Morris Museum to showcase monumental outdoor sculpture exhibition featuring New Jersey artists
MORRIS TOWNSHIP, NJ (Morris County) — The Morris Museum will present a large-scale outdoor sculpture exhibition featuring works by New Jersey artists as part of the 42nd New Jersey Arts Annual.
The exhibition, titled Common Ground: NJ Artists Think Monumental, will run from May 28 through Aug. 23 across the museum’s 8-acre campus in Morristown. Organizers said the exhibition marks the first time the annual showcase has moved beyond traditional gallery spaces to focus on outdoor installations.
“Our longstanding partnership with the Morris Museum has led to the creation of Arts Annual exhibitions that spark thought-provoking, timely conversations,” said Allison Tratner, executive director of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. “We look forward to this very special exhibition and highlighting these inspiring and talented New Jersey artists.”
According to the museum, the exhibition explores how large-scale sculpture interacts with landscape, public space and community settings.
The juried selection process was led by Johannah Hutchinson, executive director of the International Sculpture Center and publisher of Sculpture Magazine. Organizers said 530 works submitted by 91 artists living and working in New Jersey were reviewed before nine works were selected for the exhibition.
Artists featured in the exhibition include Clifford Blanchard of Morristown, Sunil Garg of Summit, Wendy Gordon of Lambertville, Robert Koch of Jersey City, Robert Lobe of Newark, Judith Peck of Mahwah, Jill Scipione of Jersey City, Lee Tal of Jersey City and Josh Urso of Jersey City.
Museum officials said each work was evaluated based on its relationship to scale, terrain, materials, lighting and public space.
An opening reception and member preview event is scheduled for May 28.
The New Jersey Arts Annual Exhibition is a collaborative project between the Morris Museum and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.
