Above is one of Kevin Aughey’s pieces done with a ballpoint pen.
ORANGE, NJ — Arts Unbound presents new work by Arts Unbound artists in the Dora Stern Gallery at Arts Unbound, 544 Freeman St. in Orange, from Sept. 7 through Oct. 21, with an opening reception on Thursday, Sept. 7, from 5 to 8 p.m. This exhibition is free, accessible and open to the public.
The group show features the work by six artists affiliated with Arts Unbound, an art gallery and educational art studio for people with disabilities and seniors. Featured artists include Sybil Archibald of South Orange, Kevin Aughey of Fair Lawn, Rosary Solimanto of West New York, NJ, Anand Subramaniam of Sterling, Avary Waldron of Orange and Sheryl Yeager of Pittsburgh, Pa.
Archibald will be exhibiting her first large-scale mixed-media sculpture, “Catch and Release.” She said: “Through monotype, painting and sculpture, I dance my inner life out onto my surfaces.”
This is Aughey’s first exhibition as a featured artist. Aughey has been a student at Arts Unbound since May of 2016. His drawings in ballpoint pen depict people and characters — both good and bad — that flow from his imagination and cover the page with horror vacui.
Subramaniam, a current student at Art Unbound, will be exhibiting his dynamic multi-layered paintings on canvas and, for the first time, his paintings on paper. Subramaniam utilizes his unique iconography to describe how he sees the world and express his interests.
With her work, Waldron pushes her intricate abstract drawings made up of tiny circles in gel pen in two new directions. Featured in this exhibit are her largest pieces to date measuring 23-inches-by-30-inches, and small works exploring new forms that bring to mind totems and pictographs.
Solimanto will be performing her one-on-one socially engaged piece, “The Modern Medicine Woman,” during the opening reception. Her performance addresses the alienating moment when an individual is given a diagnosis by a physician, which Solimanto counteracts with empathetic conversation and writing compassionate prescriptions for members of the public.
Yeager will be exhibiting four of her stylized animal portraits drawn in the bright pastel palette for which she has become well known. She said: “It is difficult and challenging to live with autism. It is neat that I have the ability to express myself in my art. I make animals because they are not judgmental.”
Arts Unbound is a non-profit organization dedicated to the artistic achievement of people living with disabilities and to the continuing artistic enrichment of seniors. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.artsunbound.org or call 973-675-2787.
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Bless these gifted people for contributing to society–hopefully many will attend to appreciate their work.