December 6, 2017

“GRANITE STREET”: This oil painting by Debbie Pisacreta is featured in “Memories,” an exhibit featuring the work of four artists at Artists’ Gallery in Lambertville running December 7 to 31. An opening reception will be held on Sunday, December 10, from 1 to 4 p.m.

Fine artists Alla Podolsky, Joseph Zogorski, Gail Bracegirdle, and Debbie Pisacreta invite the public to view images that capture each artist’s memory of a location, scene, or life moment in “Memories” the 4×4 Winter Group exhibit series at Artists’ Gallery in Lambertville running December 7 to 31. more

November 29, 2017

“RUNTIME”: Part of a *graphic design exhibition* highlighting the work of current and former students in Princeton University’s Program in Visual Arts, this piece by Neeta Patel, Class of 2017, is an interface for Apple Watch that tracks the times when the user looks at the device and encourages behavior to look less frequently. Produced in VIS 415, Advanced Graphic Design. (Screenshot Courtesy the artist)

The Program in Visual Arts at Princeton University’s Lewis Center for the Arts presents *a graphic design exhibition* curated by award-winning faculty member, artist, and writer David Reinfurt, highlighting the work of 184 current and former students since the Lewis Center launched courses in graphic design in 2010. more

“BRIDGE AT SAYEN GARDENS”: This watercolor painting by Susan Troost is featured in the Gourgaud Gallery’s “Cranbury Art in the Park” plein air series. The art will be on display from December 3 through December 29, with an artist’s reception on Sunday, December 3 from 1-3 p.m.

All are invited to an artists’ reception on Sunday, December 3 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Gourgaud Gallery, Cranbury Town Hall (Old School Building), 23-A North Main Street, Cranbury, to celebrate the art created from the Art in the Park plein air series sponsored by the Cranbury Arts Council.

For more information, visit www.cranburyartscouncil.org.

November 22, 2017

The Arts Council of Princeton’s ceramics community of students, instructors, and local ceramic artists are creating more than 200 handmade bowls in anticipation of the second annual fundraiser, Soul-Filled Bowls, to be on display in the Arts Council of Princeton’s Taplin Gallery on Saturday, December 2 from 11-3 p.m. The public is invited to purchase handmade ceramic bowls for $20 each, and enjoy a complimentary bowl of soup generously donated by Blawenburg Cafe and bread provided by Italian People’s Bakery and LiLLiPies. One hundred percent of the funds will be donated to Mercer Street Friends and Meals on Wheels. more

A new sculpture by leading American artist Titus Kaphar (born 1976) has been installed in front of Princeton University’s Maclean House, which was originally constructed as the president’s home in the institution’s early decades. The eight-foot-high mixed-media work, entitled Impressions of Liberty, features layered portraits of Reverend Samuel Finley, president of what was then the College of New Jersey from 1761 to 1766, and an African American man, woman, and child, who represent the slaves who lived and worked at the president’s residence during Finley’s tenure. more

November 15, 2017

The Arts Council of Princeton presents a reading by Ntozake Shange tonight, Wednesday, November 15, at 7 p.m. Ms. Shange, a cousin of former Mayor Yina Moore, will read from “Wild Beauty,” her newest book, a collection of more than 60 original and selected poems in both English and Spanish.

“A QUIET DEFIANCE”: The photographs of Katie Orlinsky are featured in “A Quiet Defiance: The Women’s War in Mali,” an exhibition running November 20 through December 14 at the Anne Reid ’72 Art Gallery at Princeton Day School. An artist’s reception will be held on November 28 from 12:30 to 1 p.m.

The Anne Reid ’72 Art Gallery at Princeton Day School presents the photographs of Katie Orlinsky in an exhibition titled “A Quiet Defiance: The Women’s War in Mali,” on view from November 20 through December 14. There will be an artist’s reception on Thursday, November 28 from 12:30 to 1 p.m. The exhibit and reception are free and open to the public. more

THE ART OF PERIOD DRESS: Professionals will lecture and present hands-on workshops to help participants make elements of 18th century clothing on November 17 and 18 at Prallsville Mills in Stockton. (Photo by Brandyn Charlton)

The Hunterdon County Cultural and Heritage Commission and the Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area together present the second program in the conference series, “The Art of Period Dress.” Popular 1770s clothing lectures and workshops return in “The Art of Period Dress, Part 2,” on November 17 and 18 at Prallsville Mills in Stockton. more

November 8, 2017

“AUGUST”: This painting is among others by Hopewell native Deb Strong Napple that will be exhibited at the University Medical Center of Princeton from November 13 through February 2018. A reception to mark the opening of “From New Jersey to Arizona and Back” is on Friday, November 17, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

University Medical Center of Princeton (UMCP) will host a wine and cheese reception on Friday, November 17 to mark the opening of “From New Jersey to Arizona and Back,” an exhibit of paintings by Hopewell native Deb Strong Napple. more

“THE BLUE MOSQUE”: This photograph, taken in Istanbul, Turkey, is included in “A World of Light: Photographs 2007-2017 by Richard Trenner,” a one-man retrospective show running through the end of the year at the Present Day Club in Princeton.

“A World of Light: Photographs 2007-2017 by Richard Trenner” is a one-man retrospective show running through the end of the year at the Present Day Club, 72 Stockton Street, at the corner of Library Place and Stockton Street (Route 206) in Princeton. more

November 1, 2017

CREATIVELY GREEN: Young Audiences teamed up with Littlebrook School for their Creatively Green Family Arts Festival, bringing together children, parents, educators, and artists to link art making with protecting the environment. (Photo Courtesy of Young Audiences)

By Donald Gilpin

In school environments characterized by emphasis on testing and sports, tight budgets, increasing competition for college admissions, and diminishing job opportunities, the arts might seem a low priority.

Not so, says Ann Betterton, development director of Young Audiences New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania (YA), which worked with more than 350,000 children through more than 4,000 programs in 573 schools in every county in New Jersey last year. more

BACK IN THE GAME: Painter Ken Alexander is opening his Trenton studio on Saturday, November 4, as part of the sixth annual Art All Day. Glaucoma has left Alexander legally blind, but he still has much to say with his art.

By Anne Levin

After almost two decades working as a chef, painter Ken Alexander was finally feeling secure enough to devote himself, fulltime, to his art. He gave up his job at a restaurant in Spring Lake. He moved from Asbury Park to Trenton, where he bought a light-filled loft in the city’s Mill Hill section. more

DAY OF THE DEAD: The Arts Council of Princeton’s Day of the Dead Celebration on Saturday, November 4 at the Princeton Shopping Center will include folk arts and crafts as well as sugar skull decorating, traditional dance performances, live music, and more.

The Arts Council of Princeton and the Princeton Shopping Center present the annual Day of the Dead Celebration on Saturday, November 4 from 3-5 p.m. Celebrate Mexico’s El Día de los Muertos with strolling mariachis, sugar skull decorating, face painting, folk arts and crafts, and live dance performances. Learn about the traditions of this rich cultural holiday at this free, family-friendly event. Food will be available for purchase from Surf Taco. more

October 25, 2017

ANTI-NUCLEAR RALLY: This archival photo by Gary Schoichet, taken at an Anti-Nuclear Rally in New York City on June 12, 1982, is featured in the exhibit “Shadows and Ashes: The Peril of Nuclear Weapons,” running November 6 through December 7 at Princeton University’s Bernstein Gallery in Robertson Hall. A discussion panel and reception will be held on Monday, November 13 at 4:30 p.m.

A multifaceted exhibition, “Shadows and Ashes: The Peril of Nuclear Weapons,” will open at Princeton University’s Bernstein Gallery in Robertson Hall on November 6. A discussion panel and reception will be held on Monday, November 13 at 4:30 p.m. Moderated by Princeton Professor Stanley N. Katz, the panel, “A Perpetual Menace: Nuclear Weapons Today, Tomorrow, Forever?” will be held in Arthur Lewis Auditorium (previously known as Dodds Auditorium). more

October 11, 2017

“AFGHAN GIRL, 2001”: This photograph by Princeton Day School photography teacher Thatcher Cook is featured in the school’s Visual and Design Arts Faculty Exhibition, on view from October 16 through November 9. An opening reception with the artists will be held on on Friday, October 20 from 5 to 7 p.m.

The Anne Reid ’72 Art Gallery at Princeton Day School presents the Visual and Design Arts Faculty Exhibition, on view from October 16 through November 9. There will be an opening reception with the artists on Friday, October 20 from 5 to 7 p.m. The exhibit and reception are free and open to the public. more

“BELLE”: The collage paintings of Meredith Remz are on exhibit at Blawenburg Cafe in Skillman through January 5, 2018. Remz says she draws inspiration from contemporary and industrial design, as well as Mother Nature.

Meredith Remz debuts her work at Blawenburg Cafe in Skillman this fall with a solo exhibition of expressive collage paintings. The exhibit will be on display through January 5, 2018. It is is free and open to the public, child-friendly, and all art is for sale. more

October 4, 2017

“ART AT KINGS OAKS”: A pop-up exhibition featuring the works of 26 artists will be at Kings Oaks Farm in Newtown, Pa. from October 6 to 15. An opening reception is on October 6 from 6-9 p.m. Shown here are a painting by Susan Jane Walp, top left; a monotype by Stuart Shils, top right; an installation by Margaret Parish, bottom left; and a sculpture by Maxwell Mustardo.

“Art at Kings Oaks,” a pop-up art exhibition in a historic barn and chapel on Kings Oaks Farm in Newtown, Pa., returns for its fifth year this October 6-15 to present its largest group of artists to date. The exhibition includes paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture, ceramics, and installation works by 26 renowned and emerging artists from the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic U.S. and Italy. more

“A CITY SQUARE”: This oil on canvas by Bill Scott is part of Rider University’s exhibit featuring a 40-year survey of the artist’s work, which runs through October 29. An artist’s talk is October 5 at 7 p.m.

The Rider University Art Gallery presents “Bill Scott: The Landscape in a Still Life Paintings, Pastels, Prints, and Watercolors, 1977-2017” through October 29. An artist’s talk is Thursday, October 5 at 7 p.m.

The exhibit includes still life and figure compositions made before Scott’s painting veered toward abstraction. His recent abstractions include references to garden and landscape imagery: flowers, foliage, and tree branches. more

September 27, 2017

By Anne Levin

After a decade of planning and four years of construction, the studios, rehearsal rooms, and theaters at Princeton University’s ambitious Lewis Center for the Arts have opened on schedule. Music, dance, and drama classes are underway in the three buildings along Alexander Street and University Place, part of the University’s $330 million Arts and Transit development.

“It’s rare to have a project to work on that is transformative on a performance level and on the programs housed within,” said Noah Yaffe of Steven Holl Architects, during a press tour of the complex on Monday. “What is so fascinating is that we’re maximizing the visibility of the arts while maximizing the porosity of the place.” more

September 20, 2017

“WATER SHARING”: This painting by Nancie Gunkelman is featured in the exhibit “Same Moon: Diverse Voices of Nature,” at D&R Greenway’s Johnson Education Center, which runs through October 22. A reception will be held at the Center on Friday, September 29, from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

D&R Greenway Land Trust’s newest exhibition, “Same Moon: Diverse Voices of Nature,” shows how artists, whether in China, Africa, or the U.S., view nature through divergent lenses. Artists Kenneth J. Lewis Sr., Nancie Gunkelman, and Chih Yu Fan are unified in their appreciation for nature. Some of the artwork for this exhibition has been shipped from China. A reception will be held on Friday, September 29, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at D&R Greenway’s Johnson Education Center, 1 Preservation Place, Princeton. more

“SHADOW AND LIGHT”: This painting by Paulette Van Roekens depicts a scene behind the stage of the Pennsylvania Academy of Music in the 1930s. It is included in the “New American Painting Collection” exhibit which will run at the Grantz Gallery and Conservation Studio in Doylestown, Pa., from October 1 through December 31.

Gratz Gallery and Conservation Studio has announced the unveiling of a “New American Painting Collection” exhibit. Many of these paintings have never been offered before and are fresh to the market. This special event is the latest exhibition at the gallery’s new location on Silo Hill Road in Doylestown, Pa. The exhibition will be held at the Gallery and Conservation Studio location from October 1 through December 31.  more

Local Princeton painter Cvetko Ivanov (known as Ivan) sells his original acrylic paintings every Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (weather permitting) on his front porch, located at 15 Vandeventer Avenue in the heart of Princeton. Originally from Bulgaria, Ivan specializes in images of flowers and the natural world. He is also an established muralist and has worked on several homes in Princeton, along with fine finishes for walls, ceilings, furniture, and mantels. To contact Ivan, call (609) 454-1334. 

September 13, 2017

By Anne Levin

Artist Maya Lin has been commissioned by Princeton University to create an installation for a section of the landscape at the new Lewis Center for the Arts. Details have yet to emerge about the substance, size, and scale of the work, which will “provide a landmark for visitors to campus and an invigorated outdoor setting for students to stage ad hoc performances and enjoy plein air classes,” according to a release from the University. more

Louise Feder

Morven Museum and Garden presents Louise Feder, assistant curator of the James A. Michener Art Museum (and a 2006 graduate of Princeton High School), in a discussion about the 1913 Armory Show and its impact on select New Jersey and Pennsylvania artists, on Thursday, September 14 at 7 p.m. more

The annual Artsbridge Annual Clothesline Art Sale will take place this Sunday, September 17, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Prallsville Mill in Stockton. Originally conceived as an opportunity for area artists to clean their closets of art that has been gathering dust, this event has evolved into a showcase of fine art at reasonable prices. The works for sale include paintings, jewelry, sculpture, photography, and crafts. All art will be priced at $300 or less, with most at a much lower cost. (Photo by Rodney Miller)