Mural art, often reserved for the great outdoors, has come to the second and third floor walls of City Hall in downtown Jersey City, and local artists were there.
On Tuesday, the city held an opening reception of the “Deck The Hall Exhibit”– over 43 murals created on 4-foot by 8-foot corrugated plastic panels, depicting images from elephants to fire gods. The event was fairly well-attended by the artists and their supporters.
Not all of the murals were new. Some were last seen in October on the front of the Morgan Industrial Center building on Warren Street in downtown Jersey City during the 2009 Jersey City Studio Artists Tour. The works were wrapped around the 1905 brick structure, turning it into one gigantic canvas for an exhibit known as “Raw Power, The Morgan Grand Mural.”
“Seeing murals like these that could go on the outside of a building go inside is impressive.” – Bob Lehrer
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Lehrer, during a free moment at the reception, marveled at seeing the art in another, more intimate setting.
“It’s magnificent,” Lehrer said. “Seeing murals like these that could go on the outside of a building go inside is impressive.”
The exhibit will continue through the end of September. Lehrer said he is also looking for other locations where the murals can be displayed after this exhibit ends.
Art magnified
The artists represented in the show are: Bigfoot, Kid Zoom, Tristan, Stephen Cimini, Duda Penteado, Keith Lehrer, Vincent Minervini, Eyesor, Natalie Giugni, Lauren Farber, Delve, Gigi Chen, Brent Nolasco, Cara, Megan Gulick, Moe, Sean Lugo, Nick Martin, Tim Shankweiler, Shigeko Okada, Dan Drabkin, Woodrow Martin, Pawn, Pagan, Heather Gargon, Zeb, Kano, Zeek, Ali, Rosemary, Then One, Sue Works, Vendri, Anera, Royce Bannon, Peter Kato, Luv One, and Joseph Buchanan.
Many of them live in downtown Jersey City.
One who came was Jersey City artist Natalie Giugni, who lives in Journal Square. Guigni, along with fellow artist Lauren Farber, created the mural “Fire Gods,” which shows in detail mythical fire gods adorned with Chinese symbols. The work was created with spray paint, acrylics, and oil paint over several weeks last fall inside Lehrer’s Industrial Center building, where many of the other murals were created.
“It’s something when you think about the fact that so many murals this size are able to show in this one place,” Giugni said.
Lehrer’s son, Keith, got the inspiration for his mural, “Catch of the Day,” while other artists were working on their creations in his father’s building. He said his work, showing off an unusual fish, was created with a black Sharpie marker in about three hours. Lehrer also contributed sketches of birds for Jersey City resident Duda Penteado’s “The Bird of Revelation.”
“It’s a weird but unique experience to see something you create be seen by the world,” said the younger Lehrer, who does not consider himself an artist.
Also taken with the exhibit was downtown Jersey City arts organizer Dylan Evans, who knows many of the artists.
“It’s fun to see works by people who usually do street art, and see it displayed in City Hall,” Evans said.
Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com.