(PRINCETON JUNCTION, NJ) -- Running from March 25 through May 17, 2019, the West Windsor Arts Council will showcase the work of many of its talented member artists in the exhibition Fiction: The Art Show. The theme was chosen in conjunction with the spring theatrical performance of Fiction by Steven Dietz and produced by the Pegasus Theatre Company to be staged at the West Windsor Arts Center. The play blurs the boundaries between fact and fiction, life and the written word and so members were likewise invited to submit artwork based on the concept of real vs. imaginary, the merging of visual arts and literary arts, and the image with the written word.  

The juror, Michael Joseph, is a Rare Books Librarian at Rutgers University and the Founding Director of the New Jersey Book Arts Symposium. Joseph has published in the fields of children’s literature, book arts, and poetry, in particular the poetry of the Anglo-Irish poet, novelist, translator, critic and mythographer, Robert Graves. In collaboration with various artists, Michael Joseph has written fourteen artists books, text for a series of lyrical compositions by the late Herber Rothgarber, and exhibited original artwork in group shows. Michael Joseph states, “The works selected for the Fiction Show—paintings, drawings, collages, and artists’ books—represent highly individualized and visually appealing efforts to assimilate a concept native to the field of writing or literature but foreign to fine art.”  

The exhibition consists of 39 artworks, representing 26 artists, 3 of which were selected by the juror to be awarded prizes for their outstanding work and relevance to the show theme.

The Best in Show $100 Prize was awarded to Adeline at the Window by Meta Dunkly Arnold. The 2nd Place $50 Prize was awarded to Tender is the night. Homage to F.Scott Fitzgerald by Brigitte A. Calderon; and the 3rd Place WWAC Membership was awarded to Midnight in the Garden of Art and Science by Lucretia E. McGuff-Silverman.

The first place winner, Meta Dunkly Arnold, makes found-object assemblages. Her background in English literature lends a narrative quality to many of her pieces, and her work as an educator inspires her to try to capture the excitement of discovering new things. As she explains, “Many of my assemblage pieces are kinetic and interactive, inviting the audience to share my creative process by going on a “treasure hunt” of their own.” The piece selected for Fiction: The Art Show, “Adeline at the Window,” portrays her favorite scene in Ann Radcliffe’s early gothic novel, The Romance of the Forest. Far from being a helpless maiden, Adeline rescues herself and saves all the characters. In the artwork, she escapes the scheming Marquis by climbing out a window. Opening a book opens a window for the reader, a process Radcliffe’s characters enact by deciphering older, hidden texts for clues to their own stories. Like art (especially assemblage), Gothic novels celebrate the process of discovery.  

The second and third place winners, Brigitte A.Calderon and Lucretia E. McGuff-Silverman respectively, also examine art and literature through their art. Calderon created her artwork, “Tender is the night. Homage to F. Scott Fitzgerald,” in reaction to the beautiful, yet devastating story that F. Scott Fitzgerald tells. As she states, “Only black could depict the emotional struggles that the character endures.” McGuff-Silverman creates drawings that are slices of views of different spaces and things that come together to tell a new story.

Artists featured in the show are: Zakia Ahmed (Princeton Junction), Sherri Andrews (Cranbury), Meta Dunkly Arnold (Princeton), J.Bettina(Princeton Junction), Clara Sue Beym (Bayville), Margaret Kalvar Bushnell (Princeton Junction), Brigitte A.Calderon (Plainsboro), Tom Chiola (Trenton), Joann Donatiello (Princeton Junction), Ilene Dube (Princeton Junction), Johanna Ericson (Atlantic Highlands), Carlo Fiorentini (Princeton), Alice Grebanier (Branchburg), Joy Kreves (Ewing), Renee Kumar (West Windsor), Eleni Zatz Litt (Princeton), Lucretia E. McGuff-Silverman (Roosevelt), Mark Moscarello (Bordentown), Renata Surel Piccione (Princeton), Bill Plank (Lawrenceville), Thomas Shanahan (Hamilton), Margaret Simpson (Hamilton), Janice Strickland (Edison), Cathy Tsao (East Windsor), Barbara Weinfield (Princeton Junction), Andrew Werth (Princeton Junction).

The West Windsor Art Center Gallery is located at 952 Alexander Road, West Windsor, NJ. Gallery Hours: Monday through Friday, 10:00am-6:00pm; Saturdays, 10:00am-4:00pm.  An opening reception with the artists will be held Sunday, March 31 from 4:00pm-6:00pm. Artists will be on hand at the opening to discuss their work. Please visit www.westwindsorarts.org for more information.

 The West Windsor Arts Council’s mission is to provide high quality cultural programming that brings people together and transforms the world around us by inspiring, educating and promoting the arts and art appreciation for our diverse community. 

(IMAGES FROM TOP TO BOTTOM) 

1st place winner:  Meta Dunkly Arnold, Adeline at the Window, mixed media (assemblage)

2nd place winner: Brigitte A.Calderon, Tender is the night. Homage to F. Scott Fitzgerald, mixed media on velum mounted on board

3rd place winner: Lucretia E. McGuff-Silverman, Midnight in the Garden of Art and Science, pen and Ink on paper