A wide variety of gifted artists will exhibit their works starting next week at the Fall/Winter 2017-18 Invitational Exhibit at the Atrium Art Gallery, located on Floors 2-5 of the Morris County Administration and Records Building at 10 Court Street in Morristown.
The free and public opening reception take place on Friday, Sept. 22, from 7-9 p.m. County residents are invited to join Morris Arts to meet the gifted artists whose works utilize oils, acrylics, mixed media, ink, and other media and range in style from the abstract to hyper-realism to pop surrealism.
Most works are available for sale, with details and pricing provided in free catalogues found in the elevator lobby areas on floors 2-5 of the county government building, which offers the most expansive gallery space in Morris County.
“We are proud to be able to offer these artists a great space for their works and, at the same time, provide a terrific venue for our residents and students to have the opportunity to view, study and enjoy these works,” said Morris County Freeholder Director Doug Cabana.
The fifth floor Atrium will feature hyper-realistic oils by prizewinning artist Allan Gorman of West Orange, whose works evoke artists such as Edward Hopper and George Bellows and reveal Gorman’s fascination with the hidden patterns, aesthetic tensions, mystery and power of machines and industry.
In the fifth floor Lobby, Mark Oberndorf of Wyckoff, another realist painter influenced by Hopper and Vermeer, portrays communal landmarks before their gentrification and/or demolition,combining vivid colors and a keen appreciation of natural light, creative composition and perspective.
The fourth floor showcases the extensive and highly varied portfolio of Joe LaMattina of Hackensack, a longtime artist and art educator whose vast, mixed media output ranges from representational to “abstract/organic” – and includes his “human essence” works that eloquently capture states of mind and abstract feelings.
A riot of brilliant colors from Chester artist Valerie Verona’s vibrant acrylics energizes the third floor Atrium, blending representational and abstract imagery, while Verona artist David Nicolato’s pop surrealism explores themes such as darker dreams, child development and the treatment of animals – with vividly imagined animal forms, fantastical beasts and whimsical yet unsettling imagery.
Featured on the second floor, prizewinning artist Lisa DeLoria Weinblatt of Bayside, N.Y., shares her insightful and thought provoking School Lunch series of oils, a fascinating, expressive pictorial essay of contemporary student life which touches on cross cultural issues and emotional attitudes explored in the shared experience of school lunch.
The Atrium Art Gallery is free and open to the public during business hours, 8:30am-4:30pm on Monday-Friday and will be open from 7 p.m. to midnight at First Night Morris County on New Year’s Eve.
The exhibit remains in place until January 5, 2018.