Twenty Essex County artists featured in upcoming exhibition at NJ State Museum

TRENTON, NJ — The New Jersey State Museum will present the 2022 New Jersey Arts Annual show “Reemergence” from June 25 through April 30. New Jersey is home to a diverse and robust artistic community; the New Jersey Arts Annual exhibition highlights the work of visual artists and craftspeople from around the state. 

This year’s exhibition theme is “Reemergence.” Artists, like most New Jerseyans, are taking steps to reemerge into an altered landscape. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, political and ideological polarization, and a collective reckoning with systemic racism remain critical to achieving the country’s promise.

“It is a privilege to present the work of these New Jersey artists as we all reckon with the events of the last few years, and consider how we move forward in the ongoing pandemic,” said Sarah Vogelman, NJSM assistant curator of fine art. “The 95 selected artists, working across disciplines and media, have each responded to the ruptures and challenges of life in the pandemic in their own ways. In much of the work, themes of anxiety, isolation, surrealism and disconnection come through, as do impulses to contemplate and commune with immediate surroundings, be it an interior scene, still-life or landscape. We hope the exhibition serves as a place for the public to engage and reflect as we each envision reemergence.” 

Essex County artists in the show are: Bloomfield’s J. Steven Patton; Livingston’s Xiaofei Li and Bud McNichol; Maplewood’s Ryniee DeCheser, Matilda Forsberg, Lisa Lackey and Jay Pingree; Montclair’s Katrina Bello, José Camacho, Donna Grande and Adam Z. Swart; Newark’s Antoinette Ellis-Williams; Roseland’s Donna Conklin King; South Orange’s Ann Vollum; and West Orange’s Seth Bechtold, Sarah Canfield, Allan Gorman, Judy Gould, Robert Lach and Susan Ward.

“The Arts Annual is an exhibition focused solely on New Jersey artists, and the State Arts Council is proud to support the many great artists who call New Jersey home,” said Danielle Bursk, director of community partnerships and artist services for the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. “Each year, the Arts Annual exhibition is one way that we recognize and highlight new work, and provide the opportunity for audiences to see artworks from some of the most innovative and accomplished artists in the state. And our partners at the State Museum have done an amazing job curating a timely, inspiring, and powerful exhibition.”

The New Jersey State Museum, 205 W. State St. in Trenton, is open Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. For additional information visit www.statemuseum.nj.gov.

  State Council on the Arts