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West
Windsor, N.J. - The Gallery at Mercer County Community College
announced the award winners for "Mercer County Artists
2012" at an Opening Reception Mar. 7. The exhibit, which
runs through April 5, features 78 works, including 18 sculptures,
by 76 artists who live, work or study in Mercer County. The
pieces were selected from 288 entries by this year's juror,
curator/consultant Jeffrey Wechsler, who recently retired
as senior art curator at the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Museum
at Rutgers University/New Brunswick.
Most art
media are represented in the show, including oils, watercolors,
charcoal, ceramics, handmade paper, acrylics and mixed media.
Reflecting on his choices in his juror's statement, Wechsler
observed, "Ultimately it was the effectiveness of the
artist at communicating something to the viewer - within the
confines of the current level at which the artist now works
- that led to the selection of individual pieces into the
exhibition. Importantly, the 'something' communicated was
wide-ranging - beauty, emotion, precision, narrative skill,
even a compelling craziness."
This annual
exhibit is a collaboration between the college and the Mercer
County Cultural and Heritage Commission. The Gallery is located
on the second floor of the Communications Building on Mercer's
West Windsor campus at 1200 Old Trenton Road.
During
the opening reception that was packed with artists and friends,
MCCC Gallery Director/Curator Tricia Fagan said, "Lots
of people don't realize that this show was created by the
Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission 40 years ago.
It's a partnership between the county and the college. The
county's art collection is born out of this show."
Presenting
the awards were MCCC President Patricia C. Donohue, Mercer
County Freeholders Pat Colavita and Andrew Koontz, and Division
Chief of Cultural and Heritage Ida Perez-Margicin.
Colavita
congratulated the artists for their beautiful work. "The
county has a deep investment in supporting the arts. This
exhibit is such a tribute to those who create. It's a universal
language." Koontz added, "The arts are important.
And it's you who are making it. So we thank you." Dr.
Donohue encouraged the artists to return to the show with
friends and family and to spread the word about Mercer's excellent
Fine Arts faculty.
Winner
of the Utrecht Art Supplies Best in Show Prize was Arlene
Milgram, of Trenton, for two mixed media pieces, "And
Dreams Will Grow" and "Treasure Error." (She
is one of only two artists who had two works accepted for
the show.) The Juror's Choice Awards went to Timothy Fitzpatrick
of Mercerville for "Sons, Brothers" and Charles
McVicker of Princeton for "Vortex."
Honorable
Mentions were awarded to six artists: Marina Ahunbabaeba of
Princeton for "Princeton/Hamilton Jewelers"; Mic
Boekelmann of Princeton for "Experience"; Oki Fukunaga
of Lawrenceville for "Golem #25"; Maurice Galimidi
of Ewing for "Reclining Nude"; Valerie Labell-Desmarais
of Princeton for "Moose knows we all have patterns";
Miryong Lee of Princeton for Harmonious Diversity"; and
Alice Sims-Gunzenhauser of Skillman for "Short Stories
in White."
Recipients
of Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission Purchase
Awards were Al Aronson of Princeton for "Waterfall";
Arlene Milgram of Trenton for "Treasure Error";
and Mary Waltham of Princeton for "Updike Farm, Princeton."
Presenting
two awards from the West Windsor Arts Council was board member
Amy Frankel. Winners were Allison Singer for "Where the
Birds Have Room to Fly" and Lou Cicchini for "Adam's
Apple."
Best in
Show winner Arlene Milgram noted that her mixed-media works
are a creative use of unused materials. "I reconstruct
them into new pieces," she said. Milgram is an art teacher
in Montgomery Township and a 2005 Dodge fellow in the Artist/Teacher
Initiative. She exhibits her work locally and nationally.
Juror's
Choice recipient Tim Fitzpatrick explained that he has gotten
back into painting in recent years. An MCCC alumnus who studied
art from 1979-1981, Fitzpatrick first worked as a freelance
illustrator, and then moved into computer graphics. He has
been a web designer at the college for 10 years. Fitzpatrick
says that being selected for the show is likely to spur his
creative output.
West Windsor-Plainsboro
High School art teacher Jane Craven-Proulx, whose work "Trees"
was selected for the show, noted how well the show was curated.
"There is so much variety. It's difficult to put a show
like this together without being bombarded." She adds
that she regularly encourages her students to consider community
college as a quality, cost effective option for higher education.
Now celebrating
its 40th anniversary, the Mercer County Artists show continues
to feature some of the region's most talented artists. Works
in all media except for photography (which is featured in
a separate county show) are exhibited by both well-established
and emerging artists. This exhibit is supported, in part,
by the Mercer County Cultural & Heritage Commission, through
a grant from the Mercer County Board of Freeholders and the
New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State.
Gallery
hours are: Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Wednesday, 9 a.m. to
3 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m.; and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and
3:30 to 5:30 p.m. For more information, call (609) 570-3589
or visit the Gallery website here.
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