Jersey Bounce explores the visual “conversation” that occurs when works of art are installed in a gallery setting. Art Center Curator Mary Birmingham has invited several other NJ-based curators and collectors to collaborate with her on this exhibition. Participants include collectors Ann Schaffer and Ellyn Dennison; Alexandra Schwartz, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Montclair Art Museum; Jeanne Brasile, Director of the Walsh Gallery at Seton Hall University; Donna Gustafson, Andrew W. Mellon Liason for Academic Programs and Curator at the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum; and Katherine Murdock, Exhibitions Manager at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey. Jersey Bounce opens to the public in the Main Gallery on July 29.

Beginning with several key pieces of work, each participant has, in turn, chosen another work that responds in some way: formally (by composition, material, color, etc.), conceptually or by subject matter. The sequencing of these art objects creates a narrative thread linking one work to the next and forms a web of interesting connections.

Featured artists: Willie Cole, Tracy Heneberger, Ho Sup Huang, Julia Jacquette, Lisa Letinsky, Laurel Nakadate, Marlo Pascual, Ry Rocklen, David Shapiro, Cindy Sherman, Hidemi Shimura, Alyson Shotz, Charles Spurrier, Linda Stillman, Jude Tallichet, Wahala Temi, Hank Willis Thomas, Ryan Trecartin, Josette Urso, Paul Villinski, Brent Wahl and Rachel Perry Welty.

Jersey Bounce celebrates the practice of colleagues bouncing ideas off one another and documents a conversation among art lovers. The show also acknowledges the relevance and vitality of New Jersey as a site for contemporary art while honoring the Art Center’s long history of curatorial collaborations.

The exhibition title is borrowed from the song Jersey Bounce, written by Tiny Bradshaw, Eddie Johnson and Bobby Plater, with lyrics by Buddy Feyne. It was a #1 hit in 1942 for the Benny Goodman Orchestra and has been recorded by countless performers including Ella Fitzgerald.