As a way of decompressing from the workweek, an after-dinner dawdle along the streets of Red Bank on a summer evening is a pretty sure thing. And this Saturday night, lollygaggers can add art appreciation to their wanderings by getting into the flow of ArtWalk, a a semi-annual event in which nine art galleries extend their hours to show off their stuff for visitors on self-guided tours.
It kicks off at 6p, and as always, is open to the public and free.
“It’s a night on which all the art galleries stay open until 9p, instead of closing at their usual 5 or 6p,” says event organizer Heather Malinowski of Laurel Tracey Gallery. “It’s rain or shine. We all pitch in and buy postcards to promote the event and keep our fingers crossed.”
Coinciding with ArtWalk, Laurel Tracey, on White Street, is hosting a reception for a new show called “Garden Party,” featuring landscape works by five painters. Among them is Jon Peters, whose paintings include impressionistic views of some locales familiar to Shore residents and visitors. The show runs through Aug. 12.
A block away, on Monmouth Street, McKay Imaging Studio & Gallery will feature manipulated photos and other works by the late John Kochansky, a Long Branch artist who died suddenly last October at age 47. An opening party is scheduled for Friday night from 7 to 10p. The Kochansky show runs through Aug. 28; all proceeds benefit a scholarship fund for his daughter, Karly.
Galleries participating in ArtWalk are listed below. Copies of the map are available at each gallery and from Red Bank RiverCenter.
1. Chetkin Gallery
9 Wharf Avenue
732-741-6116
Specializes in International Contemporary Art with an emphasis on European Painters.
2. Laurel Tracey Gallery
10 White Street
732-224-0760
Contemporary American paintings, sculptures and works on paper.
3. McKay Imaging Studio & Gallery
Photo Studio & Gallery
12 Monmouth Street, 2nd floor
732-842-2272
Red Bank’s only photo gallery, featuring contemporary fine-art and documentary photography.
4. Art Forms Gallery
16 Monmouth Street
732-530-4330
21st-century American art masters and emerging work in all mediums.
5. Inheritance Gallery
30 Monmouth Street
732-530-5417
Original vintage art posters from through the centuries and around the globe.
6. CEL-EBRATION! Gallery
30 Monmouth Street
732-842-8489
Original and limited-edition animation art, both 2-D and 3-D, from Disney and all other studios.
7. Art Alliance Gallery
33 Monmouth Street
732-842-9403
An all-volunteer co-op gallery dedicated to providing exhibitions and studio space for area artists.
8. Beacon Fine Arts Gallery
61 Monmouth Street
732-936-0888
Featuring international and eclectic artists of all styles.
9. Kingsley Art Gallery
Inside the Galleria
2 Bridge Avenue
732-530-3383
A unique and diverse selection of fine art by renowned and up and coming American and International artists.
