Howe Gallery to Present Subtle Formations

Union, N.J. - Kean University’s Howe Gallery will present Subtle Formations, a group exhibition featuring the work of eight contemporary artists working in a variety of disciplines and media, November 8 – December 18, 2017. Subtle Formations explores the central theme of delicate relationships, probing physical, literal and intellectual connections. Subtle Formations features works by Julia Westerbeke, Anne Gilman, Lauren Luloff, Fanny Allié, Liz Jaff, Ruth Hardinger, Wendy Small and Suzanne Goldenberg.

“The works within the show speak of the relationships between thoughts, forms and emotions, yet come together to sing the same song,” said exhibit curator Anna Shukeylo. “Everything we encounter is part of a chain-link rhythm that if disturbed can easily fall apart into chaos.”

Julia Westerbeke creates punctured paper and paper manipulated works that are lacelike in their fragility while Anne Gilman’s large scale drawing trace the artists train of thought, emotional state and day to day influences. Ruth Hardinger embraces abstraction in her site specific works, connecting environment, anthropology and diversity. Lauren Luloff’s paintings/collages of fabric and chlorine engage traditional Indian pattern making techniques to form images evocative of common domestic plants and objects of the western world.

Liz Jaff uses minimal geometry to explore memories of time and space in her installations while Suzanne Goldenberg works through an improvisational process, using scavenged materials to create sculptural compositions that reflect delicate architecture and emotion. Fanny Allié’s mixed media pieces examine the delicate nature of human beings and Wendy Small’s careful arrangements of often unexpected objects create mesmerizing, even psychedelic scenes, through a light exposing process.

Curator Anna Shukeylo is a visual artist and educator. She earned her MFA in painting from the Pratt Institute. Her work has been exhibited throughout New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New Jersey and internationally in Paris, France. Shukeylo has been published in Fresh Paint Magazine, artcritical.com and other publications. She is currently a full-time fine arts lecturer at Kean University. 

Kean Professor of Art History Lewis Kachur noted, “This is an exciting cross section of recent abstraction, in a dizzying diversity of materials. Only secondarily does one notice that all the artists are women. It promises to be a sweeping exhibition that becomes more than the sum of its parts.”

Kean will host a reception with the artists on Wednesday, November 15 from 5 – 8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.