Zimmer, William; ART REVIEW; Brimming With Color and Light, The New York Times, January 27, 2016
THE long-term mission of the Jersey City Museum is to show contemporary art that is outside the mainstream, usually by artists who have not had much exposure. That mandate is reflected in the Winter 2002 Fine Arts Annual, the second show in the museum's new building.
Seven museums around the state take turns as host of this annual exhibition, which is sponsored by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. This year, the curators were Rocío Aranda-Alvarado, from the Jersey City Museum, and Victor Davson, director of Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art, in Newark. In choosing the works, they had an eye for color and light, and took advantage of the ample light coming in through the museum's large windows and skylights.
The mylar ''Bouquet'' by Henry Sánchez from Jersey City is suspended in the lobby. In this work, Mr. Sanchez revives the old art of the silhouette; the edges of the mylar flowers are each cut with a profile of one of his friends or family members. It is a subtle effect, and viewers might have to have it pointed out to them, but it turns the work into a tribute.
At some distance from ''Bouquet'' is an untitled ceramic head by Patricia Lay, also of Jersey City. The piece is painted silver to catch the light. But the silver also makes the work look robot-like and does not lessen the unease that a viewer may feel because the head is mounted on a stand at eye level with the average person. Its intense gaze leads to the conclusion that it reads thoughts.
The small first-floor gallery has been painted dark gray to enhance the chromatic quality of several of the pieces displayed.
''Panorama'' by Arturo Arbuzo D'Anhilli Virtmanis from Jersey City is an urban vista. Painted bright yellow, it has a pattern of short black diagonals reminiscent of traffic caution signs. ''Rainbow Vamps,'' two photographs by Betty Guernsey from Irvington, are images of rows of mannequin heads wearing wigs. The wigs' colors make a rainbow. Young Cheol Yoon from Jersey City used a paper shredder to create strands of various paper, some metallic, which are mounted on wood to yield works with densely woven surfaces.
Upstairs is ''Femur and Fragment'' by Matt Schwede from Hoboken. This work consists of bones made of wood and plaster, and covered with aluminum leaf. They are larger than life unless the life in question belongs to a dinosaur.
''Found Object, Jersey City, New Jersey'' by Shandor Lafcadio Hassan of Jersey City was inspired by a journey he made from California to New Jersey, picking up items he thought were quintessentially American and making them into art to hang on a wall. In this show, he displays a portion of the rusted front of a Ford, which he found in New Jersey, and whose headlights he re-lit. It works as a gesture of homage, perhaps to America or to Jersey City.
Many pieces like this impress because they are in the spirit of paying tribute to someone or something. Others are notable because they were labor-intensive. For instance, the complex patterns meticulously drawn with ink and metallic marker by Sharon Libes from West New York might astound the viewer by their example of hard work and concentration producing beauty.
Also beautiful, in the light- and color-filled way that distinguishes much of the show, are ''Argirio's Portal'' and ''Meditation with Yellow Distraction,'' two paintings by Giovanna Cechetti from Paterson. These have patterns somewhat more errant than Ms. Libes's that may remind viewers of works by Gustav Klimt.
The show is low on art containing written language though some pieces incorporate cartoon or other appropriated images. ''Profiles -- Blue'' and ''Magic Tricks'' by Bill Leech from Roosevelt are impressive in this vein, the latter because the image of a top hat seems to fade away on the surface.
''Space Girl'' by Jon D. Rappleye from Jersey City, is a small warm-up for his panoramic ''Plucked from the Vine, Ripe for the Harvest,'' in which various, seemingly mutant characters weave in and out of a lattice pattern.
The most coherent narrative painting, one done in a realistic style, is ''Veneration'' by María Mijares from Plainfield. The small canvas depicts a group of priests prostrate at a church. The viewer does not see the object of their worship, but gets involved comparing the various soles of their shoes.
A couple of assemblage pieces that might be regarded as paintings stand out. For example, German Pitre from Newark recalls his childhood in ''(Untitled) Fear of the Dark.'' This work has stuffed animals painted black mounted on a wooden rectangle also painted black. The artist's message is hard to miss.
Helen M. Stummer from Metuchen, who seems to be an intrepid documentary photographer, has ''July Heat'' and ''Rayshawn -- Easter,'' two black-and-white pictures, in the show. These works focus on African-American children. Megan Maloy from Hoboken documents her self in various guises. She is behind the wheel in ''Demolition Derby 2'' and a beer guzzler in ''Self Portrait in Doug's Trailer 1.''
The ''Winter 2002 Fine Arts Annual'' remains at the Jersey City Museum, 350 Montgomery Street, Jersey City, (201) 413.0303, through April 28.
