Emily Strong, Transmutation, oil on canvas, 48” x 60”, 2024, courtesy of the artist
(CLINTON, NJ) -- The Hunterdon Art Museum opens three new exhibits on Sunday, May 17, 2026 - Claybash, which explores the possibilities of clay; and exhibit of Emily Strong's artwork; and Mindscapes, which is an exhibit of work by Bascha Mon.
The solo exhibition of Emily Strong runs from May 17 to July 5, 2026. She is a figurative painter making larger-than-life realist oil paintings depicting the human body. Her work is meticulously painted to show great detail, yet the images are cropped, giving the paintings and her subjects a disorienting quality. This approach also strikes a balance between abstraction and realism. The paintings depict intimate scenarios that explore themes of cultural identity, gender, isolation, existence and the complexities of human relationships.
Strong’s process includes the use of photographic images to document models in various staged poses. This documentation is then followed by extensive and detailed interviews with each model, enabling Strong to become more deeply engaged with her subjects. These interviews are then transcribed and become the written information included in the QR Codes that accompany each painting. These narrations provide additional layers of meaning and understanding of her work.
When asked to describe her paintings, Strong noted, “I create raw, intimate spaces that explore the many complexities of physical relationships with the self and with others. This series is an inclusive celebration of humanity and form.” Emily Strong was born and raised in Allentown. She is presently based in Easton, Pennsylvania.
The Hunterdon Art Museum also presents its second triennial juried exhibition of ceramics, ‘Claybash’ from May 17 to July 5, 2026. This exhibit invites artists to explore the possibilities of the medium by using clay as both material and idea. The year’s juror is Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy, a New York- based curator and writer of contemporary art and craft.
Vizcarrondo-Laboy selected 40 artists from a pool of regional, national, and International artists including; Taussen Brewer, Pin Hsin Chu, Naomi Cohn, Kelly Devitt, Daniel Dobrow, Mbhali Edwards, Rachel Eng, Katie Fee, Barbara Fiore, Kai Fukunaga, Sophie Gagliardi, Stefanie Haining, Kimberly Hardiman Winnicky, Ro Hebert, Mindy Horn, Ali Hval, Tsehai Johnson, Nancy Modlin Katz, Sarah Knight, John Chia Hsuan Kuo, Ivy Mastrud, Brianna McQuade, Rebecca Murtaugh, Angela Okajima Kempinas, Russ Orlando, Yana Payusova, DeAnn Prosia, Jenny Reed, Lisa River Schenkelberg, Justin Rothshank, Francisco Rocha Salazar & Jasper Isaac Johns, Phoebe Scott, Jackie Shatz, John Shea, Judi Tavill, C.A. Traen, Max Trumpower, Shauna Twardzik-Heine, Louise Wheeler and Steven Woloc. Cash prizes will be awarded at the opening reception for First Prize and Second Prize. Three artists will be selected for Honorable Mentions.
Mbhali Edwards, The Enchantress, clay, cowrie shells, gold paint, 21” x 8” x 7 1⁄2”, 2025
Curator Angelik Vizcarrando-Laboy’s recent projects include the publication of her book New Women’s Work: Reimagining “Feminine” Craft in Contemporary Art and the curation of Objects. Other projects include curating the critically acclaimed Funk You Too!: Humor and Irreverence in Ceramic Sculpture. She holds an MA in Decorative Arts, Design History, & Material Culture from the Bard Graduate Center.
The third exhibit spotlights the works of Bascha Mon and will be on display from May 17 through September 6, 2026.. For more than sixty years, Bascha Mon has made art using a variety of materials and techniques while maintaining her unique artistic vision. The New Jersey-based artist, who is 93, has consistently relied on her own imagination for imagery and on color to convey her thoughts and emotions.
For this exhibition, curator Mary Birmingham has selected works created in the 1970s, juxtaposed with a selection of Mon’s recent works on paper. Mon’s early paintings reflect places from her past, while her more recent work respond more directly to her present reality. The thread that ties these two seemingly disparate bodies of work together is that they both find their sources in Mon’s unconscious mind—an idea that has driven her entire career. In her work we see the artist mapping her memories and emotions, creating metaphorical landscapes of the imagination, or “mindscapes.”
In and Out the Window (Maps + Games series), oil and perlite on Homasote, 48” x 48”, courtesy of the artist and Tappetto Volante Projects, Brooklyn, NY
For roughly the past decade, Bascha Mon’s process has been deeply connected to the music of the French composer, Olivier Messiaen. Alone in her studio, Mon listens to his compositions as she applies color to the paper, responding to his dynamics, rhythms, and changes in tempo. While the imagery may originate in her own mind, she is spontaneously guided by the music. She explains, “Most of the time, with no initial image in mind, I stand with my hands over the paper until I feel something coming through the music...I have no idea what will appear on the paper until it is there.” The works are completed in single sessions of three to six hours. The titles and dates provide clues as to what might have been happening on a particular day, reflecting either Mon’s internal state of mind or the world around her.
An Opening Reception for all three exhibitions will take place on Sunday, May 17th from 2:00pm to 4:00pm. The Hunterdon Art Museum is located at 7 Lower Center Street in Clinton, New Jersey.
For over seventy years, the Hunterdon Art Museum has been educating, challenging, and inspiring community through the arts. It presents over twelve exhibitions annually of contemporary art, craft, and design in a 19th-century stone mill that is on the National Register of Historic Places. A landmark regional art center since 1953, the museum showcases works by established and emerging contemporary artists and also offers a dynamic schedule of classes and workshops for children, teens, and adults.
The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, from 11:00am to 5:00pm.
This exhibition has been made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.
