Come visit the Art Center to view three new exhibitions!

Daylight hours preview is 4pm-5pm

VIP reception is 6:30pm-8:30pm

Refreshments will not be served due to the concern of the spread of COVID-19 omicron. Guests will receive a takeaway bag before leaving to continue the festivities at home! Masks are required at all times.

Claiming the Narrative

Main Gallery

Claiming the Narrative is a group exhibition that raises the questions, “Whose story gets told on museum walls?” and “Who tells the story?” Centering subjects who have been marginalized, ignored, exoticized, or even erased from Western Art History, the eleven artists in this show challenge assumptions about historical narratives, “classical” portraiture, and the power of the gaze. Collectively, they seek a more authentic representation of contemporary life by broadening and diversifying the possibilities of figurative art. Artists include: Tyler Ballon, Santiago Galeas, Alex Gardner, Todd Gray, Shona McAndrew, Arcmanoro Niles, Ron Norsworthy, Ransome, Mickalene Thomas, Philemona Williamson, and Layqa Nuna Yawar.

Jess T. Dugan: Seen

Mitzi & Warren Eisenberg Gallery

Jess T. Dugan is an artist whose work centers around an exploration of identity—particularly gender and sexuality. Drawing from their own experience as a queer, non-binary person, Dugan employs traditional photographic techniques to create color portraits that reflect the complex beauty and humanity of their subjects. This focused exhibition highlights color portraits from their recent and ongoing projects, To Survive on This Shore, and Every Breath We Drew and includes a reading area where Dugan’s three fine art photography books will provide a more comprehensive view of their work. Conveying a sense of both directness and intimacy, Dugan’s portraits and self-portraits encourage empathy and understanding and underscore the importance not only of seeing, but of being seen.

http://www.jessdugan.com

Parvathi Kumar: Everyday Blackness

Marite & Joe Robinson Strolling Gallery I

Beginning in June 2020, Parvathi Kumar photographed and interviewed twenty-five Black women in the New Jersey area to showcase their collective courage, tenacity, and resilience.

Responding to the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests as well as the global COVID-19 pandemic, the New Jersey-based photographer wanted to document and share the vast goodness she observed in this group of women–a goodness that prevailed over the pain people were feeling. Her efforts resulted in the book, Everyday Blackness: Celebrating Exceptional Women, published in 2021. Ranging in age from 19 to 86, the women represent a broad array of professions and experiences. This exhibition includes portraits of all twenty-five women and features quotations and brief bios from each subject.

https://www.parvathikumar.com