pitts, Jennifer Place, Amee Pollack, Steven Purtee, Amy Putman, Theda Sandiford, Jen Scheuer, Debra Schore, Miriam Stern, Sandra Styer, Brian Trees, Karen Tuveson, Ann Vollum, Miroslav Vrzala, Bill Westheimer, Agnieszka Wszolkowska

Virginia S. Block is a native of New Jersey. She holds a BA degree in Art Education and an MA. in Visual Arts from William Paterson University along with a NJ Teaching Certificate. Block is one of the five co-founders of Studio Montclair and served as its first president from 1997 – 2002, she also served as Studio Montclair’s gallery director from 2010 – 2018. Block’s work is included in hundreds of corporate and private collections throughout the East Coast and the Midwest. 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.

Ira Wagner is the Executive Director of the Montclair Art Museum. A Montclair resident for more than 30 years, Wagner began studying photography in 2008 after working on Wall Street for more than 25 years. With an interest in urban history and design, he has focused on photographing the urban landscape. Wagner received his MFA from the Hartford Art School in 2013 and has taught photography at Monmouth University in New Jersey. His project “Houseraising,” photographs of houses being raised on the Jersey Shore following Hurricane Sandy, was featured in The New Republic, National Geographic, and was released in a photobook by Daylight Books in 2018. His most recent project, “Twinhouses of the Great Northeast,” had a photograph included in MAM’s Personal Landscapes exhibition during 2020. Based on images from Twinhouses, he was selected a Critical Mass Top 50 photographer by Photolucida and participated in Review Santa Fe during 2019.