(BOUND BROOK, NJ) -- Hamilton Street Gallery is hosting a new exhibition entitled “Red Hot Extremism” that will run from October 22nd until December 8th. The show features 26 artists working in a variety of styles and media in addition to their creative interpretations, making this an outstanding and thought provoking exhibit.
A perfect storm of devastating and unpredictable circumstances has instilled a term of extremism throughout the world. It’s toxic effects have permeated into our culture, evolving both socially and politically, going beyond the comfort zone of what most people want and need to achieve normalcy.
For this exhibit 26 artists reflect upon this state of extremism with a strong variety of media including paintings, drawings, sculpture, digital art, photographs, fiber art and more. Through creative expertise the work displayed also provides rich thought provoking interpretations on specific issues that define and challenge us now and will again in the future.
Featured artists include: Luis Alves, Peter Arakawa, Edward Jean Baptiste, Victoire Batiste, Nanette Reynolds Beachner, Sam Caponegro, Anthony DaCosta, Seth Ellison, Renzo Florez, Joseph Goldfedder, Rita Herzfeld, John Marron, Larry McCandlish, Phillip McConnell, Brian McCormack, Caitlin T. McCormack, Kathleen McSherry, Kat Nzingha, Laurie Pettine, Ellen Rebarber, Artist Hernando Rico Sanchez, Marcia Robin Shiffman, Joan Sonnenfeld, Hannah Vargas, and Bill Vivona,
“BIRTH OF A NATION” 54” W x 70” H, Woven Collage Wall Hanging, 2022
Luis Alves - I am a New Jersey based artist with a primary interest in photo collage, each work is a hand manipulated hybrid utilizing appropriated imagery from publications. My art is characterized by pop culture and advertising influences as well as vibrant colors and bold composition.
“American Politics” - Found objects- 19H x 15W x 4.5D-2019
Kathleen McSherry’s unique deconstructive techniques elevate the mundane and forgotten, rather than focusing on the traditionally beautiful. The act of freely altering and misusing the intended purposes of her media allows her a wide range in the field of irony. Deforming the personified and anthropomorphizing the lifeless gives even the most unsettling of her sculptures an almost religious quality, no doubt influenced by the religious tropes McSherry references. In this regard, her sculptures serve as altars to alteration and the art of assemblage, where the bodily remains of a child’s doll could just as well be reused for their inherently unnerving attributes as for their aspiration towards the ideal.”
Phillip McConnell - “Human Zoo”- 24x24, Glitch art/Canvas, 2020
Hello, my name is Phillip McConnell. I am a 32-year-old glitch artist/poet/writer (screenplays and novels). While I am multi-disciplined the main concentration of my work is the visual art form known as Glitch Art. Glitch Art is the aesthetic of digital errors, created by corrupting the raw data and code of pictures.To create my work, I convert picture files into text files using a basic program called Notepad ++. Using the text file within the program I manually manipulate the data of the picture by adding or subtracting color codes and by taking pieces of other pictures and blending them with each other. Once I have distorted an image enough, I combine them using the notepad program and export the text file as a JPG picture file and print it on galley-wrapped canvas. To do this I use various coding languages and techniques. Within this medium of art, my entire process centers around finding the flaws in images and making them beautiful. I Work with errors in images that may otherwise be disregarded but through Glitch Art I can bring out their aesthetic potential. As a creative, it’s important to speak to and highlight aspects of being creative that get overlooked for the sake of pure perfection. This mindset stems from my everyday life and bleeds into my artwork.
As a black creative discussing anything other than trauma or the mainstream aspects of the black experience is often dismissed or you are asked to create something within that realm. My work is meant to be an expression of my experience as a creative who is black. While some of my work discusses race, it’s more nuanced than that. With my poetry and visual art, I speak to aspects of philosophy, therapy, emotional intelligence, and different themes of my overall place in the world. My work has always been my voice to show others my worldview whenever I've been told not to share how I think or what I think. With everything I create; I seek to be that for those who don’t have the right words to convey how they feel or how they see things. I want them to look at something I’ve created and see themselves in it.
John Marron - “24/ 7 News Cycle” acrylic, 15”H x 20” W, 2022
Fake News. Gory Headlines. Disinfo Bots. Alex Jones pays $1B to Sandy Hook parents. Drought. Quake.
E-mail boxes exploding with asks. Contagion.
Melting ozone glaciers. Election denial.
Ukraine valor. CRT distortions. Cyber drone war memory chip market devaluation sanctions. Evangelical Armageddon Rapture investments.
Mycellial Healing Peace Underground networks. Overstories. Ethnobotany
Dream Hiking Clubs.
Where is the Off Button? Golden Parachutes? Nirvana? Cel Infotainment
12 Step Programs? Cortisol creams?
Mind splatter Viral Cleaning Services?
Low impact Big Data wipes? Insta Tik Tok infinite dildo dance loop subscription cancels?
“Stillness is the Key” ( Ryan Holliday).
“Beginner’s Mind” ( Shunryu Suzuki).
“ Meditation Walk” ( Thich Nhat Hanh).
“Silence” (John Cage). DBT ( Marsha Linehan). Anechoic Chambers(MIT).
Sensory Deprivation Tanks. Zazen.
Alprazolam. Labyrinth walks. Reiki.
Kitchen Aromatherapy. Morning Dove Song at my bird bath. Changing the channel. Radical Acceptance (Tara Brach). Circadian Space Travel Sleep Pods. Rubber rooms. Walking the dog.
Petting the cat. Rubbing the ones & zeroes out. Fushiki = inability to discuss the awe of our de-thinging. Grace & thanksgiving under pressure. Ordinary everyday kindness? Gassho
Caitlin McCormack - "See You All in There”, 2019 -Crocheted cotton string, glue, enamel paint, wire, books14 x 11 x 8 inches
This work was created in response to government surveillance, specifically the devastating, horrific dismemberment of immigrant families at the hands of ICE. As the current administration neglects to rectify the annihilation of essential freedoms incurred by past regimes, the safety of marginalized communities continues to be compromised. Over time, this sculpture has transformed into more of a general condemnation identifying the myriad ways in which all privileged communities undeniably contribute to this collective suffering. The liberties some of us take for granted must drive us to raze the towering pillars of systemic oppression lest we unravel, irreparably.
Gallery hours are Thursdays 12:00pm - 5:00; Fridays 5:30pm - 8:00pm; Saturdays 1:00pm - 5:00pm; and by appointment.
An opening reception is planned for Saturday, October 22nd from 2:00pm - 5:00pm. Masks are not required at this event, but if you are more comfortable wearing a mask please feel free to do so.
Hamilton Street Gallery is located at 6 Hamilton Street in Bound Brook, New Jersey next door to the historic 1927 Brook Theater.
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