James Andrew Brown, Jimmy Got Soul – Stop the Violence

“Whether working in black chalk, ink wash or color laid on in small strokes and scored with scratches, Mr. Brown packs a big punch, as he does with his sculpture…” - VIVIEN RAYNOR for the New York Times

Rupert Ravens Contemporary proudly presents Jimmy Got Soul: STOP THE VIOLENCE, a body of new work by New Jersey artist James A. Brown, former Artist-In-Residence of the Studio Harlem Museum and Art Professor at Paterson State University.

A staged “drive by” is a central installation of this exhibition, featuring hand build cars that the viewer can drive across the gallery floor in a simulation of the event, the name so implies, that is an everyday reality for too many Americans in our over populated ghetto’s and project housing. Persisting in his creation of evaluations that incorporate gathered items of the American childhood experience – items of personal significance to his own understanding of culture, and the language he uses to subvert cultural stereotypes anew – Brown literally succeeds in force feeding the viewer their own used detritus in the form of taunting totems and the menacing installations. Plying disparate objects of late twentieth century adolescent memorabilia, most will recognize their own stuffed animals, water pistols, ghost-buster collectables, and Barbie dolls in startling arrangements and alterations of pathological gesture to moods of hysteria or dysphoria. This, mixed with painting of expressive figuration in primary colors that mimic the palette of the corporate product that adorns it’s surface, is not limited to the flat, as both light reflecting materials and imbedded video sequence serves to heighten the visual and auditory experience of Brown’s multimedia ‘bandings’.

Trellis, A Sculpture Survey

”...our wanting to touch is an essence of sculpture. In experiencing sculpture we are penetrating the space denied us by so many twentieth-century paintings.”—Bill Beckley

The 2D world stops us at the plane of illusion, precluding entry, leaving only desire. The fabric of space and time however, weaves a lattice support for new ideas which can then spill into a dimensional existence. These artists invite us to traverse this tapestry of space which can be either invaded or buoyed through the process of accretion.

The puncturing of space makes the reflex to physicality complex as these sculptures offer refuge over the myopic form-follows-concept academicism of much current contemporary art. Sculpture like this allocates detail similar to architecture which, in turn, invigorates us to sense the structure within a protected moment, where we can touch the space beyond our body.

Carol Salmanson Eleta Caldwell Elio Franceschelli Eric Drury Hubert Dobler Jo Motyka Kathleen Vance Kathy Bruce Katie Truk Marie Pasquariello Nancy Cohen Nicolae Golici Noah Loesberg Norm Francoeur Pat Lay Patrick Doyle Peter Dudek Sam Stone Sarah Millman Tamiko Kawata Travis Hanmer William Oliwa

Williamsburg Window – Two Machine Poems, Mark Esper Curated by Dam Stuhltrager Gallery

Rupert Ravens Contemporary presents in Gallery 2, in the Williamsburg Window, Two Machine Poems, two works by Brooklyn artist Mark Esper, from Dam Stuhltrager Gallery. The Second Orrery generates a tornado by guiding convection driven air into a spinning motion over a pan of heated water. The air is directed by five baffles arranged at the edge of the pan of heated water. Near the center of the pan, a funnel of warm mist forms just like in a tornado or a water – spout.

New Enlightenment is a new interactive installation that manipulates light, creating inverse shadows. It explores several aspects of perception and self-perception. The actual term, Enlightenment, comes from the humanistic and scientific movement that began in the eighteenth century. Also in this work, the idea of personal enlightenment is made physical, a means of contemplation.

A Selection of 33 from 100 NJ Artists – Brodsky Center for Innovative Editions

Rupert Ravens Contemporary presents in Gallery 3, A SELECTION OF 33, a group exhibition of New Jersey Artists who created editions at the Brodsky Center for Innovative Editions, formerly known as the Rutgers Center for Innovative Print and Paper.

The 100 prints or handmade paper projects in this exhbition are a cross section of American art at the turn of the millennium. This exhibition reveals the richness and variety of expression as well as the size and depth of the New Jersey artist community.

The variety of techniques used by the artists is wide ranging from traditional etching, lithography, and woodcut to photo imagery and digital processes.Art in the United States is in a period that can be compared to the Italian Renaissance. During the 15th century, every city in Italy had its own group of amazing artists. The same is true today. One can go from region to region of the United States and find artists who are working at the leading edge of art ideas. It is a pleasure to be able to show the excellence of the artist community in New Jersey.

Alejandro Anreus Alfonso Corpus Alison Weld Barbara Klein Bisa Washington Caroline Lathan-Stiefel Charles Hewitt Christopher Lesnewski Cicely Cottingham Craig Buckbee Debra Sachs Diana Gonzalez Gandolfi Eugenio Espinosa Gail Deery Geanna Merola Gerry Griffin Grace Graupe Pillard Hugo Bastidas J. Catherine Bebout James Brown John Goodyear John Patterson Kate Dodd Manuel Acevedo Mel Edwards Miriam Beerman Mona Brody Nancy Cohen Peter Arakawa Philip Orenstein Renee Green Victor Davson Willie Cole