A scene from last December’s temporary gallery installation on Front Street, with Emily Asher Neiman visible behind the counter.
She didn’t make her pronouncement with the pomp of General Douglas MacArthur or the portent of the Terminator — but when Emily Asher Neiman said she’d be back, well, she was a woman of her word.
After having closed her eponymous art gallery on Monmouth Street late in 2008, Asher Neiman returned to Red Bank in December of last year for a gifting-season Home for the Holidays event that set up temporary shop inside the glass-facaded former home of DesignFront at 21 East Front Street — a bit of planned obsolescence that nonetheless brought some welcome light and life to what had once been one of the borough’s most stylish storefronts.
The highly regarded art dealer and artist rep, who recently wed web designer and former Red Banker Simon Abramson in Mexico (see details, including photos by Bob and Liz McKay, on their official site) has established base camp once again at that same location across from the Globe Court parking garage. The exhibit and art sale known as Oh, Those Summer Nights kicked off with a reception on August 19, and continues this Thursday through Sunday.
Featured on Emily’s list will be a sampling of works by a couple of artists who’ve enjoyed a long affiliation with the dealer — landscape painter Christie Scheele and Philly-based encaustic artist Lorraine Glessner. In addition, she’ll be featuring recent works from friend and mentor Charlotte Scherer, the pioneer gallery owner whose long-running Artforms redefined the Monmouth County artscape in forward-thinking fashion. Hours for the event are noon to 10p August 26 through 29, and additional details can be obtained by calling (732)945-5412 or emailing emily@asherneiman.com.
There’s a lot more to be experienced on the virtual ArtWalk in the days and evenings to come; here’s the rundown.
MCAC’s Arts Salon at Jamian’s. The monthly mobile gathering sponsored by the Monmouth County Arts Council returns (a month early!) to Jamian’s Food and Drink on Monmouth Street, offering “artists and art enthusiasts” a place to “exchange ideas, talk, vent and laugh.” Informal RSVP to cad@monmoutharts.org. Monday, August 30 / 6-8p.
Artists’ Workshop at the Red Bank Public Library. The West Front Street institution hosts a free and informal monthly gathering, at which artists can “find inspiration and motivation” in a space for creative people to draw and paint with others. No registration necessary; bring acrylics, pastels, watercolors, charcoal or pencils (no oils, please) and show up between 7 and 8:30p. While you’re there, you can sign up in advance for September’s Thursday evening series Drawing and Painting with Rocco Scibetta. Registration’s required for the free Thursday night sessions that commence on September 9; call (732)842-0690 to reserve by phone.
Videographer and arts advocate Robert O’Connor of Atlantic Highlands is the featured window artist for September, as the Art Alliance of Monmouth County resumes its monthly schedule of homegrown exhibits.
FRESH at The Art Alliance. After taking its customary dog-days hiatus, The Art Alliance of Monmouth County returns to its Monmouth Street digs with a FRESH new group show of art by AAMC members, incorporating a featured window display by painter, printmaker and video artist Robert O’Connor — the tireless arts advocate whose work on behalf of the nonprofit Atlantic Highlands Arts Council (particularly the annual FilmOneFest) has brought a cool new breeze in off that picturesque Bayshore harbor. Opening reception on September 11, with the exhibit continuing through the month during regular gallery hours (Tuesday thru Saturday, from noon to 4p). Saturday, September 11/ 6-8p.
Bayonet Farm Art & Music Festival. Although it’s been going on for seven years now, this annual open-air event on the cusp of autumn tends to fly under the radar for much of the local populace. Presented by the Township of Holmdel’s Parks and Recreation Department and hosted at picturesque Bayonet Farm (just one of many first-rate local and county public spaces in the big H), the rain-or-shine shindig spotlights local music (by the Colts Neck Swing Band, plus Latin rock, traditional Chinese songs and Greek dance) and showcases by local artisans in the Gray Barn Gallery. There’s kids’ music by Yosi, art demos by Art “DoodleDude” Kaney, and even a live demonstration of ‘plein air’ painting, judged by art gallery owner James Yarosh. All presented between the hours of noon and 5pm, and all for just five bucks (kids under 18 get in for free). Call (732)946-2820, extension 1225, for more info. Sunday, September 12/ noon-5p.
ARTIST WITH REFLECTING GLASSES — otherwise known as a self-portrait of Evelyn Leavens — is among the featured works in a retrospective of works by the lifelong Red Banker, continuing through September 5 at the Monmouth Museum.
THE PAINTING WORLD OF EVELYN LEAVENS at The Monmouth Museum. In an interview that appeared a few weeks back here on redbankgreen, the 85 year old painter, photographer and art teacher Evelyn Leavens proclaimed that “I never saw a pigeonhole that could hold me, and I’ve never been afraid of anything.” You can read the whole feature right here — or better yet, you can still look in on some sixty years worth of inspiration and invention, as the Monmouth Museum continues to host a major retrospective (actually, a chance for the rest of us to catch up, before the lifelong Red Banker sprints ahead to the next project) on this genuine local legend. The exhibit remains up during normal museum hours through September 5 — after which there’s a lot more exciting stuff in store at the cultural resource located on the Lincroft campus of Brookdale Community College.
On Sunday, September 12, the Museum hosts an opening reception (3-5p) for the new show Art From Found Objects — a collection which, as the name suggests, finds beauty and inpiration in the most delightfully unlikely of places. Nearly fifty artists (including the brilliant Middletown-based paper sculptor Riccardo Berlingeri) are represented in the group show juried by Harriet Taub of NYC’s Department of Cultural Affairs; the trash-into-treasure installation continues during normal museum hours through October 31. Then stop in again on the evening of Wednesday, September 15, when mixed-media sculptor Anique Taylor returns to the Museum for a Gallery Talk event, as part of her entry in the ongoing NJ Emerging Artists series. Using a wide range of collaged materials, the Teaneck resident “explores the theme of women’s personal journeys, creating psychological portraits that express a range of emotion and thought” — and the exhibit continues through Sunday, September 19 (check the website for hours and admision info).
