The Center for the Arts at Monmouth University has
announced three new gallery shows opening this month in the on-campus
galleries.On display
in the Pollak Gallery from January 13 through February 19 is Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Rare Wildlife Revealed: The JamesFiorentino Traveling Art Exhibition. The youngest artist
ever inducted into the prestigious New York Society of Illustrators, New Jersey
native James Fiorentino uses his self-taught watercolor expression to paint
some of the most recognized faces in the world, from sports icons and presidents
to Nobel Prize winners and CEOs. His award-winning art is showcased in museums,
galleries, and private collections across the globe. In this exhibit,
Fiorentino uses his trademark detail and realism in watercolor to paint New
Jersey’s most endangered and vulnerable wildlife species. His evocative artwork
inspires viewers through his life-like depictions of rare wildlife in their
natural surroundings. His paintings truly bring wildlife to life on paper, and
in doing so, his art helps to educate and engage viewers about the precipitous
declines that many of these species have undergone. This
exhibition is presented in partnership with Conserve Wildlife Foundation. There will be an opening
reception on February 9 from 7-9 pm.
The second exhibit, Maunderings by
Tonya D. Lee, will be housed in the Rotary
Ice House Gallery starting January
16. Lee's work explores the abstraction of nature and environment through
shapes, patterns, moments and pauses – and her compositions marry digital and
analog technologies. Her intention is to explore the aesthetic oppositions of
rigidity and gesture, where form and color exist as object and subject. Lee is
an independent artist, as well as an Art and
Design faculty member at Monmouth University. Her exhibit will run through March 23. An opening reception for Maunderings is
slated for February 2 from 7 to 9 pm.
In Rechnitz Hall's DiMattio Gallery, Joseph Coscia
Jr.'s exhibition Oceanids will be on view
starting January 16. Oceanids are
nymphs in Greek mythology that watch over fresh water, rain, clouds, lakes and
more. As the Chief Photographer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Coscia has
photographed a variety of classical sculptures in different settings and
seasons. He focuses on the qualities of light on sculpture in changing
conditions, and his technique allows his work to appear suspended in time.
His recent work draws on Man Ray’s solarization techniques. This effect
reverses the shadow areas and transforms the sense of weight and volume of the
objects, so that they appear suspended in air or water. The forms are evocative
of earthly creatures or fossils. Coscia's exhibit will be on display
through March 11. An opening
reception will be held January 26 from 7
to 9 pm.
All gallery events are free and open to the
public. For more information about these events and all Monmouth University
Center for the Arts events visit www.monmouth.edu/MCA or call 732.263.5715.