Hoboken first captivated Laura Renée Meyerson on a jogging run from Jersey City, where she moved after graduating college to be close to her new job in New York City.
It wasn’t long before she found an upper Washington Street apartment loaded with historic details, such as early 1900s etched-glass panels on sliding pocket doors, and fell in love with the ever-present reminders of Hoboken’s history that greet her every time she leaves her apartment: the old soda sign over the door of Schnackenberg’s Luncheonette, the faces over the windows on some old brownstones, even the traditional diner interior at the Malibu.
These details made a lasting impression on the young artist, who has been painting in oils since age 12. Her affection for her adopted hometown is evident in the paintings included in her new show, “Inspired by Hoboken, Paintings by Laura Renée Meyerson,” on view in the café at Starbucks Hoboken North, 1205 Hudson St. (at 12th St.), through March 31.
The opening reception for the exhibit, with free beverage and pastry sampling, will be Friday, Feb 18. from 7 – 9 p.m.
Local scenes
Her subjects include her favorite local storefronts, people dining in outdoor cafés, the veteran waitresses in the Malibu, and the iconic red phone booth by the entrance of the bar Scotland Yard. Most of her paintings include people. She’s drawn to settings that have meaning for her, especially if there’s a contrast of old and new. Like the artists who inspire her, Edward Hopper, Edgar Degas and Edouard Manet, her brushwork is very emotionally expressive, which helps to draw the viewer into the scene. Hard edges are softened under her brush, and the colors are very rich and saturated. She prefers painting in oils, on canvas, board, wood, and glass.
Her work has struck a chord with the owners of the Right Angle frame store, 320 Washington St., where her paintings are on display, and she’s made a fan of a few Hoboken City Council members, one of whom bought two of her paintings exhibited at a solo show at the Sovereign Bank in Hoboken last year and another of whom bought a painting at her last solo show at the Hoboken Historical Museum.
Meyerson also displayed her work at Fast Frame on Washington St. during the 2009 Hoboken Studio Tour, and with the hob’art group in the “Hid (in) Hoboken” show at Eureka Gallery and during the Paterson Art Walk, as well as in a group show at the Allentown Art Museum, among others.
Samples of her work are on view at www.laurarenee.com.
Meyerson studied painting from middle school on, serving as president of the Art Honor Society in high school in Manalapan, and earned a B.A. in Studio Arts from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., in 2004. She now mentors local high school students in art, has painted a mural for the playroom of the Pediatrics Department at Hoboken University Medical Center, is currently working on a mural for the Hoboken Recreation center, and continues to study with the Art Students League of New York.