Mel Leipzig: Friends and Families
curated by Donna Gustafson, Andrew W. Mellon Liaison for Academic Programs and Curator, Zimmerli Art Museum Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
WHEN: The exhibition will open on Friday, September 16th, and will remain on view through October 29, 2016. The opening reception and a talk by the artist will take place on Friday, September 16th from 6-8 p.m. and will be free and open to the public.
WHERE: Center for Contemporary Art, 2020 Burnt Mills Road, Bedminster
Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1935, Mel Leipzig studied at Pratt Institute, the Cooper Union and Yale University. A realist painter who has focused on portraiture for over 40 years, he is among New Jersey’s best known and most visible artists. Recent exhibitions of his work have been seen in New York, Newark, Philadelphia, Princeton, and Trenton. This exhibition includes a selection of portraits staged out of doors and in domestic and office settings. Ranging in date from 2000 to 2016, they include portraits of friends and colleagues, the artist’s family and the families of friends.
Titled “Mel Leipzig: Friends and Families,” the exhibition is divided into two sections. While Leipzig is best known for the environmental portraits set within cluttered rooms with dramatically rendered perspectives, there are also a significant number of paintings in the artist’s oeuvre that might be described as landscapes. Bringing these portrait/landscapes together for the first time, these portraits of individuals and couples in nature are installed on the main floor. Among these are portraits of ceramicist Toshiko Takaezu, painter Carmen Cicero, Director of the New Jersey State Museum Margaret O’Reilly, and graffiti artists from Leipzig’s hometown of Trenton. On the second floor, a selection of paintings explores the connections between and among family members and friends. Representing a long-standing and on-going interest in the social networks that both limit and encourage our extensions of self, these include portraits of the artist’s family, and families of friends as well as a group portrait of the cast of Hedda Gabler in the theater at Mercer Community College. In addition to the exhibition of his paintings, the artist will demonstrate his painting technique in scheduled appearances on site.
About The Center for Contemporary Art
Founded in 1970, The Center for Contemporary Art is a vital regional art center with a vibrant studio art school, extensive exhibition program and important community outreach component. The Center for Contemporary Art is committed to enabling all visitors to experience its classes and workshops, exhibitions and public programs. Visitors requiring an accommodation or service should contact The Center at least two weeks prior to the scheduled visit. The Center is located at 2020 Burnt Mills Road in Bedminster, NJ. For further information, please call (908) 234-2345 or visit The Center for Contemporary Art online at http://ccabedminster.org/
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