Hunterdon Art Museum

THE MUSEUMS EXHIBITIONS HAVE GARNERED A REPUTATION FOR THEIR HIGH QUALILTY AND INTERESTING SUBJECT MATTER. FROM GROUP SHOWS THAT INVESTIGATE TRENDS IN CONTEMPORARY ART TO ONE-PERSON EXHIBITIONS THAT EXPLORE PERSONAL JOURNEYS, THE MUSEUM BRINGS EXTRAORDINARY ARTWORK TO OUR REGION WITH APPROXIMATELY THIRTEEN EXHIBITIONS ANNUALLY. HERE ARE EXAMPLES FROM FY24: AS A MUSEUM THAT HAS EXPLORED CONTEMPORARY CERAMICS IN NUMEROUS EXHIBITIONS, WE WERE EXCITED TO INITIATE CLAYBASH, A JURIED TRIENNIAL CERAMICS EXHIBITION. JENNIFER MARTIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE CLAY STUDIO, PHILADELPHIA, WAS THE JUROR. THE SHOW SOUGHT LIVELY AND INTERESTING INTERPRETATIONS OF CLAY AS MATERIAL AND IDEA AND BROUGHT TOGETHER WORK BY CERAMIC ARTISTS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY. PLANETARIA, A SOLO SHOW BY ARTIST AND POET MONCIAL ONG, LEVERAGED THE LANGUAGE OF ASTRONOMY TO EXPLORE THE PRECARIOUS TERRITORIES OF MOTHERHOOD, WOMEN IN SCIENCE, AND DIASPORA IDENTITY. A SOLO SHOW BY NONA HERSHEY EXPLORED THE DIGITAL AGE. HER WATERCOLORS COMBINED BEAUTIFULLY RENDERED CLOUDS WITH PIXELATED, COLORFUL FORMS. A TWO-PERSON SHOW OF THE WORK OF PAINTER MARSHA GOLDBERG AND SCULPTOR ANDREW ZIMMERMAN PAIRED TWO ARTISTS WHO USE COLOR AND ABSTRACTION TO CREATE DYNAMIC WORK. IN THE FALL THE MAIN GALLERY WAS FILLED WITH THE EXTRAORDINARY LANDSCAPES OF PHILIP ADAMS WHO METICULOUSLY DEPICTS MOUNTAINS AND WATER SCENES THAT INCORPORATE REMNANTS OF HUMANITY. HIS WORK ENCOURAGES THE VIEWER TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CHANGING ENVIRONMENT AND OUR IMPACT ON IT. IN ADDITION TO PAINTINGS, FOR THE SHOW ADAMS CREATED A TEMPORARY MURAL WITHIN THE GALLERY. IN THE EXHIBITION OVER THE PAPER PLANE, AHRONG KIMS WHIMSICAL AND DETAILED CERAMIC FIGURES PROVIDED VIEWERS WITH A GLIMPSE OF HER EMOTIONAL STATES. HAMS ANNUAL MEMBERS EXHIBITION WAS JURIED BY JOAO (JUNO) ZAGO, AN ARTIST AND THE CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF GALLERY AFERRO IN NEWARK. THE EXHIBITION INCLUDED AN ARRAY OF STYLES AND MEDIUMS THAT SHOWED THE TALENTS OF OUR MEMBERS. NEW WORK BY KATE DODD WAS SHOWN IN THE MUSEUMS FIRST FLOOR GALLERY. USING IMAGERY FROM CHILDRENS BOOKS AS WELL AS MEDICAL X-RAYS KATE EXHIBITED WORK THAT RECYCLED FAMILIAR MATERIALS TO TELL NEW STORIES. PERHAPS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE SHOW WAS A SITE-SPECIFIC INSTALLATION THAT INCORPORATED UNUSED ITEMS DISCARDED BY A COSMETICS COMPANY. HUNDREDS OF LIPSTICK TUBES SEEMED TO INVADE THE BUILDING, MOVING THROUGH WALLS AND FALLING FROM THE GRAIN SHOOTS THAT REMAINED FROM THE BUILDINGS LIFE AS A MILL. CYNTHIA CARLSONS PAINTINGS FILLED THE SECOND FLOOR MAIN GALLERY DURING THE WINTER. ABSTRACTIONS AND OLDER WORK INTRODUCED THE VIEWER TO AN ARTIST WHOSE WORK SPANNED SEVERAL DECADES. ASSEMBLAGE ARTIST ELLEN SIEGELS WORK INCORPORATED FOUND OBJECTS THAT IN HER HANDS TOLD NEW STORIES. THE MEMBERS HIGHLIGHT EXHIBITION WAS AWARDED TO ALEKSANDAR POPOVIC. HIS LANDSCAPES COMBINED ABSTRACT ELEMENTS. SPURRING THE VIEWER TO CONSIDER CLIMATE CHANGE. STREET PHOTOGRAPHER PAVARTI KUMAR EXHIBITED IMAGES FROM AROUND THE WORLD. HER COLORFUL SHOTS SHOWED THE ARTISTS ABILITY TO CAPTURE ICONIC MOMENTS. UNCONTAINED: REIMAGING BASKETRY BROUGHT TOGETHER ARTISTS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY. UNUSUAL MATERIALS AND SHAPES EXPLORED HOW BASKETS NO LONGER NEED TO BE FUNCTIONAL, BUT HAVE BECOME FINE ART. PAINTER DEBRA RAMSAYS BEAUTIFUL ABSTRACT PAINTINGS REPRESENTED BIRDS SEEN IN CENTRAL PARK. BY DISTRIBUTING THEIR COLORS ON ACRYLIC PANELS THE ARTIST IS ABLE TO CAPTURE THE SENSE THAT ONE IS SEEING A BIRD IN FLIGHT. WITHIN THE GALLERY, A VIDEO WITH BIRD CALLS CREATED A MULTI-SENSORY EXPERIENCE. IN ADDITION TO THE ABOVE ROTATING EXHIBITIONS, SCULPTURES BY TOM OTTERNESS, TOSHIKO TAKAEZU AND NORIKO SAKAYAMA WERE LOCATED ON THE MUSEUMS TERRACE AND ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC 24/7. ALSO ON THE TERRACE AND NEW THIS YEAR IS A MURAL BY PHILIP ADAMS, REPRESENTING ORIGAMI BOATS FLOATING DOWN A RIVER. REPRESENTING THE MUSEUMS IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY AS THE ARTS MOVE OUTWARD FROM THE MUSEUM TO THE PEOPLE IT ENGAGES.