Exploring Our Connection is this year’s New Jersey Arts Annual. This is a juried exhibit open to artists through the state. The exhibit rotates to different art museums in New Jersey. This year it was in the Montclair Art Museum.
One of the most compelling parts of the exhibit is the artists’ statements that accompany each work. I’ve included some excerpts from those statements in the captions below.
Mom, Copie Rodriguez (Garfield). Rodriguez’ portrait of his mother includes a family tree with family photos. “I wanted to preserve my mother’s memory and our connection to our roots and humble beginnings.”Una historia gringa, Jonathan Yubi Gomez (Bergenfield). A construction crew on the tracks of 86th Street Station in Manhattan. “Two workers gore a klansman, a third holds his hood, and others brandish pikes. Two flags wave gallantly — one representing my motherland, the other my fatherland.”Road Trip, Janice Belove (Montclair).”A few years ago, our family took a three-week cross-country road trip… The mega-mess in the minivan created a record of the family on the go, in the confined space.”La Rogativa, Brandon Bravo (Metuchen). “The imposing figures casting shadows over my cousin symbolize the iconic statue La Rogativa, located in Old San Juan, which commemorates a women-led religious procession in 1797. La Rogativa is a tribute to Puerto Rico’s enduring spirit and a reflection of our collective journey.”The Handshake, Johanna Foster (Montclair). “In this painting, I render a gesture of deep connection between my husband and our infant daughter, an image taken from a nearly 25-year-old photograph…My sister and brother-in-law…together apart!, Susan Sinek (Fort Lee). “My sister and brother-in-law…are posing on a bench in Morocco…very staid and serious…they are both very successful. They are very much together and in their work they are very much apart.”James Oliver Jones, Jr., Grace Graupe-Pillard (Keyport).”I met James Oliver Jones, Jr., on a street in the East Village in 1985. Forty years later we reconnected on social media and I found him as powerful and beautiful a presence now as he was then.”Before Leaving, Meira Pomerantz (Fort Lee). “ The linoleum cut print..presents a familiar image of a mother enfolding and being embraced by her children. It is statement of human emotion and caring between the individuals.”The Global Village Series #1, Mesma Belsari (Guttenberg). “I consider the world a village where families and communities are perpetually in flux. Global Village Series #1 is a continuation of that idea in pen and ink. The pen dreams in ink.”Nido and Smidoo, Ben Goldman (Weehawken). “My two portraits in this exhibition provide a snippet of the great diversity of my Northern Hudson County community. My friend Nido Gula lives in a neighboring town and cleans my home. My friend and neighbor Arthur ‘Smidoo’ Smith is often called the mayor of this block.Code Switching Mask, robin holder (West Milford). “…almost all successful people of color practice code switching. It is an innovative, often obligatory, strategy of successfully navigating the workplace, society, and social platforms that are predominately white, privileged and empowered.”Black Mirror, Kristin Kunc (Atlantic Highlands). “Black Mirror is inspired by the news, media, and complacency. It is a painting of my son, though it could be any child or oneself, and what is colloquially known as the television, aka the black mirror. Rather than go outside and enjoy a beautiful day, we are trapped by our own reflections, our own insecurities, and our own black void of overbearing information and entertainment that we sit silently waiting and watching.”Just Tell the Truth (LOOK!), Lawrence Ciarallo (Hoboken). “I wanted to create a graphic that would address the long and sordid yet passionately determined history of the United States. The multicolored background and flowers are intended to convey that beauty. It has always existed and persevered despite many obstacles.”CITYSCAPE-UPHEAVAL, Grace Graupe-Pillard (Keyport). “CITYSCAPE-UPHEAVAL communicates my visceral response to a world where black lives are ‘obliterated,’ fighting for the very rights that the Constitution bestows upon all Americans.”The Invisibles: Sanctuary City, Karen Cunningham (Princeton). “The Invisibles portrays recent migrant arrivals to New York City, bused in from New Jersey, mixing into the urban landscape with the city’s longstanding homeless population.”Tomas, Danielle Scott (Jersey City). “Tomas is the visual interpretation of the beautiful relationship between Angola and Cuba. Tomas is a depiction of joy, pain, and courage. Tomas is our history. The images behind Tomas are old slave markets in downtown Luanda, Fortaleza de Sao Miguel (where slaves were rolled from the top of the Fort to the bottom landing on Flores street).”4 Fashion Girls, Maria Mijares (Plainfield). “4 Fashion Girls depicts my friends Yvette and Deanna in a fitting room next to framed wall decor 50s looking photograph of two models. The style of the past contrasts the fashion of our day.”
Thanks for including the artist statements in the captions. What a brilliant concept by Copie Rodriguez (Garfield). I would commission an artist to do a family tree portrait like that for my family,
off the leash 
Thanks for including the artist statements in the captions. What a brilliant concept by Copie Rodriguez (Garfield). I would commission an artist to do a family tree portrait like that for my family,
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I can see why you said the artists’ statements were compelling. They really enhance the appreciation of the art. I like all of the pieces.
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