Cecile Chong, _other Nature - Cicadian Rhythm, 2021, Mixed Media on steel fence, 34' x 18' x 14', Courtesy of Sugar Hill Children's Museum. Photo by Timothy Lee.
(SUMMIT, NJ) -- From September 19, 2025, through January 18, 2026, the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey (VACNJ) brings ecology into focus across three exhibitions that move from the material excess of daily life to the marshes of our coast to re-mapped geographies. Featuring artists whose work engages with environments in and around New Jersey, these projects consider how shifting conditions shape lives and invite visitors to connect more deeply with the ecosystems that surround them.
All That Consumes Me, on view in the Main Gallery, brings together Angeles Cossio, Carolyn Lambert, Joshua Marquez, Lina Puerta, and Marion Wilson, whose use of found and reclaimed materials examines how everyday overconsumption impacts the world around us.
In the Mitzi and Warren Eisenberg Gallery, Cecile Chong’s upcoming installation, _other Nature – Marshland Tales, continues her exploration of the fraught relationship between humans and the environment. In this new iteration, Chong turns her attention to New Jersey’s wetlands, with a particular focus on cattails as both material and metaphor. Her research traces the ecological and cultural significance of these reed-like plants, which have long been integral to the region’s terrain.
Angeles Cossio, Conglomerate (detail), 2017, Found Styrofoam, coffee cups, 1' X 4' x 8′, Courtesy of the artist.
The Marité & Joe Robinson Strolling Gallery I features This Was Always a Place, a solo exhibition by Andrew Harrison. Through archives, maps, and embodied movement, Harrison explores altered geographies—dwelling between rupture and repair—and argues for memory, myth, and imagination as essential tools for reshaping the world.
The Visual Arts Center of New Jersey is located at 68 Elm Street in Summit, NJ. Gallery hours: Monday–Thursday, 10:00am–8:00pm; Friday & Saturday, 10:00am–5:00pm; and Sunday, 11:00am–4:00pm. Please call 908-273-9121 to confirm holiday hours.
Beginning this fall, VACNJ exhibitions will be available on Bloomberg Connects, a free digital guide that extends exhibitions beyond the gallery. Explore translations, images, artist audio, and more. Download via artcenternj.org/free-digital-guide.
Events
* Opening Reception: Friday, September 19 from 6:30pm–8:30pm. Light snacks and refreshments will be served. A special sound activation by Joshua Marquez begins at 7:30pm.
* Art to Table: Thursday, September 25 at 11:00am. Enjoy an intimate, small-group tour of the fall exhibitions with Curator Jordan Horton, followed by a prix fixe lunch at Summit House Restaurant + Bar. Details at artcenternj.org.
* Closing Thoughts: Sunday, January 18 from 2:00pm–4:00pm. A final look and panel discussion with featured artists on themes across the season’s exhibitions. Light snacks and refreshments will be served.
Andrew Harrison, (new) jersey: garden city, 2008, Digital Print, 25" x 40", Courtesy of the artist.
For more than 90 years, the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey has been exclusively dedicated to viewing, making, and learning about contemporary art. Recognized as a leading non-profit arts organization, the Art Center’s renowned Studio School, acclaimed exhibitions, and educational outreach initiatives serve thousands of youths, families, seniors, and people with special needs annually.
Major support for the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey is provided by the Wilf Family Foundations; New Jersey State Council on the Arts; and the Art Center community of supporters.
