SMI Leach Gallery
641 Bloomfield Avenue
Montclair, NJ 07042
HOURS: By appointment
Get the press release here.
Inspired by George Inness: Life and Landscape takes its cues from the upcoming exhibition of MAM’s renowned Inness collection. It showcases the work of George Inness, Studio Montclair Members, and MAM instructors and staff. According to curator Virginia Block, “We are extremely pleased to be continuing our collaboration with Montclair Art Museum again this year for our Community Partnership exhibition. This year is especially exciting because we will be exhibiting 64 pieces of art in our newly acquired gallery at the former Leach building. The new space is comprised of 3,000 square feet of raw space with high ceilings. This allows us to exhibit very large format works of art, something which we were not able to do in the past. Another benefit of the Leach space is its proximity to the museum. Guests will be able to walk between the two spaces during the opening reception and throughout the duration of the dual exhibits which is a huge attraction.” Says Ira Wagner, MAM’s executive director, “MAM is thrilled to be working together with Studio Montclair to present this collaborative exhibition opening together with a major reinstallation of MAM’s world-renown Inness collection, described by leading Inness scholar and Little Falls resident, Dr. Adrienne Baxter Bell, as the ‘greatest Inness collection in the world.’ George Inness said ‘Art is a subtle essence. It is not a thing of surfaces, but a moving spirit…’ It was wonderful to see how artists continue to carry forward that special spirit that is part of Inness’s work in many new directions. It is very clear that the legacy of George Inness is very much alive today and can inspire such a broad range of interpretation. Visitors will have a unique opportunity to see Inness’ work together with a selection of over 100 works in MAM’s Vance Wall Education Arcades and SMI’s Leach Gallery which drew their inspiration from a master – an artist that was inspired by the beauty that is Montclair.”
This exhibition is the fifth 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).
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 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.
Participating Artists:
Peter Allen, Ry An, Evangelia Anagnostopoulou, Bob Barnett, Donna Bassin, Mariette Boerstoel, Lynne Breitfeller, Robyn Burns, Virginia Carroll, Dennis Connors, Pamela Deitrich, Elizabeth Demarco, David Derr, Dj Dougherty, Harriet Finck, Jocelyn Fine, Rosemary Fineberg, Tim Folzenlogen, Leslie Ford, Karen Fuchs, Bruce Garrity, Karen Goldberg, Marsha Heller, Nancy Iovino, Martine Kasmin, Aubrey J Kauffman, Michael Kloepfer, Mary Millan Klunk, Ann Kraus, Steven Kushner, Fran Legman, Anni Lorenzini, Yvette Lucas, John Markowitz, Paul Mindell, Pamela Moore, Howard Nathenson, Ruth Bauer Neustadter, John Patterson, Arthur Paxton, William Pew, Eric Reid, Matt Roberts, Joanne Ross, Paula Schiller, Ela Shah, Francisco Silva, Pat Sinatra, Linda Steinhardt Majzner, Heather Stivison, Noaa Stoler, Peter Tilgner, Sue Eldridge Ward, Paul Weingarten, Bill Westheimer, Lisa G Westheimer
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 Executive Director, Montclair Art Museum. A Montclair resident for more than 30 years, Ira 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. He 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, The National Geographic, and was released in a photobook by Daylight Books in 2018.