Dear Friends: This has been an exceptionally busy week...so busy, in fact, that it is the first time that I did not get this email out to you all on Friday! The reason is that we were "hanging" our upcoming group art show Art Vivo! at the magnificent Brennan County Courthouse, the seat of government (and the Arts Council) in our county. This is our first experience curating and hanging a major art show (other than in our own sweet Galleria) and there is quite a learning curve...as a matter of fact, by 5pm on Friday we were finally getting the hang of it (sorry about the pun...you know I can't resist). It looks magnificent and the building itself is a major part of the wonder. This year begins the Centennial year for the Courthouse and we are highly honored to be the first exhibit of the new Centennial in the Rotunda Gallery
Brennan County Courthouse is one of the great buildings in the US and certainly one of the finest in NJ and Hudson County. Built originally in 1910, the building was closed for many years and almost demolished during those mid-20th Century years in which architects and city planners thought that anything old was not worth keeping (like the old Penn Station, priceless statues and all, now buried somewhere in the Meadowlands). By the 1960s, the courthouse was in terrible disrepair and was occupied by raccoons, mice and squirrels. The snow that fell on Jersey City at that time landed right on the main floor of the building. It was reopened in 1985 and has been wowing people ever since.
Hudson County, like New Jersey, is one of the most ethnically diversified places in the world and this, I believe, is one of our great strengths. The artists in Art Vivo! certainly reflect this. Jan Hinsch was born in Germany, Amado Mora in Ecuador, Sergio Rivero in Cuba, Ben Roman in Puerto Rico, Gerardo Latino in Nicaragua, Janet Diaz in Peru. Michele Papavasiliou Pattwell's parents are from Ireland and, well, Dexter Lane traces his heritage back to the Mayflower. Quite a diverse and fascinating group of artists and you will see the influences in their artwork.
Join us on Monday from 6 - 8pm at the Courthouse. You will see not only the work of eight amazing New Jersey artists, but also the soaring Corinthian columns, exquisite marble balconies, decorative scrolls, granite lion heads, a copper "victory torch" cupola, a bronze great seal of the State of New Jersey and marble pillars that support the most amazing stained glass dome (way up at the top) cirled by the astrological symbols! If that's not enticement enough, we will all be there (dressed to the 9s in ArtsEcho Galleria glory)!!! We are closing our charming little shop an hour early so we can celebrate (with great wine, food, company, neighbors, politicians, artists...)
Here's the info: 1/11/10, 6-8pm, Brennan Cty Courthouse, 575 Newark Ave, JC...or call us at 201-617-1110. Hope to see you there!
Warm regards,
Sandra and the ArtsEcho Galleria team, Lil, Ben, Karina, Crystal, Arianna & Lina
No comments:
Post a Comment