THE BIG SMALL SHOW 2017, 12/15/17 – 2/17/18, at Drawing Rooms

by Lindy Judge
2/1/18

Some things do improve with age, and THE BIG SMALL SHOW 2017 at Jersey City’s Drawing Rooms is one of them. Currently, in its fifth year, The Big Small Show 2017 brings together a large array of exceptional recent works by over 100 artists in the intimate setting of a former convent.  This show is always worth seeing, but this year the works and the curation are unparalleled.

With 100+ artists contributing 2 to 4 works each, there is a lot to see, and one might expect it to be overwhelming. However, due to the expert curation of Anne Trauben, the experience is anything but. In fact, it is fun, thought-provoking, and thoroughly enjoyable.

The full range of media is represented—painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, mixed media—all thoughtfully arranged in 8 rooms, the gallery shop and the hallway. As a framework, each room has a curatorial theme: Images and Objects; Landscape; Ethereal and Elemental; Memory; Surface—Subtle and Complex; People and Places; Drawing; and Bold and Big. I see these as suggestive rather than summative. I didn’t read the room titles on my first viewing. Instead, I looked at the works individually and then considered the overall impression of the grouping. On a subsequent viewing, I made a point of reading the titles and descriptions, which added another level of appreciation of the works and the themes being explored.

In broad strokes, the themes reflected in a show of this size naturally include many of the issues confronting us all: the environment; the politics of culture, sexuality, and gender; relationships; communication; etc., as well as the issues that specifically concern artists in their work: aesthetics, form, purpose. Individual artists address these issues in work that is literal or abstract, theoretical or personal, and through explorations of presentation, process, and materials. The one condition imposed was that the works could be no larger than 30 inches, and the smaller-scale benefits the overall experience; it requires viewers to step in a little closer to get a good look.

It is impossible to talk about each and every piece—although they are all worthy of discussion—so I will highlight some that come to mind.

When viewing a piece of art, we tend to contextualize the work by our reaction to the form or content, or by what it seems to convey. We don’t generally think about the process, although process is an essential part of the communication between artist and viewer. Several pieces in this show succeed in prompting the viewer to pause and consider the process, for example: Roger Sayre’s photographs, Maureen McQuillan’s hypnotic ink and acrylic pieces, Bruce Halpin’s inexplicably flat colors, and Michael Kukla’s “Star 1”.

 

Michael Kukla, “Star 1”
(2015, marble)

Kukla’s small marble sculpture initially draws you in because of its beauty and mystery. Although literally “set in stone”, it reveals a realm that isn’t limited by time or space, and also leaves you in awe of the process, asking out loud, “How did he do that?”

Among the “Memory” works are the photographs of Roger Sayre, such as “Deirdre 2”,

 

Roger Sayre, “Deirdre 2” 

(2017, C Print)

whose subtle erosions of form have a ghost-like quality. These mysterious, indefinite images challenge our perception of identity, perhaps urging us to wonder if something ceases to exist because our “image” of it has been seriously altered. Sayre might posit that a crystal clear image doesn’t represent a person at all. His subjects sit for an hour-long exposure. Since it is impossible to hold any single expression for that long, all expressions merge into one image, and thus the subject’s “essence” is revealed. 

Although not officially part of this grouping, Josef Zutelgte’s work also investigates memory and identity. His sculpture “Mutter" (German for "mother")

 

Josef Zutelgte, “Mutter” 

(2016, paper, aqua resin)

deals with dementia, and through the use of negative space explores the notion of being “there and not there.”  

Ilene Sunshine’s strange and seductive sculptures are indeed “Ethereal and Elemental.” Pictured here is “A.M. #7”.

 

Ilene Sunshine, “A.M. #7”
(2016, handmade abaca paper over salvaged plastic,
acrylic paint)

The curious and dreamlike quality of her objects also brought back memories of semi-opaque pieces of sea glass found along a shore and all the imagined histories adhered to them.

The repurposing of salvaged objects and materials is a recurring aspect of many of the works, as are the subjects of nature and human interaction with (and impact on) the environment. Maggie Ens’s multi-media works incorporate discarded, manmade objects along with more organic items to create “nature” scenes that challenge reality. Ens adapts the tradition of Still Life. She builds 3D canvasses and employs unconventional constructions, resulting in a tension that is both surprising and satisfying.

 

Maggie Ens, “The Old Soft Shoe”
(2015, mixed media)

Jeanne Heifetz’s “Mottanai” series contemplates preservation and the push to recycle, reuse and repurpose. Mottainai is a Japanese term warning against waste.

 

Jeanne Heifetz, Mottainai 13,
(2016 ink on gampi torinoko paper hand-dyed with indigo)

Other traditional genres that are reimagined in this exhibition are Landscape and Portraiture. Jennifer Krause Chapeau’s rich, moody oil paintings depict landscapes as they are most typically viewed today—in motion, from a commuter’s car or a train.

 

Jennifer Krause Chapeau, “Eolienne II”
(2017, oil on canvas)

A sweet surprise is the charming and sincere portraits by Rajendra Mehta, which the artist notes were painted with a knife. Patricia Fabricant’s deconstructed and decomposed self-portraits, such as “Faceless” investigate the very nature of portraits and the psychology of visual identity.

 

Patricia Fabricant, “Faceless” 

(2017 gouache)

According to the artist, these woven paintings abstract her gaze to reveal a variegated expression of her inner life.

Among my personal favorites are Nupur Nishith’s colorful, portrait-like depictions of real and mythic characters (“Cleopatra” and “Icarus”).

 

Nupur Nishith, “Cleopatra” 

(2016, acrylic on canvas)

Nishith’s work utilizes the traditional motifs and folk-art form of her native Mithila, India, adapting them to contemporary techniques that make the flat, two-dimensional works at once familiar and unique. The bright colors, symbolic designs, and intense detail result in absolutely vibrant work.

When it comes to color, form, and abstraction, there are so many pieces worth noting, but I’ll mention just a few. Amanda Church’s work intertwines form and color, incorporating biomorphic shapes and a funky, artificial palette. Those shapes and unusual colors are evident in “Purple Sleeve”.

 

Amanda Church, “Purple Sleeve” 

(2015 oil on canvas)

Gary Petersen’s edgy geometric painting style creates a sense of fun with colors that are bright, upbeat, and influenced by 1960’s cartoons like The Jetsons.

Gary Petersen, “Don’t Mind Me” 

(2015 acrylic on canvas)

Not to be overlooked are the beautiful effects achieved by both Bill Rybak’s and Sarah Lutz’s color field paintings that utilize a process of layering on color and scraping it away.

 

Bill Rybak, “2-Part Invention” 

(2017, polychrome wood)

Vivid color and complex layering are also at work in Lisa Pressman’s encaustic abstractions, and Eileen Ferara’s mixed-media musings on Nature are lush with texture and color.

Finally, there are a host of others artists and works that stood out for a variety of reasons: Barbara Lubliner’s “Kick” series of monoprints combine curvy, Arp-like shapes with straight edges in an exploration of figure-ground relationships; Anne Trauben’s elegant collages, which somehow manage to be minimalist and romantic;

  

Anne Trauben, “Number One (of 30) 
(2017, paper collage, black gesso) 

Robert Egert’s bold, abstract oil and acrylic paintings; Jackie Schatz’s delightful, floating ceramic forms that are simultaneously figurative and abstract and offer, perhaps, a nod to medieval reliefs (now set free) or to the iconic “Venus of Willendorf;”

 

Jackie Schatz, “A Lost Lady” 

(2017, ceramic)

Mary Valverde’s intricate and ephemeral ink drawings; and the dark but funny collages of Melissa Stern, who describes her own work as “childlike and goofy.” Stern’s wry, ironic bricolage creations, like “New Boyfriend”

 

Melissa Stern, New Boyfriend” 

(2017, paint, collage, graphite)

bring together anthropological depth and an unexpected intimacy to comment on life’s absurdities.

There’s such great work and so much going on in this show.  Unfortunately, the constraints of time and space do not allow me to write about every artist and work. It was extremely difficult to limit my choices because there are so very many works worthy of contemplation. The Big Small Show 2017 delights, inspires, and illustrates the vast, far-reaching range of artistic expression.

The Big Small Show 2017, a recent survey of drawing, painting, sculpture, photography and print at Drawing Rooms by 102 NJ/NY metro area artists in 8 gallery rooms, the hallway and gallery shop, is curated by Anne Trauben and will run through 2/17/18. 

Artists in The Big Small Show 2017 include: 
Alejandro Rubin Panvini, Alice Momm, Alpana Mittal, Amanda Church, Andra Samelson, Ani Rosskam, Ann Giordano, Anne Q. McKeown, Anne Trauben, Annie Varnot, Ashley Lyon, Barbara Lubliner, Beatrice Mady, Bill Leech, Bill Rybak, Bruce Halpin, Caridad Kennedy, Carla Aurich, Cathy Diamond, Christopher Lowry Johnson, Curt Ikens, Dana Kane, David French, Deanna Lee, Deirdre Kennedy, Diane Tenerelli-June, Donna Conklin King, Eileen Ferara, Fran Beallor, Gary Petersen, Greg Letson, Ilene Sunshine, Injoo Whang, Jackie Shatz, Janet Pihblad, Janet Tsakis, Jeanne Heifetz, Jeanne Tremel, Jennifer Krause Chapeau, Jodie Fink, Joe Lugara, Jong Hyun Kwon, Josef Zutelgte, Julian Jackson, Justin Pollmann, Katarina Wong, Katherine Jackson, Katherine Parker, Kathy Cantwell, Katrina Bello, Kit Sailer, Laura Alexander, Laura Lou Levy, Linda Gottesfeld, Linda Schmidt, Lisa Pressman, Lisa Sanders, Liz Atlas, Loura van der Meule, Lucy Meskill, Maggie Ens, Marianne DeAngelis, Marietta Hoferer, Mary Valverde, Maureen McQuillan, Melissa Stern, Michael Endy, Michael Kukla, Michael Moore, Michael Teters, Mona Brody, Nan Ring, Nancy Karpf, Nikolina Kovalenko, Noemie Jennifer, Nupur Nishith, Pam Cooper, Pamela Shipley, Patricia Fabricant, Pauline Galiana, Rajendra Mehta, Rene Lynch, RitaMarie Cimini, Robert Egert, Robin Feld, Roger Sayre, Ruth Hiller, Sarah Lutz, Stephen Cimini, Steve Krasner, Sue Ellen Leys, Sunjin Lee, Tamar Zinn, Terri Amig, Tessa Grundon, Theda Sandiford, Todd Lambrix, Trix Rosen, Wendy Letven, Yael Dresdner, Yuko Nishikawa.

THE BIG SMALL SHOW 2017, 12/15/17 - 2/8/18 is curated by Anne Trauben.

Lindy Judge is a writer and editor. Read her bio here.

Honoring Margaret: The Work of Margaret Weber, 9/22/17 - 11/11/17, at Drawing Rooms

by Midori Yoshimoto, Ph.D.
10/6/17

The birds are embodiments of the threatened world of nature and a spiritual aspect or projection of humans, an alter ego, in a sense: knowing and vulnerable.

                                                                       - Margaret Weber

Dark Passage #1, 18” x 18”

Intaglio ink, Caran d’Ache neocolor crayon on paper.

In the over thirty works by Margaret Weber which are on view at the Drawing Rooms, certain over-arching themes emerge. Nature, as well as man’s interaction with it, and concerns over environmental and human destruction predominate. In the first room, a hawk is hailed as a harbinger, carrying a small human skull on a stem over what appears to be a deluge. According to the artist’s statement, this series of intaglio prints from 2013, entitled, Dark Passage, asks a question: “Will nature carry on despite human destruction?” The question is even more poignant now that politicians and corporations do not even acknowledge the effects of global warming and the fact that it is largely caused by human destruction and pollutions. Weber titled her 2013 catalog, published by Victory Hall Press, “Birds of Pray,” turning the usual predatory birds—hawks, falcons, owls— into prophetic seers of human destruction, while still holding out a hope for some force behind man, a divine force, delivering us from ourselves.

Birdcage

Birds are part of several recurring motifs throughout this modest, yet thought-provoking retrospective exhibition - dedicated to Weber, who unfortunately passed away last year due to cancer. Since Weber moved to Jersey City from New York City in the early 1970s, she completed both undergraduate and graduate studies in Fine Art at the Jersey City State College (now New Jersey City University), and taught art at Jersey City’s public schools for nearly three decades. Because of her devotion to art education and art advocacy for the emerging artists’ community in Jersey City (including co-founding of Drawing Rooms), she is honored by this posthumous exhibition.   

The Flea and The Mortal

Painting, Collage, and Intaglio, 2007

Weber repeated her favored motifs, of birds, birdcages, helicopters, and various body parts because she ran an intaglio studio and was able to utilize the same intaglio plates to create multiple impressions. She would often cut out her prints and collage them with found paper, textile, feathers, and other materials. In one of the largest works in the exhibition, a diptych entitled, Song of Icarus, helicopters emerge out of the body of a goddess-like figure who has actual bird feathers for hair, while a large hawk covered with human hair is falling into the ocean as Icarus did in the Greek myth. By exchanging some of human characteristics with those of a bird, Weber sought to evoke both the “bond and rupture” between human and animal nature. (Weber, p. 46). By creating a warm tonality of bright colors in this diptych, however, she embedded elements of hope in an otherwise fatalistic scene.

 Double Feathered Eye

Weber’s interest in Greek myths and her ability to connect them to contemporary social and political concerns recalls Nancy Spero and her drawings/collages. Like Spero, some of Weber’s work centered on the symbolism of female bodies, visualized as fragmented body parts. Mixing personal and political concerns echoed the strategy of the feminist art movement as well. A couple of her works also contain the motif of fists, expressing the power to resist and fight. An exhibition like this will hopefully inspire younger audiences who are distraught in the current political climate to find their own voices and the means by which to express them.

Red Fist

Reference: Margaret Weber, Birds of Pray (Jersey City: Victory Hall Press, 2016).

Honoring Margaret: The Work of Margaret Weber, 9/22/17 - 11/11/17, features drawing, collage and prints by Margaret Weber. The exhibit is curated by Anne Trauben.

Midori Yoshimoto is Gallery Director and Associate Professor of Art History at New Jersey City University. Read more about Midori here.