John Beck

New exhibit coming up at Artworks! Opening reception next Friday, March 1st. See you there!

March 1 – March 31, 2013
Reception: March 1, 4 – 7pm

An exhibition of new student paintings entitled Control, Alt, Delete is being presented at Artworks Trenton from Friday, March 1 to Sunday, March 31, 2013.  The exhibition will include paintings and sculptures produced by the twenty-eight students currently enrolled in Advanced Painting at TCNJ. In conjunction with the opening, there will be an artist reception and discussion of the works by the students and faculty on March 1, from 4-7:00PM.  Music will be provided by AMP’d, TCNJ’s student electronic music group.

Control, Alt, Delete takes its theme from the new and varied ways that contemporary painting is influenced by digital media. Led by Professor Greg Thielker, students in the Advanced Painting classes at the College of New Jersey use this theme to create paintings that are based on digital sources, filters, and tools along with traditional techniques. Rather than spelling the irrelevance of painting as contemporary art medium, these influences have served to reinvigorate the paintings in this exhibition with new colors, techniques, and sources.  Students have used the flexibility of paint to make reference to the blur of photography, pixilation of low-res imagery, and even the colors of infrared cameras.  Paintings in the exhibition function as exploration of the digital sources and reinterpretation by the artists. The title of the exhibit is a reference to the ability to interrupt processes on the computer, effectively freezing a way of looking.  Painting can be this interrupted moment, allowing us to consider the complex visual dynamics at work in the digital realm.

For more information on TCNJ’s Department of Art and Art History or Professor Thielker, please visit http://www.tcnj.edu/~art/

Opening reception is TONIGHT! (1/19)

World Sampler
A group exhibit curated by Frances Heinrich

January 15 – February 23, 2013

Artist Presentation & Reception:  January 19, 2013 (Snow Date January 26)
5-6pm   Curator Frances Heinrich will present a short Powerpoint talk, “Toward a Globalized Aesthetic.” followed by a gallery tour with exhibiting artists.
6-8pm  Reception

“We now live in a world that is constantly changing and becoming conceptually smaller and more connected. Most of us no longer believe or expect that everything is best when it appears Western and White. Instead, a savvy public enjoys and understands a kaleidoscopic blend of world-wide imagery, with all patterns, colors, and appearances equally valid. “World Sampler” seeks to include adventurous and culture-aware works which explore the idea of an increasingly globalized aesthetic.

Participating artists will include Tom Bendtsen, Carl Gombert, Eve Ingalls, Benjamin Jones, Monica Kane, Alan Kesselhaut, Frances Heinrich, and George Shortess. These artists all share a strong global/cultural consciousness and all “sample” some aspect of a global awakening. Issues of ethnicity, environment, information overload, and the search for a better quality of life are undertaken. The installations, sculptures, and wall works have been selected both for their high artistic merit and for their sensitivity to current concerns.”   – Curator, Frances Heinrich
 
Participating Artists:
Tom Bendtsen
Carl Gombert
Eve Ingalls
Benjamin Jones
Monica Kane
Alan Kesselhaut
Frances Heinrich
George Shortess