• Senior Exhibition 2025

    Featuring the work of Monmouth University graduating seniors who will receive their degrees from the Department of Art & Design.

    Closing Reception: April 27 from 1 to 4 p.m.

  • Ocean Bodies, A Solo Exhibit by Kimberly Callas

    Monmouth University’s Ice House Gallery presents Ocean Bodies, a powerful solo exhibition by multimedia artist Kimberly Callas. The exhibition will open on February 6, 2025, with an evening reception from 5:30 to 7:30 PM, and will run through April 27, 2025. Ocean Bodies offers an immersive exploration of humanity’s interconnectedness with the ocean, drawing on symbols, archetypes, and ecological narratives to invite contemplation and action.

    Through sculptures, large-scale drawings, and mixed-media works, Callas examines the “crisis of meaning” at the heart of the climate crisis and advocates for a shift in consciousness toward an “ecological self.” This concept, central to her work, reflects humanity’s integral role within nature rather than apart from it. In Ocean Bodies, she uses water-based materials, such as dyed fabrics, India ink, and water-soluble graphite, to invoke the sea’s physical presence while exploring the symbolic depth of whales, the horizon, and the ocean itself as metaphors for the psyche and cosmos.

    Among the featured works is a series of 10-foot mixed-media drawings inspired by historical nautical charts, which pair psychological journeys with the migration of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. Complementing these works are colorful life-size figurative sculptures and reliefs, 3D-printed using bio-filament, that further explore themes of renewal and interconnection. Through these works, Callas poses urgent questions about the loss of meaning, wisdom, and biodiversity in the Anthropocene.

    “The ocean has a unique way to connect with people in an immediate and emotional way. Science and data can only tell us so much; art can speak to each of us in a way that is both uniquely personal and universal. Having Kimberly as the Urban Coast Institute artist-in-residence provided inspiration for some of the artwork in the Ocean Bodies exhibit, which will in turn inspire others. She was also able to share her creative process with her students, conducting lectures and using her art and sculpture as a pathway to ‘discovering the ecological self.’ This work reminds us that the worlds of art and science are two sides of the same coin,” said Tony MacDonald, J.D., Director, Urban Coast Institute.

    Callas created much of the work in Ocean Bodies during an artist residency with Monmouth University’s Urban Coast Institute, with additional research conducted at the Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism (ARAS) and an artist residency at the Arts Quarter Budapest. This body of work seeks to merge art, science, and archetypal symbols to foster a deeper understanding of humanity’s place within the natural world and inspire meaningful environmental action.

    About the Artist

    Kimberly Callas is a multimedia artist, sculptor, and the lead artist of the Social Practice project Discovering the Ecological Self. Her work delves into the human/nature relationship, focusing on the concept of the ecological self. Recently, she has incorporated cutting-edge technologies, such as 3D printing with bio-filaments and CNC, into her life-size sculptures. Art New England described her series Portrait of the Ecological Self as “unforgettable.”

    Callas’s work often involves community engagement. With her Discovering the Ecological Self social practice project, featured in The Huffington Post, she has led workshops across the U.S. and internationally. Her art has been showcased in prestigious galleries and museums worldwide, earning her numerous awards and grants, including the Pollination Project Grant, the Urban Coast Artist-in-Residence award, and the Puffin Foundation Grant. Her accolades include First Place in Sculpture at the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club’s Annual Exhibit in New York City.

    Callas’s recent exhibitions include the International New Media Exhibit at the CICA Museum in South Korea, Crossing Boundaries: Art and the Future of Energy at the Pensacola Museum of Art, and Ocean Swimmers (Entanglement), a solo exhibition in Budapest. In May 2025, she will unveil a public art commission for the Lambert Castle Renovation in Paterson, New Jersey.

    Callas holds an MFA from the New York Academy of Art and a BFA from the University of Michigan. She is currently an Associate Professor of Art at Monmouth University and maintains studios in Maine and New Jersey.

    Event Details:

    Exhibition: Ocean Bodies
    Location: Ice House Gallery, Monmouth University, 400 Cedar Ave # 600, West Long Branch, NJ 07764
    Opening Reception: February 6, 2025, 5:30–7:30 PM
    Exhibition Dates: February 6, 2025 – April 27, 2025
    Gallery Hours: Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm,

    For additional information, please contact Scott Knauer, 732.923.4786  or visit https://kimberlycallas.com/.

     

  • Ocean Bodies, A Solo Exhibit by Kimberly Callas

    Monmouth University’s Ice House Gallery presents Ocean Bodies, a powerful solo exhibition by multimedia artist Kimberly Callas. The exhibition will open on February 6, 2025, with an evening reception from 5:30 to 7:30 PM, and will run through April 4, 2025. Ocean Bodies offers an immersive exploration of humanity’s interconnectedness with the ocean, drawing on symbols, archetypes, and ecological narratives to invite contemplation and action.

    Through sculptures, large-scale drawings, and mixed-media works, Callas examines the “crisis of meaning” at the heart of the climate crisis and advocates for a shift in consciousness toward an “ecological self.” This concept, central to her work, reflects humanity’s integral role within nature rather than apart from it. In Ocean Bodies, she uses water-based materials, such as dyed fabrics, India ink, and water-soluble graphite, to invoke the sea’s physical presence while exploring the symbolic depth of whales, the horizon, and the ocean itself as metaphors for the psyche and cosmos.

    Among the featured works is a series of 10-foot mixed-media drawings inspired by historical nautical charts, which pair psychological journeys with the migration of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. Complementing these works are colorful life-size figurative sculptures and reliefs, 3D-printed using bio-filament, that further explore themes of renewal and interconnection. Through these works, Callas poses urgent questions about the loss of meaning, wisdom, and biodiversity in the Anthropocene.

    “The ocean has a unique way to connect with people in an immediate and emotional way. Science and data can only tell us so much; art can speak to each of us in a way that is both uniquely personal and universal. Having Kimberly as the Urban Coast Institute artist-in-residence provided inspiration for some of the artwork in the Ocean Bodies exhibit, which will in turn inspire others. She was also able to share her creative process with her students, conducting lectures and using her art and sculpture as a pathway to ‘discovering the ecological self.’ This work reminds us that the worlds of art and science are two sides of the same coin,” said Tony MacDonald, J.D., Director, Urban Coast Institute.

    Callas created much of the work in Ocean Bodies during an artist residency with Monmouth University’s Urban Coast Institute, with additional research conducted at the Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism (ARAS) and an artist residency at the Arts Quarter Budapest. This body of work seeks to merge art, science, and archetypal symbols to foster a deeper understanding of humanity’s place within the natural world and inspire meaningful environmental action.

    About the Artist

    Kimberly Callas is a multimedia artist, sculptor, and the lead artist of the Social Practice project Discovering the Ecological Self. Her work delves into the human/nature relationship, focusing on the concept of the ecological self. Recently, she has incorporated cutting-edge technologies, such as 3D printing with bio-filaments and CNC, into her life-size sculptures. Art New England described her series Portrait of the Ecological Self as “unforgettable.”

    Callas’s work often involves community engagement. With her Discovering the Ecological Self social practice project, featured in The Huffington Post, she has led workshops across the U.S. and internationally. Her art has been showcased in prestigious galleries and museums worldwide, earning her numerous awards and grants, including the Pollination Project Grant, the Urban Coast Artist-in-Residence award, and the Puffin Foundation Grant. Her accolades include First Place in Sculpture at the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club’s Annual Exhibit in New York City.

    Callas’s recent exhibitions include the International New Media Exhibit at the CICA Museum in South Korea, Crossing Boundaries: Art and the Future of Energy at the Pensacola Museum of Art, and Ocean Swimmers (Entanglement), a solo exhibition in Budapest. In May 2025, she will unveil a public art commission for the Lambert Castle Renovation in Paterson, New Jersey.

    Callas holds an MFA from the New York Academy of Art and a BFA from the University of Michigan. She is currently an Associate Professor of Art at Monmouth University and maintains studios in Maine and New Jersey.

    Event Details:

    Exhibition: Ocean Bodies
    Location: Ice House Gallery, Monmouth University, 400 Cedar Ave # 600, West Long Branch, NJ 07764
    Opening Reception: February 6, 2025, 5:30–7:30 PM
    Exhibition Dates: February 6, 2025 – March 23, 2025
    Gallery Hours: Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm,

    For additional information, please contact Scott Knauer, 732.923.4786  or visit https://kimberlycallas.com/.

     

  • Michelangelo: Love & Death

    The spectacular sculptures and paintings of Michelangelo seem so familiar to us, but what do we really know about this Renaissance giant? Michelangelo’s genius is evident in everything he touched. Beautiful and diverse works such as the towering statue of David, the moving Pietà in the Papal Basilica of St. Peter and his tour-de-force, the Sistine Chapel ceiling, still leave us breathless today.

    Spanning his 88 years, Michelangelo – Love and Death takes a cinematic journey through the print and drawing rooms of Europe through the great chapels and museums of Florence, Rome and the Vatican to seek out a deeper understanding of this legendary figure’s tempestuous life, his relationship with his contemporaries and his incredible legacy.

    Through expert commentary, stunning visuals and Michelangelo’s own words, this film takes a fresh look at a master artist whose life and genius are celebrated in every mark he made. Returning to cinemas in 2025 to celebrate this iconic artist’s 550th birthday.

    Sculptor, painter, architect, poet, genius – discover why Michelangelo is without a doubt one of the greatest artists of all time.

  • Van Gogh: Poets & Lovers

    200 years after its opening and a century after acquiring its first Van Gogh works, the National Gallery, London is hosting the UK’s biggest ever Van Gogh exhibition. Van Gogh is not only one of the most beloved artists of all time, but perhaps the most misunderstood.

    This film is a chance to reexamine and better understand this iconic artist. Focusing on his unique creative process, Van Gogh: Poets & Lovers explores the artist’s years in the south of France, where he revolutionized his style. Van Gogh became consumed with a passion for storytelling in his art, turning the world around him into vibrant, idealized spaces and symbolic characters.

    Poets and lovers filled his imagination; everything he did in the south of France served this new obsession. In part, this is what caused his notorious breakdown, but it didn’t hold back his creativity as he created masterpiece after masterpiece. Explore one of art history’s most pivotal periods in this once-in-a-century show.

  • Mike Richison’s Election Collection: 2004-2024

    Mike Richison’s Election Collection: 2004-2020 showcases 20 years of design and video art inspired by the presidential election cycle. Richison began working with this topic in 2004 when he created a short video loop of George W. Bush drinking water during the debates. This evolved into performances and interactive video projects that break down language into musical and abstract elements.

    The culmination of these explorations is Electo Electro 2024, an interactive installation that enables participants to produce techno-inspired beats using video clips of presidential candidates. This project combines iMacs, iPads, custom software, and the housing from decommissioned Diebold AccuVote TS voting booths. Users can remix videos from political rallies and debates in a structured sixteen beat loop. An iPad-based touchscreen design parodies the system employed by the AccuVote, a voting system that was difficult to audit and susceptible to hacking.

    As a parody, the format of Richison’s installation resembles a polling station, while the branding and graphic elements of the project hearken back to vintage electronic devices. The AccuVote debuted in the early 2000s as the poster child of the Help America Vote Act. After its widespread adoption, a group of researchers discovered a long list of vulnerabilities that can lead to stolen votes, lost votes, or a failure of the computer itself. The project deals with expectation, failure, and vulnerability

    On the opening day and throughout the run of the exhibit, Richison will perform and demonstrate this project. His goal is to “encourage users to examine media and become individuals who can control media, rather than be controlled by it.”

    This event is being held in conjuction with ArtNOW’s Mike Richison, Electo Electro 2024 on October 4 at 10:15 AM. 

    About the artist, Mike Richison: Mike Richison is a multimedia artist and an Associate Professor at Monmouth University, where he teaches motion graphics. He employs a variety of approaches to artmaking, including sculpture, graphic design, and interactive video. His work utilizes found objects, such as turntables, voting booths, and scavenged video clips as well as the Max MSP Jitter programming environment. Richison has exhibited at Autonomous Cultural Centre Medika (Zagreb, Croatia); Figment NYC and Art in Odd Places (New York); and Peters Valley School of Craft and Morris Museum (New Jersey). His projects have received attention in outlets such as Leonardo, VICE, FACT Magazine, Hyperallergic, WABC-TV Channel 7 News New York, and The Washington Post. Before moving to New Jersey in 2007, he lived in the Detroit, MI, area for several years.

  • Mike Richison, Electo Electro 2024

    Monmouth University’s Prof. Mike Richison (Graphic Design) will perform his Electo Electro 2024, updated for the 2024 election cycle. This interactive installation combines audience participation, music, news footage, and politics. The project allows participants to remix videos from political rallies, debates, and news in a structured sixteen beat loop. The touchscreen design is a parody of the system employed by the Accuvote, a voting system that is difficult to audit and susceptible to hacking. The parody continues into the format of the installation itself which will resemble a polling station.

    Richison will introduce his project, perform, and then open up his event for discussion. If you cannot make it to Richison’s live performance, stop by the Ice House Gallery to see his project on display for the semester. For more on the project, see Richison’s discussion of it in the Journal of Network Music and Arts.

    For more information, contact the co-chairs of ArtNOW, Prof. Amanda Stojanov at astojano@monmouth.edu or Prof. Dickie Cox at rcox@monmouth.edu

  • I Wish That I Had Spoken Only of It All: 20 Years of Sheryl Oring’s I Wish to Say

    Curated by Corey Dzenko, Associate Professor of Art History

    With backgrounds in journalism and fine art, Sheryl Oring began her ongoing project I Wish to Say in 2004 from a concern that many people’s voices were not being heard. She started to take dictation from the public about what they wanted to say to the (next) President. Dressed as a 1960s secretary with a typewriter, she records whatever participants say onto a postcard, making copies with carbon paper. During larger events, a secretarial bank takes dictation. Oring mails the postcards to the White House and exhibits copies. To date she has typed over 4241 postcards.

    For this exhibition, MU’s DiMattio Gallery will chronologically display hundreds of I Wish to Say postcards, photographs, and videos of performances, along with larger prints of select postcard texts. A timeline on the wall will note the presidential elections that span Oring’s project. The empty wall space for 2024 will fill as MU student-typists add postcards they collect during the current election season. The other half of the gallery will showcase a selection of Oring’s related projects that all involve a question, active listening, and a typewriter for a secretary to record dictation. These include Collective Memory (September 2011), recorded memories of the 9-11 attacks; Travel Desk (2014), travel stories that were then carved into a wooden table now installed in the San Diego International Airport; and other artworks.

    Multi-part programming will include an artist’s talk to showcase Oring’s timely and inclusive artmaking practice. MU students will participate as typists at numerous live events throughout the exhibition’s duration. MU faculty from various disciplines will hold public teach-ins in the gallery about topics related to Oring’s project. Finally, MU is collaborating with nearby Neptune and Long Branch school districts so that high school students can dictate their own postcards to the future president. As an educator, Oring has involved younger constituencies, empowering the next generation of participants in both US democracy and artmaking.

    Oring performs I Wish to Say: Thursday, September 19, 2024, 11am-1pm, Rebecca Stafford Student Center Patio

    Artist talk: Thursday, September 19, 2024, 4:30-5:30pm, Great Hall Auditorium
    Opening Reception: Thursday, September 19, 2024, 5:30-7:30pm, DiMattio Gallery, Rechnitz Hall

    About the Artist
    Sheryl Oring examines critical social issues through projects that incorporate old and new media to tell stories, examine public opinion, and foster open exchange. Using tools typically employed by journalists (the camera, the typewriter, the pen, the interview, and the archive), she builds on her experience in her former profession to create installations, performances, artist books, and internet-based works that address themes of citizenship, free expression, first amendment rights, story-telling, and activism through art. Oring received her MFA from the University of California at San Diego. She is currently a board member for the National Coalition Against Censorship. She has held several academic positions, most recently serving as the Dean of the School of Art at University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

    Oring has shown her work at the O1SJ Biennial; Bryant Park in Manhattan; the Brooklyn Public Library; and the Jewish Museum Berlin. She has also presented work at Art in Odd Places in New York; the Art Prospect festival in St. Petersburg, Russia; Encuentro in São Paolo, Brazil; and the International Symposium on Electronic Art in Dubai. She has completed public art commissions at the San Diego and Tampa International Airports. Collecting institutions include the Library of Congress; Museum of Modern Art; Tate Britain; Bibliothèque nationale de Luxembourg; and many others.

    For more information, see: https://www.sheryloring.org/
    Or contact Dr. Corey Dzenko, cdzenko@monmouth.edu

    This exhibition was made possible with funding from the Edna Wright Andrade Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation and from the Diversity Innovation Grant Program coordinated by the Office of the Provost and Intercultural Center at Monmouth University. Thank you also to ArtNOW, the Helen Bennett McMurray Endowed Chair of Social Ethics, and Monmouth University’s Department of Art and Design and Department of Curriculum and Instruction.

  • I Wish That I Had Spoken Only of It All

    Sheryl Oring, Performance of I Wish to Say | 11am-1pm | Rebecca Stafford Student Center Patio

    Artist Talk | 4:30-5:30pm | Great Hall Auditorium
    Exhibition Opening Reception | 5:30-7:30pm | DiMattio Gallery, Rechnitz Hall

    With backgrounds in journalism and fine art, Sheryl Oring began her ongoing project I Wish to Say in 2004 from a concern that many people’s voices were not being heard. She started to take dictation from the public about what they wanted to say to the (next) President. Dressed as a 1960s secretary with a typewriter, she records whatever participants say onto a postcard, making copies with carbon paper. During larger events, a secretarial bank takes dictation. Oring mails the postcards to the White House and exhibits copies. To date she has typed over 4241 postcards. In this artist talk, Oring will discuss I Wish to Say, now in its 20th year, alongside her other socially engaged art projects.

    This talk is in connection with the exhibition I Wish That I Had Spoken Only of It All: 20 Years of Sheryl Oring’s I Wish to Say, which is on display in Rechnitz Hall’s DiMattio Gallery for the Fall 2024 semester. A reception and performance of I Wish to Say in the DiMattio Gallery will follow this talk.

    About the Artist

    Sheryl Oring examines critical social issues through projects that incorporate old and new media to tell stories, examine public opinion, and foster open exchange. Using tools typically employed by journalists (the camera, the typewriter, the pen, the interview, and the archive), she builds on her experience in her former profession to create installations, performances, artist books, and internet-based works that address themes of citizenship, free expression, first amendment rights, story-telling, and activism through art. Oring received her MFA from the University of California at San Diego. She is currently a board member for the National Coalition Against Censorship. She has held several academic positions, most recently serving as the Dean of the School of Art at University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

    Oring has shown her work at the O1SJ Biennial; Bryant Park in Manhattan; the Brooklyn Public Library; and the Jewish Museum Berlin. She has also presented work at Art in Odd Places in New York; the Art Prospect festival in St. Petersburg, Russia; Encuentro in São Paolo, Brazil; and the International Symposium on Electronic Art in Dubai. She has completed public art commissions at the San Diego and Tampa International Airports. Collecting institutions include the Library of Congress; Museum of Modern Art; Tate Britain; Bibliothèque nationale de Luxembourg; and many others.

    For more information, see: https://www.sheryloring.org/
    Or contact Dr. Corey Dzenko, cdzenko@monmouth.edu

    This exhibition was made possible with funding from the Edna Wright Andrade Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation and from the Diversity Innovation Grant Program coordinated by the Office of the Provost and Intercultural Center at Monmouth University. Thank you also to ArtNOW, the Helen Bennett McMurray Endowed Chair of Social Ethics, and Monmouth University’s Department of Art and Design and Department of Curriculum and Instruction.

  • Senior Exhibition 2024

    Featuring the work of Monmouth University graduating seniors who will receive their degrees from the Department of Art & Design.

    Closing Reception: April 28 from 1 to 4 p.m.