Raritan Valley Community College’s (RVCC) Arts & Design department presents
Images of Life
an honorary, memorial exhibition of work by the late Christopher Brand Koep
WHEN: August 28 through September 18. An opening reception will be held Friday, August 30, from 5-7 p.m., in the Art Gallery. The event is free of charge and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. Gallery hours are Mondays, 3-8 p.m.; Tuesdays, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Wednesdays, 3-8 p.m.; Thursdays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; and Fridays, 1-4 p.m.
WHERE: the Art Gallery at the RVCC’s Branchburg campus, 118 Lamington Road
For further information, contact the Arts & Design department, 908-218-8876. For further information, visit www.raritanval.edu.
The exhibition honors Professor Christopher Brand Koep, a former resident of Union Township (Hunterdon County) who passed away in August 2018 after 30 years of dedicated service to RVCC and the community. Above: “Radiant,” by Christopher Brand Koep, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 40 inches, 2011)
“Professor Koep was a beloved teacher to his students, a supportive and caring colleague, and a distinguished artist,” said Darren McManus, RVCC Assistant Professor of Art and Art Gallery Director. “His contagious smile, highly evolved sense of humor, enormous talent, and indomitable spirit have been greatly missed.”
This exhibition, made possible through the cooperation and generosity of his siblings, Peggy, Greg and Tom Koep, and nephew Noah Koep, will honor his legacy through a selection of drawings and paintings from his impressive volume of work. The show is being co-curated by Darren McManus and Kathleen Schulz, Adjunct Professor of Art. (Above, right: “Nocturne,” by Christopher Brand Koep, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 40 inches, 2011-12)
Koep viewed his work, which quite often depicted fantastic and parallel worlds, as a method for trying to make sense of the world that surrounds us. The work on display is personal, representing Koep’s emotional and spiritual journey that plays out in visual metaphors, while also attempting to reveal universal truths to which we can all relate.
Koep actively exhibited his work throughout the state with shows at The Hunterdon Art Museum, Pierro Gallery, and J&J Corporate Gallery. Koep received two NJ State Council on the Arts Fellowships for painting and was also was awarded residencies at the MacDowell Art Colony, Yaddo Art Colony, and The Millay Colony for the Arts.
