Denise Toney and her piece "Ashanti"
Big talent was showcased on a small scale.
The West Orange Arts Council (WOAC) recently held the opening reception for “UNTITLED Small Works” at the West Orange Arts Center Gallery and Gift Shoppe at 551 Valley Road.
The exhibit featured the work of 23 artists: Kim Alexander-Cook, George Anderson, Luis Alves, Andrei Averbuch, Balkrishna, Tina Burk, Mary Bynes, Jeanette Centeno, Colleen Creedon, Maria Estrela, Mary Franklin, Sue Greenwald, Hugh Mahon, Kathleen Heron, Liem Hoang, Carol T. Jenkins, Theodore Jenkins, Aron Lifschultz, Sylvia Padilla, John Piccoli, Linda Strobert, Denise Toney, and Tasha Williams.
The show was installed by WOAC gallery manager Rey Arvelo with help from artists Jenkins and Lifschultz. It will be running until May 18.
“This exhibit illustrates how art can inspire and celebrate the beautiful,” said Patricia Mitrano, chair of the West Orange Arts Council. “Our artist reception is a great way to bring people together, support our local artists and encourage others to get involved in the arts. Arts organizations like West Orange Arts Council would not exist without the support we receive from the community.”
George Anderson of Summit creates abstract expressions of a male artist with autism and ADHD.
“I have both,” he said. Through art, he said he gets his feelings out, which he can’t with words. “The way my brain works, it makes sense,” he said.
Anderson has a degree in art history. He uses colored pencils as his medium.
Balkrishna of West Orange painted gardens from Bangalore. He used oil and completes them in three or four hours.
Sylvia Padilla of Union says pre-Columbian artifacts—Inca, Aztec—influence her art, which is acrylic on canvas and includes collage and fabric work. She has a bachelor’s in fine arts from Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark. She thanks her mentor, Andrew Tehran, an Eastside High School teacher, and the late Denise Tomasos, from Rutgers who inspired her work.
Denise Toney, of East Orange, works with fabric on top of fabric, synthetic, and alcohol ink digitized on double net frame. Her featured piece was called “Ashanti.”
She’s a 2023 recipient of a community project grant from Project for Empty Space made possible by The Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts for “Newark Lifts, Newark Lights Through the Arts.” She is also a 2023 recipient of an individual grant from Peters Valley School of Craft on behalf of The New Jersey Arts and Culture Renewal Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation. In 2022 she was awarded a Black Artist Resilience Grant graciously granted by Art in the Atrium, Inc., made possible by the New Jersey Arts and Culture Renewal Fund.
This exhibit will run until May 18. Exhibit hours are Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m., and by appointment. Visitors to the West Orange Arts Center can also visit the gift shop which has a fine selection of art-inspired gifts, made by local artists. The one-of-a-kind items move fast and change often. These include a variety of art-inspired gifts, accessories, hand-made one-of-a-kind jewelry, cards, scarves, soaps, paintings, ceramics, and unique home décor.
To learn more about The West Orange Arts Council, visit: https://woarts.org/
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