(JERSEY CITY, NJ) -- New Jersey City University presents "Thank God, I'm Home: First Meal" by Julie Green from now through March 25, 2022 in the Harold B. Lemmerman Gallery. For the past three years until her recent death, Julie Green (1961– 2021) had been asking wrongfully convicted persons about their “first meals” upon their release from prison, painting their responses for her series by the same name. With colorfully painted details of food, such as oranges, burgers and fries, and pizza, 12 works from the series featured in this exhibition humanize and personalize the shocking statics around wrongful convictions in the U.S.
Partnering with the Center on Wrongful Convictions of Northwestern University and The Innocence Project, Green’s focus extends beyond the individual meals (and individuals) she depicts to the sheer number of wrongfully imprisoned in this country and the reason for their unjust incarceration.
Julie Green, professor of art at Oregon State University, lived in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. A recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant for Painters and Sculptors and the Hallie Ford Foundation Fellowship, Green is included in A World of Art published by Prentice Hall. Green has had 42 solo exhibitions in the U.S. and abroad at venues including The Block Museum at Northwestern University, Hunter Museum of American Art, Bellevue Arts Museum in Washington, and University of Liverpool Art Museum. Collections include State Library of Oregon, Spencer Museum of Art, Fidelity Investments, Athena Art Finance, and hundreds of private collections worldwide. Green’s work has been featured in publications including The New York Times, Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, CNN, a Whole Foods mini-documentary, National Public Radio, and Ceramics Monthly.
On Friday, March 4 from 11:30am to 12:30pm, the Gallery will host a virtual talk where the former New York Times, National Correspondent, Kirk Johnson, and Sara Sommervold of Center on Wrongful Convictions of Northwestern University will shed light on the subjects of Julie Green’s First Meal series paintings – those who were unfairly incarcerated and exonerated after legal battles. Click here to register for the virtual talk.
This exhibition is made possible through the generous support from the Ford Family Foundation and the cooperation of Elizabeth Houston Gallery in New York and Upfor Gallery in Oregon. This virtual program participates JC Fridays and the exhibition is viewable in person on Monday – Friday, 11:00am – 5:00pm, as well as Saturday, March 5, 12:00pm – 5:00pm.
New Jersey City University is located at 2039 Kennedy Blvd in Jersey City, New Jersey. All visitors and members of the University community who visit NJCU Galleries are required to wear a mask indoors and be prepared to show your proof of vaccination or negative test results (within the past 72 hours) to staff at any point during the visit. within the past 72 hours (Children aged 2-12 are not required to show the proof). View Protocols
IMAGE: Julie Green, Thank God I’m Home said Marcel Brown, 2019, acrylic on Tyvek, 35.5 x 46 in. Artwork © 2019 Julie Green
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