The old collage try ‘Paper works’ in the city

An abstract and confused image of a mime crying is backed by three oversized roses in Hoboken artist Roslyn Rose’s collage, “Mime, Three Roses.” Rose is one of 18 artists selected for the exhibition titled “Exploring the qualities and potentialities of paper works,” now showing at the Artbuilders Gallery in downtown Jersey City until April 28.

The exhibition showcases 33 pieces of collage and assemblage art with prices ranging from $200 to $1,500.

“The work is a splendid and imaginative display of what artists can create with paper,” said gallery owner Barbara Meise last week. “The artists have good history and I’m impressed by their works.”

In a statement explaining her artistic method, Rose said: “My original slides of cities, buildings, mountains, artwork, faces, etc., depict the small portions that the human eye can comprehend. When I combine these images onto a new surface I have the ability to offer new interpretations of the original photograph.”

The artists selected for the exhibition are members of the Collage-Assemblage Society and many of them have studios in New York and New Jersey.

Weehawken resident France Garrido, executive co-director of the society who also has pieces of art showing in the gallery, said the exhibition is exclusive to works on paper or with paper from members of the society. With 150 members, the society is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing public awareness, understanding and appreciation of collage, assemblage and construction visual arts. It provides a professional atmosphere essential for the development and exposure of artists who are under-represented in museums and commercial galleries. And it gives educational opportunities to foster appreciation and understanding of collage and assemblage art, according to Garrido.

“We want to raise the level of consciousness of collage work,” Garrido said. “There are a lot of artists here, and people want to see what they are doing.”

Artbuilders is a good location for the artists to get more exposure, she added.

According to Meise, her gallery is a thriving place for up-and-coming artists to show their works in Jersey City, a few minutes from New York City. “Paper works” is the first big exhibition at the gallery, and Meise said she wanted to give the artists from the society space for their art.

The rest of the artists include Renata Stein, Judy Star Soskin, Madeline Shaw, Roy Secord, Harriet Regina Marion, Ellen Peckham, Lucille Nurkse, Marie Mutz, Gammy Miller, Carole Kunstadt, Kristina Katz Robinson, Tati Herrera, Alice Harrison, Nisha Drinkard, Lisa Collado and J.N. Cantor.

The juror for the exhibition is Hsiao-Ning Tu, who is the curator of collections and exhibitions at The Noyes Museum of Art in Oceanville.

Tu served as an independent curator for the Tapei Gallery in New York City and at Rockefeller Center. In addition, she was the production manager in the editorial department of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Artbuilders is located on 193 Montgomery St. and is opened 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the weekends and by appointment during the week. Saturday, the artists will host an opening reception from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

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