Galaxy Gateway by Marina Ahun of Princeton, NJ
(TRENTON, NJ) -- "Cultural Connections: Eastern European Artists from the Greater Trenton Area" is a two-month Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie exhibition highlighting the work of regional artists with Eastern European backgrounds. The exhibition, featuring the work of 10 artists, runs from April 5 through June 8, 2025.
The artists of Cultural Connections:
Marina Ahun is a Princeton-based artist known in part for her watercolors that explore the architecture of Princeton, Trenton, and New York City. She was born in Soviet Russia, studied at the Imperial Academy of fine Arts in St. Petersburg, and is the licensed and commissioned artist for Princeton University.
Irena Gobernik is a wood and mixed media sculptor in Princeton. She was born in Kazakhstan and studied mathematics in Novosibirsk State University in Siberian Russia during the Soviet era. The former co-owner of the Dalet Gallery in Philadelphia, she specializes in small wood sculptures reflective of her Jewish heritage and marionette portraits.
Olga Gobernik-Kon describes her expressive and colorful work as “painting in glass.” Born in Kazakhstan and a resident of Princeton and Israel, her art is in several private international collections, in the recent Smithsonian Craft Show (2024) and American Craft Made in Baltimore (2025), and in an exhibition with noted Philadelphia Magic Garden creator Isaiah Zagar at her mother’s Dalet Gallery in Philadelphia.
Jadwiga (Heidi) Jedrzejczyk is the Polish-born member of a family of artists working in oil. The Trenton resident has exhibited at Mercer County College, Trenton City Museum, Adam Styka Annual Competition in Pennsylvania, and with the Trenton Artists Workshop Association in New York City. Her studies include classes at the former Druch Studios in Trenton.
Tatiana Oles is a Moldova-born artist living and working in Princeton. A member of the Princeton Makes artists collective, she began her career as a decorative and pictorial artist but now works in a variety of approaches and mediums, ranging from watercolors to fabric, wood, and glass. She studied at the Academic School of Fine Arts in Moldova’s capital city, Chisinau.
Adriana Groza is a painter known for vibrant, fluid, and organic works that capture natural rhythms. Based in Hamilton, the artist is a native of Transylvania, Romania. A participant in art festivals in the Middle Atlantic region, she has exhibited in group shows in Trenton and is a member of the Princeton Arts Collective.
Strength Is Always Within You by Adriana Groza of Hamilton, NJ
Asia Popinski, a native of Poland, is a painter, photographer, and trained psychotherapist based in Pennington. The subject of a solo exhibition at Trenton Social, she has also exhibited at the Philadelphia Sketch Club, Pennsylvania Center for Photography, and the Arts Council of Princeton. She is the recipient of first place competitions sponsored by Princeton Magazine and Mercer County.
Jacek (Jack) Szymula is a Trenton and New York City photographer and painter from Gdansk, Poland. A member of the Polish American Photographers Club, his work has been on view at the Dominican Monastery in Gdansk, Polish Consulate in New York, Artists of Yardley Arts Center, Philadelphia Sketch Club, and the Trenton City Museum, and the New Hope Arts Center. He is married to artist Ewa Zeller.
Leonid (Leo) Vayn, a Princeton photographer and documentary filmmaker, spent his early life in the Soviet Union during World War II. After business successes in the United States, he has dedicated himself to photography and to the Tsal Kaplun Foundation, created to preserve Jewish Culture and Heritage in the former Soviet Union. He and his wife, Irena Gorbernik, actively present exhibitions and concerts featuring work by Eastern European artists in Princeton.
Ewa Zeller is a Polish-born painter living in Trenton. She has had solo exhibitions at the former Druch Studio Gallery in Trenton, PII Gallery in Philadelphia, and the Skulski-Polish Art Center in NJ. A student in both Warsaw and New York City, her work can be found in several public collections, including the Vatican’s Foundation of John Paul II and Trenton City Museum. In addition to being a painter, she is a guard at the Metropolitan Museum in NYC.
The show opens Saturday, April 5, with a reception from 2:00pm to 4:00pm. An Artist Talk is scheduled for Saturday, April 26 from 2:00pm to 4:00pm. Also related to the show is a Pysanky Ukrainian Easter egg workshop Thursday, April 19 from 6:00pm to 9:00pm, by artist Basia Andrusko of Yardley, PA.
The exhibition was developed by Trenton Museum Society exhibition committee members Liz and Dan Aubrey. Liz Aubrey is an active state artist and exhibitions curator. Dan Aubrey is a journalist, playwright, and arts coordinator. Currently living in Bordentown, New Jersey, the two are known for their longtime involvement in creating art projects in New Jersey’s capital city. The exhibition was designed to highlight the existence of artists active in aesthetic traditions outside those of Western Europe and to build awareness and artistic dialogue.
This Cultural Connections show will launch a series of exhibitions highlighting various artistic traditions and practices in the region. Learn more or at ellarslie.org/cultural-connections or by calling 609-989-1191.
The Trenton City Museum is housed in Ellarslie Mansion, an 1848 Italianate Villa in the heart of Trenton’s historic Cadwalader Park, which was designed by the legendary Frederick Law Olmsted. The building is owned by the City of Trenton and operated by the nonprofit Trenton Museum Society, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023. The museum’s programming explores and celebrates Trenton’s history and culture, showcases contemporary art, artists, and performers, and offers community events, classes, and workshops for all ages. Museum and museum store hours are Thursdays through Saturday from 12:00pm to 4:00pm and Sundays from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. There is no admission fee to view the museum’s offerings, but donations in support of the its mission and programs are welcomed.
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.
