MERCER COUNTY ARTISTS 2016 to Open Next Week at MCCC

The talents of 55 Mercer County artists will be on display at the Gallery at Mercer County Community College (MCCC) in "Mercer County Artists 2016," which runs from February 22 to March 24. (The Gallery will be closed during MCCC's Spring Break, March 14 to 18.) The Gallery at Mercer is located on the second floor of the Communications Building on Mercer's West Windsor campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road.

The community is invited to an Opening Reception and Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, Feb. 24 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. The ceremony will begin at approximately 5:45 p.m., with representatives from the college, the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission, and the West Windsor Arts Council on hand to make presentations. More than $1,500 in prizes will be announced, including the "Blick Art Supplies Best in Show" award, plus multiple Purchase Awards from the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission. Artwork selected for Purchase Awards will become part of the county's permanent collection.

The show features 70 works in a variety of media selected from 215 pieces submitted by 121 artists. "The enthusiastic response this year was similar to past years, reminding us of the breadth and depth of talent in our county," MCCC Gallery Director Dylan Wolfe said. "It is an honor and privilege for MCCC to host a show that draws so many talented artists."

The juror for the exhibit was Jesse Vincent, Education Coordinator at Artworks Trenton, where she coordinates and develops adult and youth education programming, as well as instructs artistic enrichment workshops for Artworks Print Studio. Vincent also serves as Assistant Curator for Sales Gaspillée, one of Philadelphia's First Friday art shows. Her work has been acknowledged in multiple juried shows and continues to be installed in gallery spaces and windows including Prince Street Gallery in New York City and the Foundry Art Centre in St. Charles, MO. Her work is displayed on several abandoned buildings in Trenton as part of the beautification project "Windows of Soul."

In her juror's statement, Vincent said, "While walking amidst a sea of color and content, I was reminded of Mercer County's plethora of talented artists...being presented with over 200 pieces of artwork and having to narrow it down by such a vast number is quite a challenge. Coming from an installation background, I wanted to make sure the exhibit reflected more than just one specific medium or subject matter.

"At the end of the day, I would like for each and every participating artist to applaud themselves for continuing to pursue their dreams and inspiring all those who view this incredible exhibit."

Featured artists are: John O. Aaen of Princeton, Priscilla Algava of Princeton, Robert Allard of Hamilton, Samila Bhatia of West Windsor, Mechtild Bitter of Princeton, John Brecko Jr. of Ewing, Raymond Brown of East Windsor, Sean Carney of Ewing, Larry Chestnut of Hamilton, Sue Chiu of Lawrenceville, Chris Cooper of Lawrenceville, Katja De Ruyter of Princeton, Mary Dolan of Princeton, Joseph H. Dougherty of Pennington, Cheryl Eng of Lawrenceville, Laura Friesel of Ewing, Mary Gilchrist of Hamilton, Trudy Glucksberg of Princeton, Edgardo Gonzalez of Lawrenceville, Jamie Greenfield of Lawrenceville, Jamaila Hernandez of Franklin Park, Cornelia Huellstrunk of Princeton, Roseanne Kanter of Lawrenceville, Jo Krish of Princeton Junction, Sejal Krishnan of Princeton, Ronald A. LeMahieu of Princeton, Eleni Z. Litt of Princeton, Orlando Lonza of Hightstown, Susan Luty of Hightstown, Helene Mazur of Princeton, Lucretia E. McGuff-Silverman of Roosevelt, Marge Miccio of Trenton, Arlene Gale Milgram of Trenton, R.A. Mitchell of Trenton, Leni Morante of Mercerville, Gabi Muenzel of Plainsboro, Caryn Newman of Ewing, Jason Norton of Mercerville, David Orban of Trenton, Elizabeth Peck of West Windsor, Jessica Petty of Forked River, Helene Plank of Lawrenceville, Harold Popowitz of East Windsor, Janis Purcell of East Windsor, Nevin Schleider of Hamilton, Janet Marion Simmons of Plainsboro, Alice Sims-Gunzenhauser of Lawrenceville, Allison Singer of Princeton Junction, Iwona Skiba of Hamilton, Kyle Stevenson of Point Pleasant, Emily Vickers of Hopewell, Andrew Werth of Princeton Junction, Mark Wilkie of Hamilton, Mary Yess of Trenton, and Ewa Zeller of Trenton.

Gallery hours are Mondays through Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with Wednesday hours extended until 7 p.m.

The exhibition is co-sponsored by and supported through a grant from the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission, with funding from the New Jersey State Council of the Arts/ Department of State, a partner of the National Endowment for the Arts.

For more information about this and other exhibits at the MCCC Gallery, visit www.mccc.edu/gallery. Directions to the campus and a campus map can be found at www.mccc.edu.

Pictured: "Winter Fields - Assunpink" (oil on canvas) by Larry Chestnut of Hamilton is featured in "Mercer County Artists 2016," coming to the MCCC Gallery February 22 to March 24. Photo by Ivana Airo.

To post a comment, you must register and login.