RED BANK: GODDESSES FROM BABYLON

Sep 5, 2017

The breathtaking paintings of Iraqi artist Saadi Babely go on display at the Oyster Point Hotel starting with a reception Thursday.

He hails from no less storied a place than Babylon — and we’re not talking Long Island. As a professor at Baghdad University and a member of the Iraq Freedom Art Movement, Saadi Babely escaped the regime of Saddam Hussein and its program of persecution of citizens involved in the arts, and would lose two of his siblings to Saddam’s troops. Educated in the United States, he made his way to Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and eventually back to America, where the mythological figure of the Babylonian goddess Ishtar would once again take flight in his paintings.

Inspired by the deep history of his homeland while remaining contemporary in style and theme, Babely’s paintings are the subject of the latest art installation at Red Bank’s Oyster Point Hotel — Goddesses: An Art Collector Shares His Bounty. The exhibit — one of two debuting in town during the coming evenings — opens with a public-welcome reception this Thursday.

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September 5, 2017 - 12:00 pm |

ON THE GREEN: ARTFUL ALTERNATE REALITIES

Aug 16, 2017

“March Hare” is among the “photographic fairy tales” by Jada Fabrizio on display at the Monmouth Museum in a solo show that opens Friday. (Click to enlarge.)

In an age of “alternative facts,” it’s worth remembering that artistically inclined individuals have been documenting their own alternative realities for eons, and the coming weekend offers more evidence that the gallery spaces of the Greater Red Bank Green are a prime hang for artists from scattered points on the real-to-unreal spectrum.
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August 16, 2017 - 7:40 am |

RED BANK AREA: ART NEVER VACATIONS

Aug 11, 2017

Works by textile artist Lisa Lackey are on display through Sunday at the Monmouth Museum’s Nilson Gallery.

Vacation time is somehow never downtime for Red Bank-area artists and the spaces whose walls they festoon, and the mid-August interlude remains a busy one for visual creatives, with a number of exhibits opening or ongoing at venues around the Greater Green (even one that’s technically closed for the season).

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August 11, 2017 - 6:00 am |

RED BANK: AN ART GALLERY GALLIVANT

Jun 12, 2017

Stillwell House Fine Art & Antiques in Red Bank is the newest local stop on a walking gallery tour presented by Monmouth Arts, the latest edition of which happens Tuesday evening.

Like a street procession that picks up new and willing participants as it rolls along, the regularly scheduled “MoCo Art Walks” hosted by the folks at Monmouth Arts have morphed into excursions that serve to showcase some of Red Bank’s best-kept secrets among its artier nooks and crannies.

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June 12, 2017 - 12:00 pm |

RED BANK: A GOLD-LEAF WRAP FOR ALLIANCE

May 30, 2017

Before taking its customary summertime break, the Art Alliance of Monmouth County in Red Bank sees out its season of gallery exhibitions in traditional fashion beginning this Saturday with the annual presentation of the Ebba Osborne Memorial Award Exhibition.

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May 30, 2017 - 4:30 pm |

RED BANK: ART, ABANDONED AND SEDUCTIVE

May 1, 2017

Ellen Martin’s ‘Abandoned’ series of photographs (above) are on display beginning Thursday at the Oyster Point.

From painted portraits of nature’s splendor to photographic captures of commercial ruins and other scenes of gorgeous desolation, the galleries of the Greater Red Bank Green offer up an eyeful in the days and nights to come with an art walk that begins Thursday evening with a new installation on the walls and walkways of the Oyster Point Hotel.

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May 1, 2017 - 12:00 pm |

RED BANK: MAKING ALL LOCAL ART STOPS

Apr 24, 2017

The new Ani Art Academy America on Broad Street is among the scheduled “art stops” for a Tuesday evening Gallery Gallivant, departing from the Monmouth Street headquarters of Monmouth Arts.

It’s being called a “Gallery Gallivant” — the latest in a series of Red Bank art walks hosted by the folks at borough-based Monmouth Arts, and a stimulating little constitutional for anyone who’s itching for something to do on a normally sleepy Tuesday in town.

One of a slate of offerings designed to give arts aficionados a strolling/rolling perspective on what’s happening in and around the “MoCo” (Monmouth County) Arts Corridor — that scintillating strip of station stops along the Matawan-to-Manasquan stretch of the North Jersey Coast Line — the two-hour guided tour sets sail tomorrow evening, April 25, from the organization’s storefront headquarters at 105 Monmouth Street (the western corner of the Count Basie Theatre building).

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April 24, 2017 - 12:00 pm |

ON THE GREEN: GALLERY OPENINGS

Mar 2, 2017

Works by prize winners Joan Myers (above) and Peter Smejkal, (below) are among the featured works in the juried photography show ‘Eyesights,’ opening Sunday at the Guild of Creative Art.

Two highly anticipated annual juried art shows — one of them judged by a couple of Red Bank’s favorite f-stoppers — highlight a self-guided art walk for the month of March on the Greater Red Bank Green.

It begins this Saturday on the sidewalks of downtown Red Bank, where Monmouth Street fixture the Art Alliance of Monmouth County hosts an opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. for a pair of group shows organized under the themes URBAN and RURAL.

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March 2, 2017 - 8:00 am |

ON THE GREEN: ART SHOWS THIS WEEKEND

Nov 29, 2016

The annual Student/Instructor show and sale returns to Lincroft’s Thompson Park Saturday and Sunday. Below, one of the “artistically tagged fish” up for auction at Little Silver’s Gallery Jupiter, in a Thursday evening event.

In visual art news on the Greater Red Bank Green, a couple of openings, and a gift gallery, liven up the coming weekend.

The fish are jumping (and getting a crucial jump on the weekend) in Little Silver this Thursday evening, December 1, when Gallery Jupiter (31 Church Street) invites the public to a silent auction of “a school of artistically tagged fish.” Each one-of-a-kind item is offered as a unique gifting idea, and a portion of the proceeds will be dedicated to the Sandy Hook-based nonprofit American Littoral Society and its ongoing conservational/ educational programs in defense of our regional coastline. Wine and refreshments will be served during the Thursday evening event, going on between the hours of 5 to 8 p.m. — while art lovers have plenty more opportunities to hook that elusive Perfect Gift, by reading on.

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November 29, 2016 - 8:45 am |

ON THE GREEN: AN ABUNDANCE OF ART SHOWS

Nov 2, 2016

The work of watercolorist Michael Scherfen, whose study of the Sandy Hook Lifesaving Station is seen here, is showcased in a special art event at Middletown’s Old Stone Church. Metalsmith Frederick Marshall, an example of whose work is seen below, keynotes a new series of Visiting Artist presentations at Brookdale Community College.

Some artsy occurrences, from now through the week’s end, in and around the Greater Red Bank Green in the days and nights ahead…

The new academic year at Brookdale Community College signals the start of another slate of events in the Visiting Artist program, now in its fourth season on the Lincroft campus.

Normally hosted in the evening hours, the series returns Thursday with a unique noontime presentation that spotlights the work of jewelry designer and metalsmith Frederick Marshall. The public is welcome as the Montclair-based artist and educator drops in at the school’s Center for Visual Arts (CVA) Gallery, for a discussion of his artistic process that spotlights examples of his award-winning work in sterling silver, brass and 22-karat gold.

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November 2, 2016 - 12:00 pm |

RED BANK: LOCAL ARTS ORGS GET 2017 GRANTS

Oct 12, 2016

The Art Alliance on Monmouth Street is one of 15 Red Bank area nonprofit entities named as grantees in the Monmouth Arts 2017 ArtHelps program.

Press release from Monmouth County Arts Council

Some two dozen arts groups in Monmouth County — 15 of them based in Red Bank and surrounding communities — have been named by Monmouth Arts as the recipients of their ArtHelps Local Arts Program Grant Awards for Fiscal Year 2017.

Designed to help Monmouth Arts meet its mission to enrich the community by inspiring and fostering the arts, the grants will result in over 3,000 high quality, low cost art events (art exhibitions, concerts, dance, theater, film and festivals) estimated to reach over 800,000 people. The 24 awarded grants totaled $94,500, including $3,500 in mini-grants that will be awarded during the year for smaller arts projects by organizations including new and emerging groups.

The awards were presented at a networking meeting held at House of Independents in Asbury Park on September 21, an event during which Monmouth Arts premiered their new website, and special guest Michael Pilla of Pilla Creative Marketing spoke on building your audience with email marketing and Facebook ads.

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October 12, 2016 - 5:01 am |

ON THE GREEN: ART ‘N ABOUT ENDING SUMMER

Sep 13, 2016

Downtown Red Bank’s signature “Lollipop Clock” is among the local landmarks vividly envisioned by Mike Quon, below, in an exhibit currently on display at the Art Alliance.

One of our favorite hometurf painters and a Latino artist collective with Jersey roots bring both well established and cutting-edge art to the Greater Red Bank Green as summer winds down.

Keynoting a new schedule of exhibition events at the Art Alliance of Monmouth County — and simultaneously looking wistfully back on the vibrantly colored experiences of the peak-season interlude — Fair Haven-based painter and illustrator Mike Quon marks “The End of Summer” with a solo show that opened this past weekend at the Monmouth Street studio space, and continues through September’s transitional journey into autumn.

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September 13, 2016 - 2:00 pm |

SANDY HOOK: ZERO WASTE, MAX FAMILY FUN

Sep 9, 2016

Recycled-materials sculptures by Lisa Bagwell are among the art works featured during the Zero Waste Arts Fest, going on September 17 and 18 at Fort Hancock on Sandy Hook.

Press release from Monmouth County Arts Council

On Saturday, September 17 and Sunday, September 18, the Monmouth County Arts Council invites the public to take part in a weekend of free family fun — in which the arts intersect with the wonders of our local environment — during the inaugural Zero Waste Arts Fest (ZWAF).

Going on from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the historic Fort Hancock area of Sandy Hook, ZWAF represents a partnership between Monmouth Arts and Gateway National Recreation Area Sandy Hook Unit. The event also marks the culminating phase of a larger Gateway to the Arts grant project, a $20,000 award that Monmouth Arts received from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in 2016, to honor both the 50th anniversary of the NEA and the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service.

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September 9, 2016 - 5:00 am |

RED BANK: ART AND ABOUT, AROUND TOWN

Jul 20, 2016

“Joys and Blessings” by Annette Margulies (above) is among the works on display in “Embracing Change,” opening Thursday at the Oyster Point Hotel. MaryAnn Goodwin, whose “End of Season” is below, is one of two local painters spotlighted in a show at the Monmouth Arts Council

It’s an installation that reunites a quartet of local female artists for the seventh consecutive year, but when Annette Margulies, Tyrrell Masse, Edy Ottesen and Leona Tenebruso-Shultes convene once more Thursday evening at Red Bank’s Oyster Point Hotel, it will be all about “Embracing Change.”

Debuting with a public-welcome reception between 7 and 9 p.m. — and staying up on the walls and walkways of the riverfront hotel’s lobby and atrium through late August — the exhibit of paintings is the latest offering from curator Gerda Liebmann, the Swiss-born multimedia specialist who coordinates the ongoing series of art installations at the riverfront hotel.

It’s also one of several art events going on in and around Red Bank in the days ahead; take it around the corner for more.

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July 20, 2016 - 1:00 pm |

RED BANK: CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME

May 4, 2016

Mayor Pasquale Menna, right, at last year’s inaugural Red Bank Mayor’s Charity Ball. The fundraiser returns to the Oyster Point Hotel on Friday as one of several benefit events around the borough this week. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

The month of May flowers into full effect with more than just greenery and colorful scenery — it’s also prime time for charity galas and other fundraising vehicles, dedicated to the benefit of some of our area’s hardest-working nonprofit organizations.

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May 4, 2016 - 12:00 pm |

RED BANK: EVERY BOWL FEEDS A SOUL

Apr 25, 2016

Press release from Art Alliance of Monmouth County

The weekend of May 14 and 15 is going to be beautiful, no matter what the weather. On that Saturday and Sunday, all Monmouth County residents and visitors are invited to take part in the Empty Bowls Project, a joint fundraiser to benefit the JBJ Soul Kitchen and the Art Alliance of Monmouth County, in collaboration with Monmouth County Arts Council’s Teen Arts Festival.

The event will take place in the organic gardens of Soul Kitchen at 207 Monmouth Street, Red Bank. Participants make a donation of $20 and receive a “pay it forward” coupon. Their coupon entitles them to select one of the hundreds of beautiful handmade bowls, and will help to feed an in-need person at the Soul Kitchen and benefit the Art Alliance. May 14 hours are 1 to 5 p.m.; May 15 hours are 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

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April 25, 2016 - 4:22 am |

RED BANK: NO PEDESTALS, NO LIMITS

Jan 6, 2016

It’s UP AGAINST THE WALL at a Saturday evening reception, as a special display of sculpture uses the Art Alliance of Monmouth County gallery itself as a crucial component of the work.

It’s an installation that lends new meaning to the phrase “support for the arts” — as in this case, the Monmouth Street gallery space of The Art Alliance of Monmouth County is often the one thing that’s holding the featured work of art together.

Opening with a public-welcome reception on Saturday, January 9, the exhibit Up Against the Wall features the work of some of New Jersey’s most innovative creators of three-dimensional pieces; displayed in a way that utilizes “no pedestals…instead, the eleven participating artists will use the existing architecture of the gallery either as a source of support, or as an integral component of their work.”

Remaining on display through February 2, this inaugural Alliance exhibit of 2016 spotlights contributions by Fanny Allié, Michael Benevenia, Riccardo Berlingeri, Maggie Brown, Alison Golder, Seunghwui Koo, Brookdales CC’s Marie Maber, Laura Petrovich-Cheney, Rocco Scary, Katie Truk, and Michael Wiley; an eclectic group whose creations have been seen in parks, libraries, museums, college campuses and even public swimming pools — and whose materials of choice range from steel, wood, fabric, stone and glass to cardboard, found detritus and meticulously folded newspaper.

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January 6, 2016 - 12:00 pm |

RED BANK: EVERY BOWL FEEDS A SOUL

Aug 12, 2015

Three not-for-profit Red Bank institutions — including The Art Alliance (above) and JBJ Soul Kitchen (below) — join forces on August 30, during a special event aimed at battling hunger and building community partnerships.

Every bowl feeds a soul….and on Sunday, August 30, several Red Bank-based nonprofit entities will pool their resources and energies for a joint fundraiser will be held in the garden of JBJ Soul Kitchen at 207 Monmouth Street.

Taking place from 11 am to 3 pm, the special event is designed to raise awareness in the fight to end hunger and support the missions of Soul Kitchen and The Art Alliance of Monmouth County in building community partnerships.

Part of the collective endeavor known as The Empty Bowl Project, the fundraiser will present a display of handcrafted artisanal bowls, with a $20 donation granting the purchaser a “paid forward card” which will help feed a person in need at Soul Kitchen. Light refreshments will be served for the duration of the event.

A follow-up event will be held inside the Art Alliance gallery at 33 Monmouth Street, during the season-opening art exhibit and reception on the evening of September 12. A sampling of the bowls may be viewed in the gallery windows at the Art Alliance through the month of August.

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August 12, 2015 - 6:00 am |

RED BANK: SEITZ TO BEHOLD, AT VIA45

Jul 23, 2015

The stark seascapes of photographer Colin Seitz set the mood at Via45, beginning with both an online and a real-time opening on Friday.

As an exec with Red Bank-based Apex Fund Services, Colin Seitz keeps himself busy and productive within the four-wall parameters of the office environment. But for the past several years, the avid photographer has used nearly every out-of-office moment to sharpen his shutterbug skills in classic style, and to put what he’s learned to work in settings that have ranged from his native Jersey Shore to the most spectacular vistas of Alaska, Hawaii, and Yosemite National Park.

Following group-show exhibitions with local organizations like the Art Alliance and the Guild of Creative Art, Seitz’s beautifully detailed natural scenes were first seen in a solo context with a December 2014 installation at McKay Imaging. And beginning Friday, the breathtaking work of the constantly exploring lensman will be represented in an all-new and novel setting: the rustic Italian eatery Via45.

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July 23, 2015 - 5:26 am |

RED BANK: PAINTERS AND SCULPTORS REPORT

Feb 27, 2015

The Kennedy Mystique: the egg-tempera CIRCUS SUMMER by Eileen Kennedy is among the items included in DREAMSCAPES AND SHAPED DREAMS — an exhibit of works by the painter and her cousin Lynne Kennedy, going up on the walls of the Oyster Point Hotel.

The river breezes may still be blowing more bitter than sweet, but as sure a sign of Spring — surer even than Punxsatawney prognosticators, or pudgy pitchers — is the sudden proliferation of art exhibitions in our area’s galleries, grand lodgings, and even greenhouses. It’s an explosion of color that begins, appropriately enough, amid the plant life of Sickles Market in Little Silver this weekend — and it continues, in the days and evenings to come, in places both safe and surprising.

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February 27, 2015 - 8:00 am |

RED BANK: GOLD STAR FOR TEACHERS

Jan 8, 2015

For the latest in the new season of monthly exhibitions at their Monmouth Street gallery space, the members of The Art Alliance of Monmouth County have issued a challenge to art teachers and other educators from the area’s places of higher learning — by inviting them to put their own works forward for public scrutiny.

Beginning with an opening reception on Saturday, January 10, a total of 40 faculty and staff members from both Brookdale Community College and Monmouth University will take part in a special Invitational Show, curated by BCC professor and painter Colleen Lineberry. The group show spotlights pieces in a variety of media — among them “Blue Furry Cacti on Pink and White Marbled Mountain” (pictured), a gouache painting by Brookdale’s Shaden Mousa.

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January 8, 2015 - 12:00 pm |

AROUND THE GREEN: OUTSIDE THE BIG BOX

Dec 4, 2014

Silent auction gift baskets await inspection during the recent Holiday Bazaar at Christ Church in Shrewsbury. For those who missed it, there are many more craft shows, artisan fairs and gift boutiques going on around the greater Green this weekend.

There’s an open-house glimpse into the wondrous workshop of a leading Red Bank artist. Unique handcrafted gifts, unexpectedly encountered at a pair of county parks in Middletown. Floral arrangements in Shrewsbury; fine art pieces by the area’s best-known creatives in Little Silver. All around the villages and hamlets of the greater Red Bank Green, a dedicated core of neighbors seeks to combat the seasonal brainfreeze of “shopper’s block;” seeding inspiration for gift-givers who want to think outside the big-box store for the special ones on their list — and it’s all happening this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Just weeks after hosting her annual Art Show and Sale at Mudslingers Pottery, master potter Lauren Bellero takes part in a special Holiday Open House event this Friday, December 5. Between the hours of 3 to 9 pm, shoppers on a quest for something truly unique can visit 12 Oak Street in Lincroft to select from a display of the artist’s award winning pit-fired decorative creations (candle holders, vases, bowls and more) and glazed cookware — or visit the Mudslingers website to make an appointment.

Open for business at picturesque Poricy Park this weekend, the Nature Conservancy’s Holiday and Craft Shop offers up an array of locally sourced wood, pottery, crochet, fine art and home decor items, available for purchase between the hours of 11 am to 4 pm on December 5, 6 and 7. They’ll be doing it all again next weekend too, with shop hours on December 12, 13 and 14 — but there’s much more to see this weekend, with details around the bend.

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December 4, 2014 - 12:00 pm |

IN WITH THE NEW (UP WITH THE ICONIC)

Sep 4, 2014

Portraits of iconic women of the 1950s and 60s by Michelle Weadock are on display at Salon Concrete, beginning with a Saturday night fundraiser reception at the Broad Street business.

The seasonal return of one of Red Bank’s longest established galleries — and the latest from one of the borough’s most unusual exhibition spaces — are on the agenda for Saturday evening, as summer’s-end etiquette dictates that it’s NOT okay for walls to dress in plain white after Labor Day.

“In With the New” is the theme for September, as the Art Alliance of Monmouth County opens its 2014-2015 Exhibition Season with a non-juried show of recent works by member artists. Running through September 30 in the gallery at 33 Monmouth Street, the installation previews with a public-invited reception on Saturday, September 6. All ages are welcome; refreshments will be served and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear some live jazz music played on the ocarina (by Lars Tollefson of Matawan) will be offered between the hours of 6 to 8 pm. The work of Toms River-based artists Robert and Barbara Edelhauser will be featured in the gallery windows throughout the month — and the gallery invites all art lovers to stop in Tuesdays through Saturdays, 12 to 4 pm, to look at the new art, take a break during your day in Red Bank, pick up a class and studio schedule, or learn more about membership in the Alliance that recently marked its 35th anniversary.

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September 4, 2014 - 6:00 am |

WEEKEND: LAUGHING ALL THE WAY

Jan 3, 2014

Above: Standup guy Kyle Grooms is among the headliners taking part in Saturday’s annual Laugh Out Loud Comedy Show fundraiser for 180 Turning Lives Around. Below, it’s a triple-header of Jim Gaffigan shows at the Count Basie.

A quadruple-whammy forecast of snow, ice, epic low temps and, uh, snow can put a klondike kibosh on the best-laid plans for the holiday-hangover weekend. But those willing to boldly go beyond home and hearth will find some entertaining people who aim to make it worth the trip or slip. All served up with a smile and a laugh — and all, we feel compelled to add, subject to schedule changes.

Friday, January 3:

RED BANK: The chilly autumn landscapes of Nebraska and other Plains locales might appear downright tropical when you’re coming into Red Bank Bow Tie Cinemas from the Navesink riverside cold. But if you’re looking to defrost your extremities by the glow of a heartwarming father-son bonding scenario, you’ll need to do the hard miles with Alexander Payne’s comedy-drama road trip, through the kind of quirky relationship dynamics that the writer-director mastered in Sideways and The Descendants. 1960s Hollywood rebel Bruce Dern has his best role in decades as a drinky, distant deadfish of a dad who’s convinced that a direct-mail sweepstakes prize awaits him in Lincoln, NE — and he’s fortified by a strong cast that includes Will (SNL) Forte, Bob (Breaking Bad) Odenkirk and fellow codger contrarian Stacy Keach. At times broadly silly and bracingly sad, Nebraska nurtures a warm ember of humanity at its heart — and it’s playing on White Street with Inside Llewyn Davis, the Coen Brothers’ seriocomic sojourn of an ambitious folkie adrift in the crashpads and coffeehouses of Camelot-era America. Take it here for showtimes throughout the weekend.

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January 3, 2014 - 12:13 pm |

WEEKEND: COSBY, ABBA, POETRY & POTTERY

Nov 8, 2013

Revisiting his standup comedy roots, Bill Cosby brings it back to the Basie for a one night stand… while cartoonist Mark Alan Stamaty (below) is guest judge for a group show exhibition at the Art Alliance.

Friday, November 8:

RED BANK: His credits include several of the most influential TV series of all time; bestselling books in both children’s and adult markets; a doctorate degree in education, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame – and a trophy case that boasts everything from Golden Globes, Grammys, Emmys and People’s Choice Awards, to a Kennedy Center Honor and even the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

If you think that Bill Cosby has pretty much accomplished everything he set out to do and then some, the title of his upcoming Comedy Central concert special (“Far From Finished”) should put it into perspective. So when the Philly-born renaissance guy returns to the stage of the Count Basie Theatre, the smart money says he won’t relax until he’s won over everybody in the room. Having rediscovered his standup-comedy roots in recent times, the man whose long-form stories, skits and savvy observations kickstarted his career in the 1960s brings it back to the Basie for a single 8 pm show. Take it here for tickets ($39.50 – $89.50).

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November 8, 2013 - 7:37 am |