(MONTCLAIR, NJ) -- Studio Montclair—still going strong despite the obstacles of COVID 19-- will present one of its largest and most distinguished exhibits--the 24th Annual Open Juried Exhibition, “ViewPoints 2021.” It will run from April 23 through May 28, 2021, at Studio Montclair Gallery. An in-person opening reception (with COVID precautions) will take place on Sunday, April 25 from 2:00pm-4:30pm. Additionally, there will be a Zoom reception on Saturday, April 24 at 7:00pm, during which time cash awards will be presented.
This year’s exhibit features 46 works selected from over 800 that were submitted. They reflect a vast range of mediums, materials, subject matter, and themes, but above all they comment on the difficulties we have faced during this singular year.
According to juror Eleanna Anagnos, “Many works were executed with the skill and sensitivity of trained eyes and hands. While nearly perfect, these were not always the works I chose. I chose artwork that either spoke to the difficulties we are facing right now with social distancing, loneliness, homelife, or the inequities and discriminatory practices of racial profiling which have become increasingly more evident.”
Other works selected by Anagnos are distinctive due to their breaking of conventions within an art historical context. Among them are a pair of photographs that “read” as paintings, and a pair of Brutalist-inspired sculptures which defy expectations with their small stature and use of vivid color. Says Anagnos, “[Some] work I chose exhibited artists with promise and potential. My aim is to encourage these artists by including them in this exhibition.” Visitors to “ViewPoints 2021” will be richly rewarded with artwork from nearly every corner of the U.S. that will challenge and inspire them.
Participating Artists include: Charlene Avery, Roxanne Baechler, Emily Barnett, Meaghan Bates, Amy Becker, Tina Bernstein, Martin Brief, Marieken Cochius, Michael Connors, Darby Dawid, Billy Dietz, Antoinette Ellis-Williams, Adam Erlbaum, Eva Marie Fitzsimmons, Bennett Gewirtz, Allan Gorman, John Gummere, Linda Brooks Hirschman, Valerie Huhn, Gerald Hushlak, Erin Karp, Robin Keller, Shoshana Kertesz, Ann Kraus, Paula Marino, Bud McNichol, Ruth Bauer Neustadter, Arianne Petersen, Marisa Picardo, John Power, Jack Quinn, Akil Roper, Rebecca Lea Rosenheck, Theda Sandiford, Mark Sengbusch, Francisco Silva, Stephen Spiller, Peter Tilgner, Rhonda Urdang, Miroslav Vrzala, Emily Woo, Harold Zabady.
Eleanna Anagnos is a New York-based curator, lecturer, critic, professor and artist. Anagnos has been a co-director at Ortega y Gasset Projects, an artist-run gallery and curatorial collective located in Brooklyn, NY, since 2014. Her curatorial projects have been featured in the New York Times, Art in America, and the New York Observer, and, most recently, has been a visiting critic at the NARS Foundation and Brooklyn College. As an artist, she has exhibited her work nationally and internationally and has received numerous awards, grants, and residencies including the Rauschenberg Foundation Residency, Yaddo Fellow, the Joan Mitchell Foundation, and the Grant Wood Fellow. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Hyperallergic, Artsy, and Artnet. Ms. Anagnos earned her MFA in Painting from Temple University, Tyler School of Art, and a BA with honors and distinction from Kenyon College.
Studio Montclair Gallery is located at 127 Bloomfield Avenue in Montclair, New Jersey. It is an inclusive, nationwide non-profit organization of exhibiting, professional, and emerging artists and others interested in the visual arts. The mission of the organization is to promote culture, education, equality, and tolerance through art. Studio Montclair is committed to diversity at every level. Founded in 1997, the organization includes over 500 members.
IMAGES: Emily Barnett, I Can't Breathe #2, Gouache on Arches Paper; Bennett Gewirtz, Work, Meet, Play, Acrylic on canvas; Antoinette Ellis-Williams, Young Aunt Jermima Double Dutching, Acrylic, paper, fabric, gem stones, cowrie shell, jump rope
