September through December
“Afloat”
Artist and Educator, Karen Murphy
The Gallery-on-the-Boulevard, located in the Kenilworth Public Library, will present: “Afloat”, a series of paintings by artist and educator Karen Murphy. The exhibit will open in September and run through December.
Artist, educator and single mother Karen Murphy explores many media in her art practice, but painting has been a lifelong passion. She has a BA in Art Education, Virginia Wesleyan University and did graduate work, Virginia Commonwealth University. In recent years she has preferred watercolor, using elements of pure abstraction, with colors, shapes, textures and compositions inspired by her love of air and water.
An avid swimmer, Karen finds creative inspiration in the fluid feeling of weightlessness experienced in water, and the dynamic intersection of air, water, and breath. Her art making, like her swimming and parenting all involve seeking out pockets of air and beauty in a space that will swallow those who stop moving. At times there is fluidity, strength, serenity and grace, and at other times the artist submerged and gasping. As much a restorative practice as it is a creative practice, this work represents the act of sheer determination to stay Afloat.
The Gallery-on-the-Boulevard is co-curated by Cintia Malhotra and Barbara Wirkus. To purchase artwork, please contact the artist. For more information, please contact Barbara Wirkus at dmbbw33@gmail.com.
The exhibit is free and open to the public during regular library hours.
Past Exhibits
May through August
“Catching Light”
Visual Artist, Joy Sussman
The Gallery-on-the-Boulevard, located in the Kenilworth Public Library, will present photographer Joy Sussman in a solo exhibit of her work entitled “Catching Light”. The show will open in May and close at the end of August.
As a visual artist, Joy Sussman is a work in progress .She describes herself as contemplative, creative, curious about everything, and her work reflects those qualities. Painterly still lifes, dreamy landscapes, fine art photography, tiny macro worlds, mobile art photography are some of the many areas that interest her. Joy received her first Kodak Instamatic camera for a Christmas present at the age of 7. She now works interchangeably with a full-frame Canon DSLR camera (5D Mark iii) and an iPhone to capture images, and then uses a combination of desktop software and mobile editing apps to add textural interest and mood.
Joy majored in Art History at Vassar College, worked several years in the creative sector of advertising in NYC and Philadelphia, and is now a full-time photographer. She also teaches online classes in photography and has created and curates/edits a magazine called Catch Light: Creative Inspiration for Photographers and Visual Artists (available in print and digital formats).
Joy’s photographs and written work have been published in U.S. national magazines: Artful
Blogging,and Bella Grace. She was one of seven Honorees worldwide in the Photography category of 2015 Voices of the Year and again in 2016. Her images will be included in Juried Group Exhibition, “Arts in the Park,” Randolph, New Jersey May 2023, and Juried Group Exhibition, “Reflections of Solitude,” 2023 Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival, Toronto, Canada May 2023.
All artwork is available for purchase by contacting the artist.
The exhibit is free and open to the public during regular library hours. For more information call 908-276-2451.
Any artists interested in exhibiting their work in 2023, may contact Barbara Wirkus at dmbbw33@gmail.com
