(PRINCETON JUNCTION, NJ) -- West Windsor Arts Council (WWAC) is currently presenting Member Show: Horizon. The exhibit runs now through May 14th. A horizon is defined as the limit of a person’s mental perception, experience, or interest. This exhibition aimed for its artists to go beyond the horizon. The juried exhibition includes original artworks for sale featuring 39 different artists. 

The goal was to expand your horizons, broadening your horizons, exploring new horizons, or aspiring to greater horizons. During this Spring 2022 season, West Windsor Arts asked out artists to explore their own styles and surpass their perceived limitations. They encouraged artists to share their horizons with the community and art world. West Windsor Arts is excited to present the incredible work of our artists to the community and encourage expansion amongst their audience. The exhibition is on view at West Windsor Arts and at Whole World Arts during operating hours or by appointment. Jurors included Carolina Blatt, Ph.D., and Matthew Stemler, M.F.A.. 

Dr. Carolina Blatt is currently an Associate Professor at The College of New Jersey, where she teaches Art Education, Community Engaged Art, and Arts Administration. She earned a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia and a M.A. from Savannah College of Art & Design. Previously she taught at Georgia Gwinnett College in Atlanta, GA where she pioneered their public art collection in the form of artist-student partnerships and large-scale collaborations. Her research exploring collective art-making and its cognitive and civic potential has been published in scholarly journals and popular press ranging from Studies in Art Education to CNN.com, and presented in national and international venues ranging from the TATE Liverpool to Stanford University. 

Matthew Stemler is known for creating drawings, sculpture, and contemplative installation works. He finds a poetic language in unexpected materials while examining the social and technological structures of contemporary society. Stemler’s handling of materials is as intimate as the introspective themes that saturate the work. His creations often accentuate connections in the assembly, so literal and figurative bonds are as much a part of the work as the forms that seem caught in their configuration. Stemler completed an A.A. from Antonelli Institute of Art and a B.F.A. from Temple University, Tyler School of Art before receiving his M.F.A. from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He currently teaches in the Department of Visual Arts at Cairn University in Langhorne, PA where he is also the curator for the Connie A. Eastburn Gallery. Stemler currently resides in Yardley, PA. Exhibitions of Stemler’s work include the James A. Michener Art Museum, The Square Halo Gallery, and Art in City Hall. His installations have been exhibited at the Eastern State Penitentiary Museum and the LGTripp Gallery.  

The exhibition was free for WWAC members to enter and featured the opportunity to be selected as cash prize winners, chosen by the jurors. Dr. Carolina Blatt commented, “Congratulations (to West Windsor Arts) on attracting so many exceptional works of art to your show! It was a pleasure to jury the work.”

Highlights of the many extraordinary works in the exhibition include those by Meta Arnold, who works in assemblage and mixed media. Her mixed media work titled Perspective won Best in Show. While recently playing with ideas of scale in landscape, responding to medieval art, miniature art, and stage scenery, Meta’s assemblage presents several layers of landscape in multiple orientations. Meta states, “Windows and doors are another motif I keep returning to, the idea of a threshold between two states of being. Perspective presents several layers of landscape in multiple orientations, all framed by a large gothic window.” The effect is jumbled and whimsical, like a daydream or a game with building blocks. Meta sees making and teaching art as a treasure hunt and asks for the audience to participate in her excursion.

Also included in the exhibition is Christine Seo. Her work of art titled Last Table (shown at the top of this article) consists of watercolor techniques and won Best Use of Medium. Seo uses painting and drawing to process her experiences. Her paintings are the harmony of natural colors where her creativity goes beyond herself and into nature. Seo aims to express the story of her soul and its energy through her paintings. Seo is also an active member of the Orange Fine Arts Association, West Windsor Arts, New Hope Art League, The Station, NJEAA, Arts Bridge, and Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club.

The Exhibition Committee Choice Award was presented to Zakia Aziz Ahmed for her work, Happiness within Horizon. Zakia’s work reflects the dwellings and living conditions of poor working people in her native country of Bangladesh. Zakia states, “These structures are built in a random way. The people who live there also face uncertainty and randomness. Despite these hardships, there is certain contentment and beauty in them.” This randomness and beauty is reflected in her work through her use of loose brush strokes and random colors. 

Exhibiting artists include: Brigitte Aflalo, Divvya H Atrii, Zakia Aziz Ahmed, J. Bettina, Karen Brodsky, Tom Chiola, Connie Cruser, Magda Dodd, Ilene Dube, Gary David Fournier, Joseph Goldfedder, Michael F. Graham, Adriana Groza, Spriha Gupta, Barry Hantman, Marzena Haupa, Margaret Kalvar-Bushnell, Donna Kaye, Nelly Kouzmina, Joy Kreves, Lori Langsner, Eleni Litt, Concetta A. Maglione, Sheila Mashaw, Hetal Mistry, Tatiana Oles, Neelam Padte, William Plank, Helene Plank, Karen Schoenitz, Nancy Scott, Rooma Sehar, Christine Seo, Deirdre Sheen, Kelly Silver, Margaret Simpson, Prachi, Barbara Weinfield, Susan Winter, and Jane Yuan.

The mission of the West Windsor Arts Council is to provide high-quality cultural programming that brings people together and transforms the world around us by inspiring, educating, and promoting the arts and art appreciation for our diverse community. West Windsor Arts Center is located at 952 Alexander Road, West Windsor, and is a five-minute walk from the Princeton Junction Train Station. Office and gallery hours: by appointment.  

IMAGES: (TOP) Last Table by Christine Seo (MIDDLE) Perspective by Meta Arnold (BOTTOM) Happiness within Horizon by Zakia Aziz Ahmed