“HomeGrown” Art Exhibit at the Gallery Space
Submitted by Lawrence Cappiello
“HomeGrown” is an Art Exhibit featuring Rahway Artists that will be presented at The Gallery Space, 1670 Irving St in Rahway from January 12 to January 31, 2020. There will be an Opening Reception on Sunday January 12 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free and open to the Public. Light refreshments will be served.
The City of Rahway has made a huge investment in the Arts for the last 25 years. While the terrain and its occupants have changed, it is currently home to The Union County Performing Art Center (1400 seats) and their satellite, The Hamilton Stage, a smaller 199 seat performance venue. The former non-profit art center, Arts Guild New Jersey unfortunately closed late in 2016, but the City itself has filled that void in the same building by creating The Gallery Space for quality Art exhibits and it is also the site where The Arts Guilds former art classes for Adults and children are presented in Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. Between the Performing Art Center and the Gallery Space is Tabula Rasa, a Gallery and Event hall that was opened 10 years ago. On Cherry St in Rahway near the train station is the one plus year old Atelier Rosal, which offers museum quality framing (after 15 years in NYC) and also presents art exhibits, poetry readings, Open Mic nights and Indie films. One of the owners, Nicholas Rosal, is a painter featured in the HomeGrown Exhibit and he is also a musician who has been responsible for bringing jazz groups and a “World Music” series of concerts to the nearby Watt Hotel, and outdoor Jazz concerts to The Culture Crawl Music Series at the Paseo in Downtown Main Street, Rahway.
Rahway is a small city – only four square miles in size and home to 27,000 residents. It has never had a large community of Artists like Jersey City or Newark or Montclair, but there are some artists living and or working here and they are involved in the city’s Arts activities. HomeGrown brings some of these artists and their work to the public. The exhibit features artworks by: Ann-Kathrin Bahr, Andrew Bencsko, Lawrence Cappiello, Rachael Faillace, Ana Mendez, Dean Nisenbaum, Irena Pejovic, Nick Rosal, Rodriguez Calero, Charles Vincent Sabba and Vincent Salvati.
Ann-Kathrin Bahr works for an international airline and divides her time between Rahway, NJ and her native Germany. She frequently paints pop culture subjects and creates bold, colorful portraits of Rap artists. Andrew Bencsko is an artist/design educator who has been teaching graphic design for over twelve years at the High School of Art and Design, a Career and Technical Education (CTE) school located in Manhattan. Trained as a painter, he worked as a graphic designer for over thirteen years before switching to art education. Lawrence Cappiello, curator of this exhibit, is an artist who was a founder of Arts Guild New Jersey and currently manages exhibits and studio art classes at The Gallery Space for The Rahway Recreation Department. Rachael Faillace (BFA: RISD/ MFA: Mason Gross School of The Arts, Rutgers) has taught art at the college level, worked for several non-profit art centers, served as Executive director of Rahway Arts District Inc. (now the Rahway Arts & Business Partnership) and currently serves as VP for Marketing for RSI, Rahway’s oldest savings institution. Ana Mendez, Dean Nisenbaum and Irena Pejovic are relative newcomers to the Rahway Art Scene. Ana is a photographer who relocated to affordable housing for artists in Rahway two years ago. Dean has been busy creating colorful and dynamic paintings at his studio at the YMCA and painting a huge mural on a building in Downtown Rahway. Irena is an adjunct professor of art at Kean University and creates her often conceptual artworks at a YMCA art studio on Irving Street. Nick Rosal mentioned above is working hard to create an art renaissance in Rahway. Rodriguez Calero, a NYC artist has a studio in Rahway where she creates powerful and moving paintings in her unique style as well as collages which will be featured in this exhibit. Charles Vincent Sabba is a Lieutenant in the Rahway Police Department, trained as an artist at The DuCret School of Art and holds a BFA from The School of Visual Arts, NYC. Vincent Salvati is a county resident who makes his abstract artwork currently in a Rahway studio.
And so, with these artists and others, the Arts District in Rahway is evolving, and we continue to create artistic and cultural events for a regional public.
