‘Ageless Art’ at the JCC’s Gaelen Gallery East
An opening celebration for the JCC MetroWest exhibit “Ageless Art, Boundless Creativity” will be held on Sunday, Sept. 18, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Gaelen Gallery East at the Cooperman JCC in West Orange.
The exhibit, which will run through Nov. 6, will bring together the works of six well-known contemporary senior artists: Phyllis Carlin, Philip Drill, Joan Goldsmith, Ed Hoffner, George Tarr, and Fran Willner.
On Sunday, Nov. 6, a “meet the artists” event will take place 11 a.m.-1 p.m. during the JCC Creative Maturity Expo.
The six artists, diverse in media and sensibility, work in painting, sculpture, and mixed media, creating professional and personal artwork. Residents of MetroWest, each has been an artist for many years and has been widely exhibited and won numerous prizes.
Carlin had a wide-ranging career as a Broadway set designer, art director, and sketch artist, whose works are in museum collections statewide. Among her many awards is a NJ State Council on the Arts fellowship. Carlin’s paintings and sculptures frequently have a sense of surrealism and incorporate words and commentary.
Sculptor Drill works in glass and metal. His concern is with expressing abstract movement and creating a novel perspective in his sculptures. In 2011 he was awarded Best in Sculpture in the Gaelen Juried Art Show & Sale.
Goldsmith is an abstract expressionist whose paintings express her personal vision of nature by modulating color and line. She states, “Painting for me is a spontaneous act, fueled by my emotions and their release. I try to present a dichotomy of the tranquility and energy that is me.” She often works with handmade paper and collage. Her work is represented in selected public art collections around the country.
Hoffner uses a rich and subtle palette of colors in his abstract and figurative paintings that are often whimsical in subject. He is an active member of Exhibitors’ Coop, a well-known exhibiting and critiquing group.
A metal worker by trade, Tarr pursued his artistic endeavors throughout his long career. He works in all media. He was described by Jeffrey Kesper, former director of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, as “multifaceted…. His understanding of the nature and inherent qualities of his media is evident in his intuitive treatment of each piece.”
Willner is well known as a teacher and a widely exhibited creator of found-object sculpture. Describing her current work, she says, “Pieces of old lace and abandoned dolls inspired me to dress the dolls. With a few improvements they become art pieces.” Over the years she has accumulated an extensive resume of exhibits, publications, and awards.
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In addition to the “Ageless Art” exhibit, painter Amy Charmatz will display “My Realities,” her brightly colored images of people, animals, and patterns in the Roland Exhibition Corridor and Arts Lobby. An artist with disabilities, she states, “My art has been shaped by the process of living my life, and now my art shapes my life.” Her paintings have been included in museums and galleries throughout the country. She describes her style as “primitive yet contemporary…. Each painting has a caption expressing ‘truths’ that I have learned and am still learning.”
The Arts Lobby Showcases also will include ceramic works by Evelyn Gurland, Beverly Stern, and Debora Meltz, sculptors whose works complement each other and accentuate each artist’s strengths.
Gaelen Gallery East hours are Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, contact Lisa Suss at 973-530-3413 or lsuss@jccmetrowest.org.
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