(SOUTH ORANGE, NJ) -- The South Orange Performing Arts Center’s Herb and Milly Iris Gallery is currently exhibiting work from New Jersey artist Joe Waks. The exhibit features mixed-media paintings with imagery from a by-gone era that sends the mind spinning into thought-provoking commentary about today’s world. Waks’ “ Kwalité Paintings” show, on display through April 27, contains 17 artistic renderings of juxtaposed images that become social commentary. Waks describes himself as a painter/bon vivant/provocateur who creates works that titillate, inspire and/or annoy both serfs and royalty alike, and his wit and irreverence shine through in his paintings.
Waks’ mixed media paintings serve as an observation on the interconnected world we inhabit. His work reflects our universal consumerist ethos by presenting us with a “re-contextualized” ideal of the icons and emblems, common amongst disparate civilizations that share planet earth.
This narrative, along with lively execution, are what Gallery Curator Jeremy Moss knew would resonate with audiences at the Herb & Milly Iris Gallery at SOPAC. Moss noted, “I enjoy the fact that art patrons will be thoughtfully provoked by the subject matter of these mixed-media paintings.”
Joe Waks is a largely self-taught painter, photographer and printmaker who resides in beautiful Bayonne, New Jersey. He is also an attorney who has worked at the highest levels of local, state and federal government in his beloved Garden State. Waks’ mixed media creations underscore his passion for politics and popular culture.
Joe Waks was a 2008 New Jersey Print and Paper Fellow at the Brodsky Center for Innovative Editions at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. He has had numerous solo and group shows at galleries in New Jersey and New York, including two highly successful solo exhibitions in 2010. His works are in private collections in New York City, Los Angeles and many others in the United States and Canada. Waks is also in the permanent collection of the Jersey City Museum, and Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide, part of one of the largest public relations agencies, recently acquired several of his paintings for its renowned collection.
The South Orange Performing Arts Center’s Herb and Milly Iris Gallery will host a closing reception for the current exhibition, Joe Waks’ “Kwalité Paintings” on Sunday, April 22 from noon-3 p.m.
The Herb & Milly Iris Gallery brings contemporary art to the community, providing artists opportunities to reach new audiences. The Gallery is designed for moviegoers, theater enthusiasts, art lovers, and all citizens of South Orange alike to have an opportunity to further enrich their cultural lives. The Gallery is the impetus of former SOPAC Board of Governor’s member Milly Iris who had an extensive art collection, was an art teacher, and the former owner/director of South Orange’s Whichcraft Gallery. Along with her husband Herb, Milly was a longtime supporter of SOPAC.
SOPAC is located at One SOPAC Way in South Orange, New Jersey.
