(ATLANTIC CITY, NJ) -- The Noyes Gallery at Claridge opened three exhibitions in March. First to open was Miko Colon: Dark Waters, which opened on March 2nd and will be on display until April 29th. Two other exhibits opened on March 17 - work by Norwegian artist Elling Reitan (which runs until May 1st) and a solo exhibition of work by Mina Cheon (which runs until June 24th.)
Miko Colon: Dark Waters (March 2 - April 29). Dark Waters is the first solo exhibition by Atlantic City street photographer The Moon Beast. This exhibition marks The Moon Beast’s tenth year as a photographer and serves as a reflection of his experience as an Atlantic City artist and resident. The photographs featured in this exhibition will explore lightness, darkness, and the shades that exist in between. The photos – all black & white – play with different perspectives and textures in order to display the most complete picture of Atlantic City’s landscape. With his artwork, The Moon Beast demonstrates powerfully his love for Atlantic City, despite its imperfections and challenges. In the story woven through these photographs, he aims to illuminate the city’s beauty and spread light in a dark place.
“During the last several years, I’ve focused on building my businesses in Atlantic City, which has left little time for my art and photography. I started to give some thought to developing a solo exhibition, and what excites me most is the prospect of taking this show on tour. I plan to open in Atlantic City, travel to several cities and communities through the country, and return to Atlantic City to close the exhibition. I look forward to sharing my story as a street photographer in Atlantic City, and I hope to shed some unique light on the place I choose to call home.” – The Moon Beast
Elling Reitan (March 17 - May 1). Elling Reitan is an artist of Norwegian descent. His work includes oil on canvas, lithographs, silkscreens, and sculpting. Reitan credits much of his development and approach to art-making to his mentor, Jens Johannessen, though he is also a scholar of Odd Nerdrum and Bjørn Sverrbo. Reitan has had his work featured in over 150 exhibitions throughout Norway and abroad. His exhibitions include bold themes such as Peer Gynt and Ibsen’s Women in the Ibsen Year; Apocalypse incorporating the nature bleeds expressing the warming of climatic changes and “the Mother of all women”, resembling a Madonna-like figure. Many of his works include women, as they are spiritual creatures in the eyes of Reitan.
Reitan has displayed his art in the Los Angeles Art Fair, Galleri Nygatan, Bergen in connection with Festspillene (Music Festival); Galleri Pingvin, Oslo, Gallery Westwood, New York, and Landskrona. Reitan’s art has appeared in two books: Elling Reitan, Mystisk Filosofisk- Symbolistik (2001) and Den Enigmatiske Engel (The Engmatic Angel) By Ole Linboe, Danish Art Critic (2005). Reitan is currently one of Norway’s most popular, reknowned contemporary artists.
Mina Cheon, In Honor of The Great Dear Leader Father, Archival digital print
Mina Cheon (March 17 - June 24). Cheon has exhibited her political pop art, known as “Polipop”, internationally. Polipop draws inspiration from global media and popular culture and makes work that intersects politics and pop art in subversive yet provocative ways. In particular, the artwork focuses on geopolitical and contested spaces and political pop icons while responding to Asia’s relationship with the Western world. Her work is expressed in diverse mediums such as new media, video, installation, and performance as well as traditional media such as paintings and sculptural objects.
As a a faculty member at MICA, Cheon teaches in the Foundation, Art History, Language, Literature, and Culture, and Interactive Media departments. She was also the founder and director of the summer study abroad program MICA Korea that was held each summer in Seoul, Korea between 2004-2007. She earned a doctorate in philosophy of media and communications from the European Graduate School of European University for Interdisciplinary Studies. She has two MFAs; one from the Hoffberger School of Painting, Maryland Institute College of Art and another in Imaging Digital Arts from University of Maryland. She has a BFA in Painting from Ewha Woman's University of Seoul, Korea.
The Noyes Gallery at Claridge is a 26,000 square foot satellite gallery located within the historic hotel and which highlights selections from the Noyes Museum's collection, and work by regional artists. This gallery is free and open daily to the public. It is located at 123 S. Indiana Ave in Atlantic City, New Jersey and open daily until 7:00pm.