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Friday, January 21, 2011

RECYCLING TAKEN TO A NEW HIGH @ SMI!

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Sustainability and the Artistic Vision
a “green” exhibit that connects current artists to contemporary environmental activism

Sustainability and the Artistic VisionWHEN: opens Friday, January 21, 6–9 PM; runs through April 29, 2011.
WHERE: SMI Virginia S. Block Gallery, 33 Plymouth Street, Montclair
973.744.1818 or www.studiomontclair.org
Gallery Hours: Monday–Friday 9 AM–5 PM or by appointment

According to curator Mona Brody, the show’s six artists demonstrate “how theoretical insights, concrete practices in art, and the use of sustainable materials coincide with hard realities and materiality for political action, artistic theory and practice and sustainable living the in the 21st century.”

Each artist employs materials from pre-existing sources or uses media that create the least impact on the environment.

  • Marion Held’s work, titled “From an Ancient Well,” shows well-water bags made from rubber tire inner tubes.
  • Each day since March 31, 2005, Peter Jacobs has created a 9-by-12-inch collage using that day’s local newspaper.  (right)
  • Keely McCool uses twigs and mud in a conscious effort to use resources from nature.
  • Donna Moran has worked for at least 15 years in water-based materials and often recycles editions of prints into new work.
  • Paul Sionas is the architect of the Academy Square building, whose sustainable renovations helped the building receive its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification through the U.S. Building Council.
  • Donna Usher looks “for sustainable inspiration from indigenous art, such as Aboriginal dot paintings and primal forms in nature such as microscopic cells, egg sacs, black holes and galaxies found in deep space.”

Studio Montclair Inc. is an association of professional visual artists and supporters of the visual arts dedicated to establishing Montclair (NJ) as a center for the arts. It is a nonprofit corporation supported by its  membership. The purpose of Studio Montclair Inc. is to promote culture and education in the visual arts through exhibitions, lectures, art demonstrations, scholarships, and other educational programs; and to encourage new emerging artists through all appropriate means. Membership consists of professional visual artists and individuals interested in the visual arts.