ENTERTAINMENT

Hunterdon Art Museum rides the new wave with Art Party

Bill Nutt
Correspondent
  • Hunterdon Art Museum will hold its annual ArtParty at its Clinton facility on Saturday, Sept. 19
  • The fundraiser will include a meal prepared by a dozen chefs and culinary artisans, live music from the Hot Club of Flatbush
  • There also will be a live and silent auction of works by more than 30 artists
  • The Hunterdon Art Museum, open Tuesdays through Sundays, is housed in a former stone mill that dates to 1838

The Hunterdon Art Museum occupies a building that dates back nearly 200 years.

In almost every other respect, however, the Clinton institution is committed to everything new and current in the art world.

“There are only a limited number of museums in New Jersey,” said Peter Jacobs of Montclair. “The Hunterdon Art Museum does a little more in the way of showing cutting-edge work.That means a lot to artists.”

The Hunterdon Art Museum in Clinton was one of four art organizations to receive grants through a national endowment.

Jacobs creates collages from each day’s New York Times, a task he has done for 10 years. A 10-year retrospective consisting of 120 pieces is currently on display at the museum through Sept. 6.

“I was very pleased with the exhibit,” said Jacobs of “The Collage Project - The First Decade.”  The curator and staff "did a great job of displaying my work.”

Peter Jacobs has created collages from each day's copy of The New York Times for the past 10 years.  An exhibition of his work is currently on display on the Hunterdon Art Museum in Clinton.  The Montclair  artist is also donated a piece to the auction that will be part of the museum's ArtParty on Saturday, Sept. 19.

In addition to his current exhibition, Jacobs will donate one of his pieces to be auctioned at the ArtParty, the annual fundraiser which will be conducted at the museum on Sept. 19.

Jacobs is one of more than 30 artists who are contributing work for the auction. The ArtParty also features a meal prepared by a dozen chefs and culinary artisans. Music will be provided by the Hot Club of Flatbush, a jazz ensemble.

Working together

The fact that so many artists are willing to donate pleases Marjorie Nathanson, executive director of the Hunterdon Art Museum.  About 40 pieces will be part of a silent auction, while another half-dozen items will be part of a live auction.

“We appreciate their generous donations,” Nathanson said, adding that these donations reflect the regard with which the art community regards the museum.

“We’ve become known for the quality of the work we exhibit, and the unique exhibitions we do,” she said, citing the example of a tapestry exhibit this past spring.

“Our goal is to find work that is of high quality and bring, to this part of the state, what you might find in New York City or Philadelphia,” Nathanson said.

Another example is an exhibit on photography that opens Sept. 27. The display is being curated by Kristen Accola, an independent curator who was the museum’s director of exhibitions from 1993 to 2003 and again from 2004 to 2008.

“I was asked by the museum to pick any genre,” said Accola, now based in Manhattan. “I mentioned that photography is very big in the art world.  Photographs are now being exhibited the way paintings always have been.”

In particular, Accola wanted to use to exhibit to show how some contemporary photographers actually build environments that they shoot. “This is fine art photography, but it’s also linked to cinematography and set design,” she said.

She cited the team of Walter Martin and Paloma Muñoz, who construct miniaturized scenes that they photograph. “The scenes are very mysterious,” Accola said.  “(Each one) is like a story that doesn’t have an ending.”

“Blah, Blah, Blah,” a glazed ceramic piece, was donated by artist Jae Yong Kim as one of the items that will be part of the live and silent auctions that will be held at the ArtParty on Saturday, Sept. 19.  The event is a fundraiser for the Hunterdon Art Museum in Clinton, which has earned a reputation for showcasing inventive work in a variety of media.

The photography exhibit will feature the work of another seven individuals and teams. The pieces date from the 1970s to the present.

“I hope that visitors to the museum who see this exhibit will see a side of photography they didn’t know about,” Accola said.  “They’ll be exposed to new ideas and new techniques.”

Museum mission

Introducing the public to new concepts has been part of the mission of the museum since it opened as the Hunterdon Art Center in 1953.

The building that houses the museum opened as a mill in 1836. The stone structure has been durable; it survived the fire that destroyed many buildings on Clinton’s Main Street in 1891.

“Our building is such a gem,” Nathanson said. “It’s a wonderful space to show art in, and the 19th Century setting juxtaposes with this contemporary art.”

The physical space of the Hunterdon Art Museum attracted Peter Jacobs even before he began his Collage Project. For many years, he was a fine arts photographer and print maker.

This ceramic vessel in porcelain and metallic glaze by artist Steve Sitrin will be among the items that will be auctioned at the Hunterdon Art Museum’s ArtParty fundraiser on Saturday, Sept. 19.  The event will also feature meals prepared by chefs and culinary artisans, with live music by the Hot Club of Flatbush.

“Several years ago, I shot work of a pottery installation,” Jacobs said. “I became familiar with the museum, and I was impressed with what they did.”

The location is also an asset, according to Jacobs. “Clinton is a historic town, and it gets a lot of traffic,” he said.

One recent change to the facility was the addition of a terrace.  “It offers wonderful social opportunities,” Nathanson said.  “It’s a gathering spot.”

A 90-foot-long wall along one side of the terrace has a blackboard, with chalk available for visitors to use. “That’s been a constant attraction,” Nathanson said.  “Some of the things we’ve seen written and drawn are incredibly poignant.”

Over the years, the museum has exhibited works in a variety of media – paint, oils, glass, photography, ceramics, paper, and fabrics.

Exhibitions constitute only one way that the Hunterdon Art Museum reaches the public. Nathanson said that in her 19 years at the museum she has seen an increased emphasis on education and outreach.

“We have nine weeks of summer art camp, and other classes throughout the year,” she said.  The education program includes workshops for families and lessons for children, teens, and adults.

\Accola agreed that the Hunterdon Art Museum holds a special place as one of the cultural centers of Central Jersey.

“It’s important to have an institution like Hunterdon Art Museum that brings something to the community,” Accola said. “It provides a huge service to the community, and it works at such a high level.”

Nathanson said that her goal for the museum is to build on its reputation. “I’d like to see an expansion of the adult education classes,” she said.

“Apart from that, we want to continue offering interesting work for the public to see,” Nathanson said. “We’re very proud of what we do."

The Hot Club of Flatbush, featuring vocalist Gretch Vitamvas, will perform at the ArtParty held at the Hunterdon Art Museum in Clinton on Saturday, Sept. 19.  The annual fundraiser for the museum includes meals prepared by chefs and culinary artisans, as well as live and silent auctions of artwork.

HUNTERDON ART MUSEUM

WHAT: Museum

WHEN: Open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays 

WHERE: Hunterdon Art Museum, 7 Lower Center St., Clinton

ADMISSION: $5 suggested donation

ARTPARTY

WHAT: Annual fundraiser for Hunterdon Art Museum includes a meal prepared by a dozen chefs and culinary artisans, live music from the Hot Club of Flatbush, and a live and silent auction of works by more than 30 artists.

WHEN: 6:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday, September 19

WHERE: Hunterdon Art Museum, 7 Lower Center St., Clinton

ADMISSION: $175 per person

INFORMATION: 908-735-8415 or www.hunterdonartmuseum.org