Artworks Trenton
19 Everett Alley and South Stockton Street, Trenton. www.artworkstrenton.org.
Artworks Trenton and its artistic director, Addison Vincent, are the curators behind “Trenton Makes 2.0,” currently on view at Capital Health, Hopewell. An opening reception takes place Tuesday, October 1, from 5 to 6 p.m.
The exhibit showcases the works of established and up-and-coming artists from the Trenton visual art community. In a statement on its website, Artworks notes, “As a post-industrial city with the slogan, ‘Trenton Makes, the World Takes,’ artists from the region have embraced the slogan, using it as a catalyst for a new industry to lift the city, visual art. From contemporary, street, public and new media arts, Trenton has been undergoing a rebirth, with organizations like Artworks Trenton leading the way for the next generation of artists.” Through December 31.
One of Artworks’ signature art events, Art All Day, returns on Saturday, September 21, from noon to 6 p.m. The popular annual event features live mural painting, opportunities to visit art studios and galleries throughout the city, cycling activities, and more.
Arts Council of Princeton
“Intersecting Identities” features works by Isabel Nazario, Julio Nazario, and Rodríguez Calero These three artists have distinguished careers in the visual arts. The three work from a consciousness of their Puerto Rican heritage, using it to interrogate issues of immigration, cultural crossover, violence, and place. The three represent the strong presence and impact of New Jersey’s Latinx cultural community. Through September 28.
The paintings in the series “As Above, So Below” by Douglas Florian play with movement against stasis, symmetry against asymmetry, and density against expansiveness, in confined organic spaces that reference cosmology, typography, cartography, calligraphy, textile design, and illuminated manuscripts. They also exhibit variations within a restricted format and are sequential in form and feeling. Through September 28.
Charles Evans Scholars, an exhibit of artworks created by 2024 scholarship winners, features artists Maggie Collins, Eve Kavookjian, Alessandra Kime, Olivia Navarrete, Avantika Palayekar, El Teo, Drew Trenfield, and Vishaka Vaidyanathan. Through September 28.
Patrick McDonnell says of his exhibit, “The Super Hero’s Journey”: “These paintings, of acrylic latex, oil stick, ink, and collage are a continuation of the story of self-discovery told in my graphic novel, ‘The Super Hero’s Journey,’ which I created for Marvel and Abrams Books.” McDonnell is the creator of the comic strip MUTTS and a New York Times best selling and Caldecott Honor winning children’s book author. An opening reception takes place Saturday, November 16, from 3 to 5 p.m. A book signing and author’s talk takes place Saturday, November 30, at 3 p.m. November 9 through December 7.
102 Witherspoon Street, Princeton. www.artscouncilofprinceton.org.
West Windsor Arts Council
West Windsor Arts is welcoming artists from the Art Alliance of Monmouth County by hosting a special Invitational Art Show. An opening reception takes place Friday, September 13, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
“This show represents a new endeavor that West Windsor Arts is making to highlight the work of artists who are members of an artist association from another part of our state. By doing this, we are able to expand our artist network, introduce these artists to new audiences, and hopefully bring more awareness, excitement and opportunity to the art scene of our region,” says Aylin Green, executive director of West Windsor Arts.
Elaine Shor, principal officer of the Art Alliance of Monmouth County, will speak at the opening reception. Shor is among the exhibiting artists, who also include Maureen O’Shea Carroll, Francis Owens, Jane Gavaghen, Eileen Kennedy, Christopher Evan Taylor, and Monica Wolf.
The show’s juror, Joy Kreves, is a mixed-media artist whose works explore the human-earth connection. Through November 2.
952 Alexander Road, West Windsor. www.westwindsorarts.org.
Trenton City Museum
The Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie Mansion in Cadwalader Park is currently showing “Ellarslie Open 41,” the juried show featuring works by artists living in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. This year’s juror was Kimberly Camp. On view through October 6.
The biennial Mercer County Photography Exhibition returns to Ellarslie this year. The juror is Gary D. Saretzky, an archivist, educator, and photographer who taught photography and the history of photography at Mercer County Community College from 1977 to 2012. October 12 through December 1.
Cadwalader Park, Trenton. Thursday through Saturday, noon to 4 p.m., Sunday 1 to 4 p.m. Free. 609-989-3632 or www.ellarslie.org.
Morven Museum & Garden
“Morven Revealed: Untold Stories from New Jersey’s Most Historic Home” is part of Morven’s celebration of its 20th anniversary as a museum. “What do we uncover when we consider the everyday moments that made Morven a home for over two hundred years?” museum materials ask. “By showing rarely exhibited objects and newly discovered photographs, the museum’s second floor galleries will take a thematic look at subjects recognizable to many American families: childhood, hosting guests, pets, fashion, and more.” On view through March 2, 2025.
55 Stockton Street, Princeton. Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. $8 to $10. 609-924-8144 or www.morven.org.
The New Jersey State Museum
“Discovering Grant Castner: The Lost Archive of a New Jersey Photographer” invites viewers to experience New Jersey history through a recently discovered archive of photographic negatives that once belonged to a prolific, but long-forgotten, local photographer. Through September 15.
“Bark! Indigenous Cultural Expression” explores the use of bark through objects from the museum’s ethnographic collection. Indigenous communities all over the world harvest bark as a source of food, medicine, everyday objects and works of art. On view through January 5, 2025.
“Robert Duran: A Survey” allows visitors to trace the arc of Duran’s evolutions and experiments in painting, drawing, and watercolor from roughly 1967 to the late 1990s. Born in California, Duran (1938-2005) moved to New York and later settled in Hillsdale, New Jersey, with his family. This exhibition seeks to reintroduce this artist to the public primarily through the most significant record of his life available: his paintings and works on paper. Opening October 19.
Also on view are “Written in the Rocks: Fossil Tales of New Jersey,” a showcase of fossils and New Jersey dinosaurs, and “American Perspectives: The Fine Art Collection,” featuring the work of important American and New Jersey artists.
205 West State Street, Trenton. Tuesdays through Sundays, 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Free; donations requested. www.statemuseumnj.gov.
Grounds For Sculpture
The current exhibit is “Slow Motion,” an indoor and outdoor art exhibition curated by Monument Lab that reimagines the material possibilities of public memory. Artists featured are known for their use of unconventional materials and processes in the creation of sculptures. On view through September 1, 2025.
80 Sculptors Way, Hamilton, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. $12 to $25. www.groundsforsculpture.org.
Gallery 14
The fine art photography gallery presents a Members’ Exhibition of Fine Art Photography. A meet the artists reception takes place Sunday, September 15, from 1 to 3 p.m.
The special exhibit features works in all photographic styles and perspectives: landscapes, animals, flora, abstracts, black and white, color. “Laid out in salon style the viewer will move through an ongoing mixture of images and subjects. I always enjoy and look forward to a salon show because of the variety of artistic work” says member/curator Charles Miller. “It really gives the viewer a chance to see and understand the full range of the printed art form.”
The exhibit features works by all of the member artists: Alina Marin-Bliach, West Windsor; John Clarke, Pennington; Charles Miller, Ringoes; Philip “Dutch” Bagley, Elkins Park, PA; Martin Schwartz, East Windsor; Joel Blum, East Windsor; John Strintzinger, Elkins Park, PA; Mary Leck, Kendall Park; Barbara Warren, Yardley, PA; David Ackerman, Hopewell; Scott Hoerl, Yardley, PA; Bennett Povlov, Elkins Park, PA; Rebecca DePorte, Hopewell; and Samuel Vovsi, Princeton. On view September 14 through 29.
14 Mercer Street, Hopewell. Open Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 5 p.m., and by appointment. www.gallery14.org.
Princeton University Art Museum
“Helène Aylon: Undercurrent” brings together 20 works from Aylon’s 50-year career to emphasize the strong undercurrent of receptivity and resilience that unifies her oeuvre. On view September 14 through February 2, 2025.
Art@Bainbridge, at the historic Bainbridge House, 158 Nassau Street, Princeton.
“Under a Southern Star: Identity and Environment in Australian Photography” showcases the work of 12 contemporary Australian artists together with earlier, iconic photographs related to Australia’s history. On view through January 5, 2025.
Art on Hulfish, 11 Hulfish Street, Princeton.
More information: artmuseum.princeton.edu.
College of New Jersey
RE/NEW: The 2024 TCNJ Faculty Biennial features works by Anita Allyn, Chung Sum Chak, Quinn Collins, Belinda Haikes, Kenneth Kaplowitz, Kyle LoPinto, Elizabeth Mackie, and Elizabeth Van Der Heijden. On view through October 20.
TCNJ Art Gallery, Art & Interactive Multimedia Building, the College of New Jersey, 2000 Pennington Road, Ewing. tcnjartgallery.tcnj.edu.
D&R Greenway Land Trust
D&R Greenway Land Trust, in partnership with CJ Mugavero of The Artful Deposit Gallery in Bordentown, hosts the exhibit “Along the Delaware River and Crosswicks Creek.”
Art has a long history of portraying life and the beauty along the Delaware River. From Lenape woodcarvings to the New Hope Art Colony, the Delaware River Valley has been home to creative work for thousands of years. Works like “The Delaware River at Prallsville” by Jeff Gola and “The Run” by Shawn Campbell show the level of inspiration the Delaware can instill.
This multi-media exhibit features a display by regional artists depicting the magnificence of the Delaware River and its tributary, Crosswicks Creek. Artists on display use a wide variety of mediums.
“We are lucky to have such a diverse group of artists on display in the exhibit,” said CJ Mugavero, owner and gallerist of The Artful Deposit Gallery. “These artists are fantastic at what they do and it’s enriching to see these works up close.”
“Art can stimulate action by inspiring people to care,” said Linda Mead, President and CEO of D&R Greenway Land Trust. “Works about our environment, like the ones in our current exhibit, are perfect to share D&R Greenway and Trust’s core value to protect land and the water that is the lifeblood of our communities.” On view through September 27.
Johnson Education Center, 1 Preservation Place, Princeton. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free. www.drgreenway.org.
Trenton Artists Workshop Association
The Trenton Artists Workshop Association (TAWA) and the Trenton Free Public Library present the exhibition “Art by Two Generations of Trenton Artists” at the Trenton Free Public Library. This is a continuation of the “Fresh Art” series that showcases the talent of area artists and is slated to continue as an ongoing series. An opening reception is set for Saturday, September 21, from 2 to 4 p.m. and a meet-the-artist event is scheduled for Tuesday, December 17, from 2 to 4 p.m. The two noted mother and son artists are Peggy Peplow Gummere and John Gummere.
Peggy Peplow Gummere (born 1912) was raised in Trenton and lived there until she retired to Maine at the end of her life. She studied art at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where she majored in illustration. While at PAFA, she was awarded the prestigious Cresson Traveling Scholarship, and spent two summers studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in Fontainebleau, France.
Traveling in Europe between World War I and World War II gave her a rare view of history in the making, which shows in her many lithographic crayon drawings at the time. PAFA in the early 20th century had a strong impressionist influence, but her work showed a stronger tendency toward the neo-classical style prevalent among artists at Fontainebleau.
She created illustrations for a variety of local clients, and in the 1960s she taught art at St. Anthony’s High School and Stuart School in Princeton. In the early 1970s she created the “Trenton Suite,” a series of limited-edition prints of her ink drawings of Trenton landmarks. Peggy Peplow Gummere was best known around Trenton and Princeton for her portraits of the area’s civic, business, and religious leaders. A number of her portraits of state judges hang in the Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex on Market Street.
John Gummere (born 1955) earned his BA in Architecture from Columbia University, and later studied in the Four-Year Certificate Program at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he graduated in 1996. John grew up in Trenton and now lives in Morrisville, Pennsylvania. He paints with oils on canvas or panels in a representational style, with an emphasis on city scenes, landscapes, and interior compositions. On view September 16 through December 17.
Trenton Free Public Library, 120 Academy Street, Trenton. Mondays through Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 609-392-7188.
More information on the Trenton Artists Workshop Association can be found on the organization’s Facebook page.
Princeton University Library
“Monsters & Machines: Caricature, Visual Satire, and the Twentieth-Century Bestiary” examines the global use of bestiary in visual satire during the period from the beginning of World War I through the end of the Cold War. The exhibition is curated by a team of PUL librarians: Thomas Keenan, Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies Librarian; Lidia Santarelli, Librarian for History, New York University; Deborah Schlein, Near Eastern Studies Librarian; and Alain St. Pierre, Librarian for History, History of Science, and African Studies.
Materials from the exhibit state: “Bestiary is most often associated with the medieval period, when artists and authors commonly presented images of real and mythical animals as embodiments of moral nobility or degradation. This practice persisted in caricature art of the ensuing centuries and eventually found new life in 19th and 20th-century broadsides, posters, and illustrated periodicals.”
“The period between World War I and the end of the Cold War was a time of ideologically-fueled hostilities of unprecedented scale and destructive consequence that eventually brought humanity to the brink of self-annihilation. This is the period historian Eric Hobsbawn called “the age of extremes,” said Thomas Keenan. On view from September 12.
Milberg Gallery, Firestone Library. Open weekdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and weekends, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. library.princeton.edu/monstersandmachines.
Lewis Center for the Arts, Princeton University
“Poetic Record: Photography in a Transformed World” is co-curated by Deana Lawson and Michael Famighetti, editor-in-chief of Aperture magazine.
Featured work is by artists David Benjamin Sherry, Jenny Calivas, Sara Cwynar, Seiichi Furuya, Paul Graham, Balarama Heller, Arthur Jafa, Liz Johnston Artur, Deana Lawson, Ken Light, Sally Mann, Louis Mendes, Boris Mikhailov, Richard Mosse, Trevor Paglen, Lucy Raven, Stefan Ruiz, Matthew Schreiber, Allan Sekula, Lieko Shiga, Taryn Simon, James Welling, and Jeff Whetstone. On view October 1 through December 5.
Hurley Gallery at Lewis Arts complex on the Princeton University campus, 122 Alexander Street. Open daily 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. arts.princeton.edu.
