if it’s february in the garden state, that means excellent shows related to black history month. did i go see them? you betcha.
for nj arts, i wrote about the masterful tenjin ikeda linocut exhibition at the 1978 arts center in maplewood. curated by nette forne thomas, who had her own hallucinatory, symbol-rich show at akwaaba gallery.
also on njarts.net: the tireless atim annette oton brings afrofuturism to the paper mill playhouse. (atim annette oton has also curated a very interesting group show on african spirituality in art at the seton hall gallery.)
for the jersey city times, i paired my review of the timely, forthright lawrence ciarallo exhibition — a longer table — at art150 with a look at the succinct and powerful warriors group show at art house productions. shrewdly curated, as all art house art shows are, by andrea mckenna.
https://jcitytimes.com/in-the-powerhouse-arts-district-two-feisty-shows/
it’s also my pleasure to spread the word about the universe of ben jones, an outstanding retrospective of one of the region’s most influential artists, co-curated by midori yoshimoto. that’ll be up at the njcu galleries for awhile, so there’s no excuse for missing it.
https://jcitytimes.com/two-shows-at-njcu-celebrate-the-influential-indestructible-ben-jones
look for my review of myriad at mana contemporary. next monday or tuesday, depending on when the jersey city times wants to run it. i haven’t seen it yet. but the artists in the show are all mana regulars, and it’s curated by the charismatic showman bryant small, so i’m expecting some visual excitement.
artists: i will review your show soon, i promise! i have pocketsful of words to distribute. i am a johnny appleseed of discourse, scattering words around the countryside.
thank you for reading,
tris