VIEWPOINTS, SMI’s 14th Annual Juried Show

June 1 to June 25

Opening Reception: Thursday, June 9, 6 pm to 9 pm
Conversation with the Juror: Saturday, June 11, 1 pm – 3 pm

Studio Montclair (SMI) announces its 14th annual juried show, Viewpoints: A Contemporary Survey, which is co-sponsored by Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art and opens at their gallery June 1, 2011, in Newark, NJ. This international show features the work of 68 artists who explore how the choice of subject shapes perception.

According to juror Dr. Rocío Aranda-Alvarado, the exhibit “encompasses a broad spectrum of works that touch on a number of themes relevant to contemporary life. The works in this show reflect the personal and the universal, the organic and the abstract, the mundane and the extraordinary.” Aranda-Alvarado cites three core themes that inform the personal views embodied in the show: the landcape, human nature and the abstract.

“Ever present, the landscape is an important player in the development of the narrative around the idea of a view point. In the works seen here, the landscape is approached as the subject of a botanical project, an object of romantic admiration or a backdrop to the experience of the everyday … Direct and intimate views of plants that fill the picture plane are offered by Gary Paul Stutler, while more playful, conceptual and fantastic views are presented in the paintings of Charles Geiger.

“Human nature and the effect of humans on the landscape are represented by ghostly figures and family snapshots; by race and social class with their effect on modern society’s landscape and by sparing figures and silhouetted forms and how struggle is a powerful, but essential, part of the human condition. … Laara Cassells’s whimsical painting is part “Jersey Shore” and part fairy tale. As a young girl leaves behind the fantasy of the white horse, her sullen figure is embellished with early teen concepts of beauty.

“Lastly, abstract forms and concepts look at human emotions,” Aranda-Alvarado continues. “Playful shapes and powerful juxtapositions of color beg the viewer to investigate the depth and breadth of a wide range of emotions. . . Kurt Dyrhaug presents us with enigmatic and suggestive propositions, playful objects that beg our interpretation.

“Seen together, these works explore a broad scope of abundant conceptual, visual, and expressive themes.”

Rocío Aranda-Alvarado is the Associate Curator of Special Projects at El Museo del Barrio in New York City. Dr. Aranda-Alvarado received her Ph.D. in Art History from the CUNY Graduate Center and is on the faculty of the Art Department at the City College of New York. A member of the American Association of Museum Curators, she has been an invited speaker at the Smithsonian Institution and the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Initial Public Offerings program and her writings have included essays for the Museum of Modern Art, El Museo, and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

Viewpoints
Opening Reception and Awards: Thursday, June 9, 6 pm – 9 pm

Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art
591 Broad Street
Newark, NJ  07102

HOURS:
Wednesday – Friday 12 pm – 6 pm
Saturday 11am – 4 pm

973-744-1818
studiomontclair@aol.com