Beauty Queen by Nupur Nishith

(MORRISTOWN, NJ) -- Morris Arts presents Visual Meditations: Line, Color & Form, curated by Dr. Lynn L. Siebert, at the Atrium Gallery from October 29, 2025 through January 5, 2026. The gallery is located on floors 2-5 of the Morris County Administration and Records Building (10 Court Street) in Morristown.

Enter a world of visual splendors, captured in 173 artworks by six outstanding, award-winning artists: Lisa Lackey (Maplewood, NJ), Bascove (New York, NY), Neal Korn (Union, NJ), Nupur Nishith (Edison, NJ), Len Merlo (South Plainfield, NJ) and Alice Harrison (Morristown, NJ) who provide a gateway into worlds that touch on the intricacies, complexities, layers, and beauties of our fragile yet fascinating world.

On the fifth floor, the walls are a testimony to the rich and endlessly evolving visual language of Alice Harrison's prolific portfolio. A multimedia master, her works reveal the remarkable range of her creativity which incorporates a multiplicity of techniques from collage on paper mounted on canvas, acrylic photo transfer that combines printing, handmade papers, photographs, layering of handwriting, original drawing as well as painting. Following the example of Picasso, this vibrant nonagenarian's creativity and inventiveness continue to flow unabated and produce new and remarkable works, of which these 59 present but a small taste.

Flight of Fancy by Alice Harrison

Another prolific and fascinating artist, Len Merlo describes his works as "meditations on memories, perception, time and place" and the selection on view in the fourth floor atrium and hallway areas only hints at the range of media in which he is fluent. Beyond his selection of pastels, collages, prints, and paintings displayed Merlo is widely known for his exceptional printmaking skills and for his work in monotypes, encaustics, etching, linocuts and sculpture.  In this exhibit, his palette varies, from the intense and yet delicate coloring of his pastels (Oyster Shell series) to the muted earth tones associated with industrial elements. In some works, he incorporates fanciful, bold colors of imaginary landscapes or whimsical, strangely hued hand shapes (the Hand series), and intriguing combinations of organic and geometric forms within compartmentalized compositions. Blobs of color intersect precise lines, ladders ascend to mystical heights or map-like roads take us through landscapes below alien organic forms. His titles also reward that "closer look," with their literate (and often philosophical), reflective or poetic quality.

Oyster Shell #1 by Len Merlo

In the fourth floor elevator lobby, artist Nupur Nishith introduces viewers to the exquisite detail and intricacies of Mithila/Madhubani art from her native Indian tradition. Dramatic and bold colors, finely drawn decorative borders and prolific iconography fill each work. One feels the power of this highly stylized art form in works such as The Beauty Queen, with the striking portrayal of Cleopatra in the center of the canvas, set off by her crown and a halo of radiating lines enhanced by the multitude of designs within designs that ensnare the eye and mesmerize the viewer. The remarkable variety of colors within the unusual predominantly blue hues, the profusion of details within the unusual circular format in the Medley of Seasons illustrates Nishith's inventive creativity. And works such as Co-Existence offer yet another example of the profound intricacy and dense symbolic decoration that fills every corner of the work and rewards prolonged viewing!

Contrast and serenity can be found in artist Neal Korn's paintings of the natural world that fill the third floor. Far from just capturing the beauty of nature, Korn's works approach the representation of New Jersey's wild areas, parks, rivers, lakes, and streams with a unique eye for detail, an often unconventional framing and the use of a fanciful color palette to enhance or transform an ordinary scene into something extraordinary. Hacklebarney State Park never had hot pink and blue tree limbs nor do the real cattail reeds appear in neon turquoise, chartreuse and orange as in Nomahegan 9. Framing his subjects from unconventional perspectives, he intrigues the viewer, as in the looming, confrontational cacti in Phoenix, Arizona or the tilted rocky shore of Echo Lake, NJ, Also a surrealist artist skilled in portraying psychological elements, Korn's selection in this exhibit focuses on the power of nature to restore serenity and provide comfort in the troubled, fractious world of today.

Nomahegan 9 by Neal Korn

In the second floor atrium, "textile painter" Lisa Lackey defies perception, creating large canvases that viewers assume to be painted, only to discover, upon closer inspection, that they are, in fact, created with fabric, string, yarn, and cloth. Her unique fabric/paper collages memorialize glimpses of time and the hidden delights of ordinary places.  Approaching her subjects from unusual angles/ perspectives, her works reveal the beauties found in daily life: the intersecting lines and complex textures of a construction site with police tapefencing and a colorful sawhorse (Momma Said There'd Be Days Like This),, the shadows cast by human figures and a chain link fence (Connections), the conversation implied by two empty Adirondack chairs left facing one another (Can We Talk?), or the social gathering suggested by the empty chairs, and an unfinished drink (Oyster Bar). In a very real sense, Lackey is teaching the viewer to see anew – to draw inferences from settings - and to appreciate the uniqueness of ordinary places that surround us all.

Momma Said There'd Be Days Like This by Lisa Lackey

In the second floor hallway, the dramatic multimedia collages by renowned NYC artist, Bascove, fill the walls with their powerful energy. Famous for her legendary oil paintings of NYC bridges, Bascove shifted her medium to collages and, for years, has redefined her vision, capturing an almost cosmic energy through her spiraling, surging formations that alternately embrace and engulf the viewer. Retaining her love for bridges as subject matter, she deconstructs their images and rebuilds them through their essential features – especially their powerful, all-encompassing cables that seem to reach out like multicolored tentacles as in Manhattan Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge. Other works, from Seamstress I, Seeing Blue and Figs and Peonies to her masterful Ode to the Dictionary, capture the unbridled dynamism of her artistic vision, the variety and mastery of color and attention to detail seen in brilliantly fuscia florals or a whirling wealth of words and swirling synonyms. The hallway space is transformed with vibrant energy and looking closely at these works brings enormous rewards for the viewer.

Brooklyn Bridge by Bascove

Virtually all of the artworks are available for sale, with details and pricing provided in the free hard copies of catalogues available in the elevator lobby areas on floors 2-5. The electronic version of the exhibit catalogue will also be posted online on www.morrisarts.org and available via the QR code on the cover of the hard copy catalogues.

The public is invited to the free opening reception on Wednesday, October 29, 2025 from 6:00pm-8:00pm. The exhibition runs through January 5, 2026.

The Atrium Art Gallery is free and open to the public during business hours, Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, 8:30am-4:30pm, 8:30am-7:30pm on Wednesday and 8:30am- 7:00pm on Thursday evenings. Additionally, the exhibit will be open until midnight on New Year's Eve as part of First Night Morris County. The exhibit remains in place until January 5, 2026.

Founded in 1973, Morris Arts has been building community through the arts for over 50 years. The nonprofit works to provide meaningful artistic experiences for all Morris County residents regardless of age, means, or background. They facilitate high-quality arts education programs for students, community arts events, and arts in health programs that improve participants' well-being. Additionally, Morris Arts advocates for the arts and regrants state funds to local arts organizations, expanding access to arts experiences throughout Morris County.