Larry Feldman is one of those artists who “discovered” Jersey City during the heyday of the 111 First St. era. The old Lorillard factory, which was torn down in 2007, was a haven for artists looking for affordable space in the late 1990s. Feldman, a stained-glass artist, first put down a deposit for the building at 110 First (See story on page TK) and then ended up at 111, where he lived for four and a half years.
He now works in a studio on Halliday Street in the Bergen/Lafayette section of town where lots of artists landed after 111 First was razed.
“Stained glass started as a hobby,” Feldman says. “An old boyfriend of my mom’s was working with stained glass and showed me a couple of things.”
Feldman grew up in Greenwich Village. “When I was a kid in high school, after hours, I would get scrap glass out of the bins at Capital Glass and Sash,” he relates, “and I would practice cutting it.”
Living in Manhattan, he was accustomed to visiting antique shops on Hudson Street, where he acquired an eye for nice things.
Feldman refers to himself as a self-taught, full-time artisan. He has no “day job,” working on commission, making lamps and windows and doing repairs and restorations. He has a very large piece on the third floor of City Hall.
“No other medium deals with light in quite the same fashion that stained glass does,” he says. “Light doesn’t just bounce off surfaces, it is transmitted through.”
It’s a fluid medium. “Stained glass, when installed architecturally, will change throughout the course of the day, depending on the intensity of the light,” he says. “It’s beautiful and magical.”—Kate Rounds
The Arts
Call ahead or look online for schedules
18 Erie Gallery, 18 Erie St., (201) 369-7000, balancehair.com/18_erie_gallery/18_erie_gallery.htm.
58 gallery, 58 Coles St., fifty8.com.
140 Gallery, 140 Bay St., (908) 296-7679, myspace.com/140gallery.
919 Gallery, 150 Bay St., (201) 779-6929, 919gallery.com.
Abaton Garage, 100 Gifford Ave., abatongarage.com. By appointment.
Actors Shakespeare Company, West Side Theater, New Jersey City University, 285 West Side Ave., Box office: (201) 200-2390, ascnj.org.
Afro-American Historical Society Museum, 1841 Kennedy Blvd., Top floor, (201) 547-5262.
ARTBUILDERS, 193 Montgomery St., (201) 433-2682.
Arts on the Hudson, 282 Barrow St., (201) 451-4862, webspawner.com/users/grigur.
The Attic Ensemble, The Barrow Mansion, 83 Wayne St., (201) 413-9200, atticensemble.org.
Beth DiCara Ceramics Studio, 11 Monitor St., (201) 388-7323, eveningstarstudio.net.
The Brennan Gallery, Justice William Brennan Court House, 583 Newark Ave., (800) 542-7894, visithudson.org.
The Brunswick Window, 158 Brunswick St., (201) 978-8939, brunswickwindow@rogersayre.com.
Curious Matter, 272 Fifth St., (201) 659-5771, curiousmatter.blogspot.com
Fish With Braids, 521 Jersey Ave., (201) 451-4294, fishwithbraids.blogspot.com.
Gallerie Hudson, 197 Newark Ave., (201) 434-1010, galleriehudson.net.
The Gallery Space at Grace Church Van Vorst, 39 Erie St., (201) 659-2211, gracevanvorst.org.
Harold B. Lemmerman Gallery, New Jersey City University, Hepburn Hall, Room 323, 2039 Kennedy Blvd., (201) 200-3246, njcu.edu/dept/art/galleries.
Jersey City Dance Academy, 107 West Side Ave., (201) 435-8943, jerseycitydanceacademy.com.
Jersey City Museum, 350 Montgomery St., (201) 413-0303, jerseycitymuseum.org.
John Meagher Rotunda Gallery, City Hall, 280 Grove St., (201) 547-6921, jcnj.org.
Kearon-Hempenstall Gallery, 536 Bergen Ave., (201) 333-8855, khgallery.com.
The Kennedy Dancers, Inc., 79 Central Ave., (201) 659-2190, kennedydancers.org.
The Landmark Loew’s Jersey Theatre, 54 Journal Square, (201) 798-6055, loewsjersey.org.
Lex Leonard Gallery, 143 Christopher Columbus Dr., Suite 2, lexleonardgallery.com.
Mana Fine Arts Exhibition Space, 227 Coles St., (800) 330-9659, manafinearts.com.
NY/NJ Academy of Ceramic Art, 279 Pine St., (201) 432-9315, nynjceramics.com.
Pro Art, 344 Grove St., (201) 736-7057, proartsjerseycity.org.
The Upstairs Art Gallery, Inc., 896 Bergen Ave., (201) 963-6444.
Visual Arts Building Gallery, New Jersey City University, 100 Culver Ave., (201) 200-3246, njcu.edu/dept/art/galleries.
Windows on Columbus, Christopher Columbus Dr. near Washington St., (201) 736-7057.