VACNJ to Host A Conversation With Gabriele Evertz, Robert Swain, Sanford Wurmfeld, And Matthew Deleget
By: Julie Musbach Mar. 15, 2018
The Visual Arts Center of New Jersey's current exhibition, Radiant Energy, showcases the work of Gabriele Evertz, Robert Swain, and Sanford Wurmfeld, artists who all create work that challenges viewers to see color differently. On Sunday, March 25, from 3-5 PM these artists will be joined by artist, curator, and gallery director Matthew Deleget for a conversation on their work and their relationship to color. All three exhibiting artists are longtime members of the renowned "Hunter Color School," a group of painters who taught (or continue to teach) at New York's Hunter College. While they all utilize different geometric elements (squares, rectangles, stripes or bands, grids, and lines) they all explore how the interaction of color creates physical and emotional responses in the viewer. This event is free and open to all ages.
Artist Bios:
Gabriele Evertz is a German-born, American artist who lives and works in Brooklyn. She holds an MFA in painting and a BA in art history, from Hunter College, in New York. Since 1990, Evertz has exhibited her work in solo and group exhibitions internationally and throughout the United States. In 2017, her work was featured at 499 Park Avenue / The Lobby Gallery in Manhattan and at MINUS SPACE in Brooklyn. Evertz's paintings are included in many public and private collections worldwide. She has an extensive bibliography as her work has been reviewed in many prominent publications. In addition to her painting practice, Evertz is a Professor of Art in the Department of Art and Art History at Hunter College in New York
Robert Swain is one of the most influential artists of his generation. He was born in Austin, Texas, in 1940, and grew up in Arlington, Virginia. In 1966, Swain began his first color-based work followed a year later by his first work utilizing the grid. He participated in his first group exhibition, Light and Line, organized by John Baldwin at the legendary Park Place Gallery in New York City in 1967. That same year he met sculptor Tony Smith who became his close friend and mentor for many years. In 1969, Swain began to develop his own color system, a project that continues until today. Swain has exhibited his work nationally and internationally for more than 40 years. His paintings have been including in countless landmark exhibitions. In addition to his artistic work, Swain taught in the Department of Art & Art History at Hunter College from 1968-2014, where he educated and mentored countless generations of artists.
Sanford Wurmfeld has exhibited his work worldwide in solo and group exhibitions since the late 1960s. In 1968 Wurmfeld was the youngest artist included in the landmark exhibition Art of the Real curated by Eugene Goossen at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Wurmfeld has lectured and written extensively on the history of color, painting, and abstraction. He has received awards from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, City University of New York, and Dartmouth College. Wurmfeld's work is included in collections worldwide. In addition to his artistic work, Wurmfeld taught in the Department of Art at Hunter College from 1967-2012, where he educated and mentored countless generations of artists.
In addition to being the Director of MINUS SPACE, Matthew Deleget is also currently an Artist Consultant with the Creative Capital Foundation's Professional Development Program. He is a member of American Abstract Artists, the Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation's Artist Advisory Committee, and the board of The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts. From 1998-2009, Matthew worked at the New York Foundation for the Arts where he founded and directed all of the organization's information programs and initiatives for and about artists working in all disciplines. Deleget is also an artist himself and exhibits his own work extensively in the US and internationally.
About the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey
For 85 years, the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey has been exclusively dedicated to viewing, making, and learning about contemporary art. Recognized as a leading non-profit arts organization, the Art Center's renowned studio school, acclaimed exhibitions, and educational outreach initiatives serve thousands of youth, families, seniors, and people with special needs every year.
Major support for the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey is provided in part by the Walter V. & Judith L. Shipley Family Foundation, the Wilf Family Foundations, and Art Center members and donors.
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