Colors of the Rainbow: Textures of Life
Color Photos by Richard P. Wedeen, M.D.
WHEN: March 1-31, with an artist’s reception on Sunday, March 6, 2 – 5 PM; Gallery hours are Monday – Thursday, 9 AM – 10 PM; Friday and Sunday, 9 AM – 4 PM; closed Saturday and Jewish holidays.
WHERE: Waltuch Gallery of the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades, 411 East Clinton Avenue, Tenafly
ADMISSION: free and open to the community. Artwork is available for sale. For more information contact Ophrah Listokin, Waltuch Gallery Director, at 201.408.1408 or visit the JCC website at www.jccotp.org.
Textures of Life, Dr. Richard P. Wedeen’s colorful photographs of Guatemala, Panama, Morocco, Laos, Cambodia and India, captures the indigenous vitality of cultures around the world. He pairs his photographs with handmade textiles derived from ancestral designs and weaving techniques that remain virtually unchanged for centuries.
“Unlike modern art that is dominated by individualism, traditional textiles hold tenaciously to communal designs,” says Dr. Wedeen. “These artistic creations are usually unsigned, often have ceremonial significance, and play a profoundly spiritual role in the community. I find it endlessly fascinating to try to capture people engaged in their daily, ceremonial activities and I find that pairing samples of these beautiful textiles with my photographs adds a meaningful dimension to what I am looking to capture in my work.”
Richard P. Wedeen, MD is a Professor of Medicine and Preventive Medicine and Community Health at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – The New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ. He is also Associate Chief of Staff for Research, Department of Veterans Affairs New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange, NJ.
Although a physician-scientist by profession, Dr. Wedeen’s photographs have won three First Place Awards and a Best in Show Award in New Jersey. He has exhibited photographs and indigenous textiles at the Weiner Library of Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck, the Elmwood Park Library, the Waltuch Art Gallery at the JCC on the Palisades (2006), Tenafly, NJ, The Belsky Museum, Closter, NJ, The Georgia Sheron Gallery, Waterbury, CT, and the Portfolio Restaurant, New York City.
