“COTTAGE ON LEWIS ISLAND”: This painting by Carol Sanzalone is part of “Recovery,” the Garden State Watercolor Society’s 51st annual juried exhibition, now on view by appointment in the Muriel L. Matthews Art Gallery at D&R Greenway Land Trust’s Johnson Education Center.

D&R Greenway Land Trust announces the reopening of its Marie L. Matthews Art Gallery at its Johnson Education Center in Princeton with the aptly named exhibit “Recovery,” in partnership with the Garden State Watercolor Society (GSWS).

This river-focused 51st annual juried exhibition is available for reserved timed viewings through October 17. Along with the juried exhibit, in the lobby of the Johnson Education Center, visitors will be greeted with the Garden State Watercolor Society’s “Third Annual Art Installation” of over 100 mini paintings illustrating aspects of the Delaware River, displayed among river stones.

An in-person reception and awards ceremony will take place on Friday, September 10 at the Johnson Education Center, outdoors. For more information and to reserve a space, visit gswcs.org.

Opportunities to experience the exhibit include in-person viewings by appointment only, made by calling (609) 558-0207.  Reserved timed entries will be available three days a week through the run of the show, with monthly Saturday hours. Visitors will be invited to follow CDC guidelines when they enter the Johnson Education Center to view the exhibit, with masks and social distancing. Entries will be timed so that each visitor and their guests remain separated from others viewing the exhibit. Events have been on hold for over a year, and this is the first returning indoor gallery exhibit.

“PORTRAIT OF AN EASTERN BOX TURTLE”: James Fiorentino’s painting is part of the Garden State Watercolor Society’s annual juried exhibition, now on view by appointment through October 17 at the Johnson Education Center at D&R Land Trust, 1 Preservation Place, Princeton.

Garden State Watercolor Society’s “Recovery” portrays the wild landscape, recreation, birds, fish, flora, and fauna of the Delaware River with creative imagination. The artworks showcase what “Recovery” signifies to each artist, in representational or abstract ways.

“This exhibit celebrates what we at D&R Greenway have learned over the past year and a half, that nature heals and helps us recover from isolation and trauma,” said Linda Mead, D&R Greenway’s CEO and president. “Our founding mission to preserve water quality by saving land along our region’s waterways is reflected in the focus on the Delaware River.”

The river is a comeback success story, with progress made in cleaning up the river celebrated in 2020 when American Rivers named the Delaware the “American River of the Year.” The river landscape has long been a place of reflection and beauty for area residents and artists.

Tess Fields, GSWS president, said, “I was delighted when the D&R Greenway Land Trust challenged us with the theme of the Delaware River and its recovery. I grew up on the Delaware and have a great respect and fondness for it. Each season on the river holds its own particular beauty. It can be calm and serene, or, after a storm, it can be dangerous and threatening. GSWS artists embraced the theme and created a wide variety of wonderful art. I hope that people will come to view the exhibit at D&R Greenway’s Johnson Education Center. GSWS is thrilled to be hanging its first exhibit in two years!”

Featured as the gateway to the exhibit is the Garden State Watercolor Society’s “Third Annual Art Installation,” a distinctive mini-art representation of aspects of the Delaware River with over a hundred 5”x7” paintings created by GSWS artists. Challenged to paint using only cool colors of blue, green, and purple, the collaborative exhibit shows the imaginative creativity of the artists. The installation art celebrates the Delaware River — clean water, return of wildlife and source of scenic landscapes, and interaction of nature and people. This installation exhibit follows the previous challenges of “Head and Shoulders” art installation in 2019, in which portraits were done in primary colors of red, yellow, and blue only, and “Beautiful Creatures” in 2020 — using secondary colors of orange, green, and purple, and showing animals, birds and insects.

The community is invited to call (609) 558-0207 to make a reservation to visit the free installation and exhibit, in person. Artist entry and prizes were juried by Tim Saternow, a signature member of the American Watercolor Society whose watercolor paintings explore the lost and forgotten areas on the edges of the urban scene. Art is available for sale. A percentage of each purchase will support D&R Greenway’s mission of preserving and caring for land and inspiring a conservation ethic, now and forever.

D&R Greenway’s Johnson Education Center is located at One Preservation Place, Princeton. For more information, visit drgreenway.org.