Studio Montclair is pleased to present its first exhibit of artwork using the written word as a source of inspiration.

“Text” demonstrates the potent ability for words to be translated into art using an abundance of materials and mediums to create an unlimited variety of imagery. The use of typography and text in art dates from the late 19th century when advertising—posters created by such well-known artists as Toulouse-Lautrec and Alphonse Mucha—emerged as an art form, followed by its use in Cubism by Picasso, Braque, and Gris. More recently, according to Juror Teddi Dolph, “The use of typography and text has been used by artists to make political statements – Jenny Holzer, to comment on societal constructs; Shepard Fairy, to imbed language into the environment, and Ed Ruscha in his commentary on the barrage of mass media-fed images that confronts us daily. Who can forget Barbara Kruger’s “Untitled (Your body is a battleground)” from 1989, which resonates possibly even more today?” Using these artists as inspiration and stepping-stones—either consciously or unconsciously—contributors to “Text” provide artwork based on the written word that is, according to Dolph, “endlessly creative and meaningful. From the use of actual documents as the main focus of a work to a cut piece of a document collaged onto another image, from neon signs to graffiti markings, from full sentences to a handful of words to a jumble of letters, artists use text as inspiration, as focal point, as accessory.”

Participating Artists:

Karen Abada, Eric Benoit, Patrick Binns, Nancy Blankenhorn, Virginia Schaffer Block, Mary Jean Canziani, Judith Carlin, Virginia Carroll, Dennis Connors, Amy Evans, Eve Fossetta, Pat Gilhooly, Elizabeth Ginsberg, karen goldberg, Susan Greenwald, Denise Hardie, Beth Heit, Linda Jacobs, Martine Kasmin, Claudia Kreiss, Joe LaMattina, John Masi, Betsy Meyer-Donadio, Marcia Miele Branca, Ann Marie Miller, Armin Muhsam, Steffany Ojeda, Paulina Olivares, John Patterson, Jennifer Dann Phillips, Dr. Joseph Putrino, Kevin Pyle, Matt Roberts, Marcia Shiffman, Dorit Shmuel, Lasha Stewart, Heidi Sussman, Brad Terhune, Michael Teters, Karen Waller, Rachel Westerwelle, Tina Ybarra