Newark Library Hosting Art Exhibit

The Newark Public Library invites the public to its Jan. 23 opening of an exhibition that celebrates a wide range of contemporary, living Newark artists of multiple generations, from internationally renowned, to newly emerging.

The event is the continuation of the Library’s 2012-13 celebration of Newark art and artists launched last October with the opening of a two-part exhibition, and a portfolio review and art resource fair.  The second part of the exhibition opens Jan. 23 with a 6 pm to 8 pm reception at the Main Library, 5 Washington St.   Jared Ash, exhibition curator, will present a talk at 7 pm on the library’s 100-plus year history as an art space, and its rich relationships with Newark artists, past and present.

Newark Art and Artists: Prints, Photographs, and Other Works on Paper from the Special Collections of the Newark Public Library is a two-part exhibition of works created by artists who have lived, studied, worked, or were born in Newark. The exhibition includes art created between 1800 and 2012, and is drawn entirely from the holdings of the library’s Special Collections Division. 

Newark Art and Artists will be on view in the Main Library’s Third Floor Gallery from Jan. 23 through May 25. The exhibition and related programs are free and open to the general public during regular library hours, Monday through Saturday. For additional information, please visit www.npl.org, or contact the Reference Division through email at: reference@npl.org, or by calling 973-733-7779.

Part 2 of the exhibition, opening Jan. 23, features approximately one hundred works created between 1937 and 2012 by a wide range of contemporary, living artists.  In addition to artists most frequently associated with Newark such as Willie Cole, Chakaia Booker, and Jerry Gant, the exhibition presents works by a number of other world-renowned artists with Newark roots, including Robert Birmelin, Barbara Kruger, and George Tice.  The exhibition also includes several works by the late Will Barnet, as a posthumous tribute.  Early in his career, Barnet, who passed away in November at the age of 101, taught at the Newark Normal School, which later became Kean University.

In addition to these curators, review participants and other visitors will have an opportunity to meet representatives from a broad range of art organizations, and discover new places to show art, see art, sell art, and create art in Newark.  While there is no fee to participate, artists interested in having their portfolios reviewed are encouraged to reserve a review slot in advance.  For reservations and additional information, contact Anonda Bell, Director & Curator, Paul Robeson Galleries, at galleryr@andromeda.rutgers.edu, or 973-353-1610.