New Jersey Highlands Coalition art exhibit featuring 42 artists opens Thursday in Morris County
MORRISTOWN, N.J. (Morris County) — The New Jersey Highlands Coalition’s 13th Annual Highlands Juried Art Exhibit will open Thursday, Oct. 29, at the Atrium Gallery in Morristown, featuring original artwork from 42 artists across three states inspired by the landscapes, wildlife and cultural heritage of the Highlands region.
The exhibit will open with a free public reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Morris County Administration and Records Building, 10 Court St. The event will include the announcement of award winners and the presentation of $1,200 in cash prizes.
The annual exhibition, displayed on the fourth and fifth floors of the Atrium Gallery, features photography, paintings, sculpture and mixed-media artwork inspired by the landscapes, animals, plants, historic landmarks and cultural resources of the four-state Highlands region, with particular emphasis on the New Jersey Highlands.
A concurrent exhibition, titled Artists as Advocates Showcase, will be displayed on the second and third floors, featuring additional works by the competition’s judges and jurors, previous award winners and other invited artists.
The juried exhibition includes 42 artists from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York, including several from Morris, Sussex, Warren and Hunterdon counties.
Participating artists from Warren County include Vicki Smith of Asbury, Richard Sharp of Blairstown, Katie Della Terza of Columbia, Alexandra Jurchescu and Jeremy Travers of Hackettstown, and Doris Ettlinger and Michael McFadden of Hampton.
Sussex County artists include Denise Sivulich and Robin Schwartz of Newton, along with Kim Parker and Ewa Pokora-Nalewajek of Stockholm.
Morris County participants include David Goteiner of Basking Ridge, Laurie Harden and Martha Romano of Boonton, Linda Aldrich and Peter Aldrich of Boonton Township, Jane Biron of Chester, Kaitlin Lodato and Mary Shadbolt of Denville, Robin Gutkin of Florham Park, Justine Réneau Perdunn Kovacs of Green Village, Kevin Lee of Montville, Kaitlin Hunt of Morris Plains, Kathleen Mccullough, Lisa Bryn Cerny, Anne Ricculli, George Aronson and Laura Gardner of Morristown, and Tricia Goginsky and Leah Tomaino of Randolph.
Other New Jersey artists include Helen Lee Meyers of Flemington, Peggy Dressel of Oakland, James Thoubboron of Ringwood, Henry Slomowitz of Wanaque, Ronald Ingrassia of West Milford and Yogamy Ferreras-Farley of Woodridge.
The exhibition also features Dennis Romano of Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania, and Linda Calvet and Charles Dexter of New York City.
Artwork submitted for the competition was reviewed by a panel of jurors that included Dwight Hiscano, an award-winning landscape photographer and founder of the Highlands Juried Art Exhibit; Elliott Ruga, policy and communications director for the New Jersey Highlands Coalition; Donna Compton, the exhibit’s curator and founder of Compton Gallery in Boonton; photographer and printmaker Edward Fausty; painter, photographer and filmmaker Mitchell Rosenzweig; and John Castronovo, founder of Tech Photo in Boonton.
During Thursday’s opening reception, first-, second- and third-place awards will be announced in both the Fine Art and Photography categories, along with honorable mentions. Hiscano will select the photography winners, while Todd Doney, a professor of art and design at County College of Morris and an award-winning artist, will select the fine art winners.
The exhibition will remain open through Jan. 7, with regular visiting hours Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and extended hours until 7 p.m. on Thursdays. Admission is free and open to the public during regular gallery hours.
The Atrium Gallery will also serve as an official venue for First Night Morris County on Thursday, Dec. 31. Admission to the exhibit during that event will require a First Night Morris County ticket, available at firstnightmorris.org.
Artwork displayed in the exhibition will be available for purchase, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the New Jersey Highlands Coalition.
