(TRENTON, NJ) -- As part of its ongoing First Friday series of art openings, Roebling Gallery will exhibit the work of Lori Johansson and Katja Valeur at Roebling Lofts, 71 Clark Street, Trenton. "Consciously Two" is the chance for us to take a step back and listen to two incredibly talented women in a changing society. This exhibition runs April 5th through May 31st. This show exemplifies Roebling Gallery’s mission to fuse the local and regional art scenes.
“Consciously Two isn’t just a play on words, it's an exploration into color, shape, pop culture, and community by two women who are in-sync with their immediate environment.” says curator Edwin J. Torres. “Whether It’s Lori and her close work in the Trenton community or Katja and her connection to family, history, and the news environment, both demonstrate a tremendous ability to connect and make socially conscious work.”
Lori Johansson is a multimedia artist living in Trenton, New Jersey. She draws creative inspiration from her environment, compelled by nature and concepts of humanity to create art. Her work varies in materials, but she is currently focused on spray painting, acrylics, and watercolors. Johansson graduated from Goucher College with a BA in Studio Art and Honors in Art. She also studied art abroad in Italy through the SUNY Buffalo State Study Abroad Program: Art and Architecture at the University of Siena.
Katja Valeur is based in New Brunswick and works with a variety of materials on canvas, wood or found substrates. Acrylics, oils, spray paint, ink, chalk, crayon, powdered glass and shredded rubber might be found in any given piece. She also makes frequent use of hand‐cut stencils, which appear in multiple pieces. Another key element is typography, either handwritten or stenciled, incorporating words from several languages, most often Danish, English or Arabic. The written word is not always a message, but sometimes used as form, shape, or pattern. Valeur draws inspiration from her immediate surroundings, including conversations, news, history, nature, and her four children.
Roebling Gallery is located in the lobby of Roebling Lofts, Trenton's greenest loft community. The 138 loft units provide exceptional comfort, finishes, and sustainability, converted from an historic, 1917 factory of the John A. Roebling Sons Company that closed in the 1970s. The building was completely renovated during its conversion to a multi-family rental building completed in November, 2017. Rents start at $1,399/month.