Jeff Hersch, July Artist of the Month

In July, Gallery on Main's Artist of the Month series features collage by New Jersey-based artist Jeff Hersch. His work will be on view, and available for purchase, from July 1 through 31, 2022.

Meet the artist at a free opening reception on Saturday, July 2, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Jeff Hersch provides what he calls “analog collages for the modern being.” Like his thoughts, these pieces are often constructed in short, frantic spurts of energy, with bursts of self-doubt, though calm and subtle. These pieces represent Hersch’s “everyday observations and conclusions about the vast world that erratically suffocates us, with little time for a quick escape or chance to relax, as we are currently inhabiting an advanced state of infinite stimulus.”

His works, says the artist, “lend themselves to your own interpretation of meaning—if any—but should also serve as inspiration and demonstrate the simple notion that you, too, can and should create something, anything, on a regular basis.”

When he’s not hunched over his desk cutting and gluing clippings, Hersch finds the time to play in bands (Glazer, Civic Mimic, Postman Agitator) and volunteer as the executive director of Flemington DIY, a non-profit community arts space in the town where he grew up.

Stanley Gavidia, June Artist of the Month

This June, Gallery on Main's Artist of the Month series features oil paintings by Bloomfield, New Jersey-based artist Stanley Gavidia. His work will be on view, and available for purchase, from June 1 through 30, 2022.

Meet the artist at a free opening reception on Saturday, June 4, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Before moving to New Jersey, Hugo Stanley Gavidia Tolentino grew up in El Salvador, and he studied visual art at National Art Center of El Salvador (CENAR).

He has participated in many collective exhibitions, including at Studio Montclair Inc, Artfront Galleries, Open Doors Newark, Bronx Pre­ Biennale Art, Queens Museum, and Hamilton Street Gallery, among others.

In his artwork Mr. Gavidia communicates knowledge through basic concepts of vitality and universal values. He also attempts to convey insight into the truth through an exaltation of the mind or the soul. Says the artist, “I can't say anything concrete about painting, what happens on the canvas is unpredictable and surprising to me. Each painting suggests something. Once I sense the suggestion, I begin to paint intuitively and when the painting is finished, the subject reveals itself. I leave it to the spectator to fix meaning. It can always be interpreted in many ways.”

Phillip T. Baker, May Artist of the Month

This May, Gallery on Main's Artist of the Month series features “Rock N’ Roll” paintings by New Jersey-based artist Phillip T. Baker. His work will be on view, and available for purchase, from May 1 through 31, 2022.

Meet the artist at a free opening reception on Saturday, May 7, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Phillip Baker, who started painting at a young age, says, “I would paint anything I could get my hands on. Overnight I went from painting Bozo the Clown to painting Alice Cooper, after seeing him on Wolfman Jack’s Midnight Special.

Music and art have inspired him his whole life. As he got older and started attending concerts, says Baker, “huge banners were permitted at concert venues, and I often painted a bed-sheet banner of the bands preforming that evening. To whomever is responsible for outlawing banners at concerts, I sincerely thank you! This is how my career of painting canvas was started.”

Baker proudly notes that the name “Rock N’ Roll Painter” was bestowed on him by Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler. He first met Tyler in the 1980s, when he painted a 42-by-60-inch portrait of the musician the gained him entrance to Tyler’s private birthday bash in Manhattan, where he presented it to the artist. Baker recalls, “The painting was well received by Steven Tyler as I introduced myself. I went on to see him on numerous occasions unexpectedly in New York City and he would say ‘Hey, Rock N’ Roll Painter! How the hell are you!?’ I was a little bothered that he didn’t address me by my name after I gave him my business card and had chatted with him when we ran into each other. (But) after several encounters and being impressed with my work, he sent me up to Boston to exhibit my art at Aerosmith’s nightclub, Mama Kins.”

Judyann Affronti, April Artist of the Month

In April, Gallery on Main's sixth annual Artist of the Month series features exuberant collage works by Glen Ridge, New Jersey-based artist Judyann Affronti. Her work will be on view, and available for purchase, from April 1 through 30, 2022.

Meet the artist at a free opening reception on Saturday, April 2, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Judyann explains "My collages reflect my world in a joyous burst of color and shapes, distilled down to their minimal components. Felt is my medium of choice, snippy scissors my paintbrush. I see the world in two-dimensional shapes to be snipped apart and glued back together in beautiful patterns, a kaleidoscope of color, texture and pattern. Art is collage; relationships collage; travel is collage; life is collage."

She finds inspiration in her surroundings, and seemingly mundane objects become subjects for collage—still lifes of her favorite tulips and fanciful flowers in a mix of color and rhythm; animals in whimsical settings; crisp geometric assemblages with centers of vintage and handmade buttons.

Many trips to Oaxaca City have influenced Judyann. Her work reflects her personal reinterpretation of the traditional arts of central Mexico: Otomi and Tejuantepec embroidery, Zapotec alebrijes, Talavera pottery, and Teotitlan weaving.

In 2021, she began a series of introspective portraits reflecting on the feelings of sadness and hopelessness in women burdened with additional responsibilities under COVID restrictions. As a series, they portray an ascension from despair to optimism. Despite the darker subject matter she never abandons her signature colorful palette.

Born in Brooklyn with a passion to create, Judyann drew chalk animals on the sidewalk while her friends were making hopscotch boards. Her education at CUNY included art history and painting, but she discovered a greater love of collage, for which she received awards at juried exhibitions in the northeast, including the Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit. Earlier in her career, her cut paper collages were sold at B.Altman in New York City and in fine department stores across the country, and were incorporated as fabric appliqués in a line of women’s loungewear.

Judyann's passion transitioned into more dimensional forms of art, handcrafting bead and stone jewelry and home décor. After a long corporate hiatus, she eventually returned to collage but replaced paper with felt. Much of the felt in her collages is made from recycled plastic bottles.

Not content with hanging on walls, her designs leap onto one-of-a-kind wearable neckpieces (called "Sheep Thrills") that will always be noticed in a crowd.

Judyann resides in Glen Ridge, NJ with four extraordinary cats and a loving and patient husband who can deal with the needs of a very creative wife.

Zomy, March Artist of the Month

Gallery on Main's sixth annual Artist of the Month series continues with works by New Jersey-based artist Zomy, whose work will be on view, and available for purchase, from February March 1 through 31, 2022.

Meet the artist at a free opening reception on Saturday, March 5, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Going by a multitude of names, "Zomy" of Zomgitsan_alias says she “has been taking pictures, and creating art, since the long-ago disposable camera days.” Obsessed with textures and learning new ways to express emotion with vivid displays through her photography, Zomy continues to strive for those hidden "perfect" moments in life. Zomy captures everything from flowers to urban decay, and from the abstract to the quirky supernatural. She’s been featured in galleries across New Jersey and New York after getting her start at Gallery on Main. She's also collaborated with international artists such as Leo Noorpol of Denmark, N_of_49 of Canada, and BJA of New Zealand. She says, “My art is in a constant state of evolution to inspire."

Danielle Cartier, Artist of the Month

Danielle Cartier, "Across the Tracks"

Danielle Cartier, "Crimson Tide"

Danielle Cartier, "Delsea Drive'in"

Danielle Cartier, "Ever Knew"

Danielle Cartier, "Stardust Motel"

Gallery on Main's sixth annual Artist of the Month series launches with works by New Jersey-based artist Danielle Cartier, whose multimedia work will be on view, and available for purchase, from February 1 through 28, 2022.

Meet the artist at a free opening reception on Saturday, February 5, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Cartier is best known for her mural projects and large-scale, multimedia paintings made from reconstructed materials, recombined ephemera, and layered printmaking and painting processes.

Since 2017, she has painted and installed more than 15 grant-funded public art murals in Camden, New Jersey. She continues to make large-scale, mixed media paintings, and is currently working on multiple new community-based public art projects throughout southern New Jersey.

Cartier explains, “I see myself as a mixer in terms of materials but also in terms of methodologies; I employ the found and felt as well as the improvisational and the strategic. My artwork stems from my interest in reconstructing images that circulate throughout contemporary society in order to form a version that is my own.”

She continues, “I tear what the world gives me into pieces and put it back together with paint. Tearing is an act of frustration, defiance and play against what is brilliantly manufactured for me to consume. Ripping is a way for me to physically expose rough edges and ideas that do not align perfectly. I’m making sense of all the parts as they appear.”

A resident of Gloucester County, New Jersey, Danielle Cartier was born in California and grew up in the Northern California Bay Area. She graduated from Sonoma State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, concentrating in painting and printmaking, then earned her Master of Fine Art in Interdisciplinary Studio Practice from the Graduate School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Cartier’s work has been exhibited across the West Coast, the Midwest, the South, New England, and the Mid-Atlantic region, including the Tri-State area and greater Philadelphia.

An artist-educator, Cartier currently teaches various two-dimensional design, drawing, and painting courses at Rowan College of South Jersey and at Stockton University in Galloway, New Jersey. Additionally, she teaches adult-level studio art courses at Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia and mixed-media painting at Perkins Center for the Arts in Moorestown and Collingswood, New Jersey.

She has also taught studio art courses at Sonoma State University, University of Pennsylvania, Harcum College, Rutgers University in Camden, and Stockton University; and instructed visual art at non-profits and community art centers in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Delaware.

Joan Rekemeier, Artist of the Month

Joan Rekemeier, "Anatomy of the Atlantic"

Photographic print on Styrene mount, 40” x 30”

Joan Rekemeier, "It's Ice"

Photographic print on Styrene mount, 11” x 14”

Joan Rekemeier, Alpaca

Photographic print on Styrene mount, 20” x 30”

Gallery on Main's Artist of the Month series continues in December with works by New Jersey-based artist Joan Rekemeier, whose photographic work will be on view, and available for purchase, from December 1 through 30, 2021.

Meet the artist at a free opening reception on Saturday, December 4, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

A graduate of the University of Vermont with a B.A. in Fine and Studio Art, Joan identifies as “Artist” over “Photographer.” Her work has been published in The Sun, Dear Photographer, and This Detailed Life, and featured across multiple social media platforms including National Geographic. As an artist, Joan feels the pull to explore a wide range of subject matter and her work spans the full gamut.

The mother of two boys who are a constant source of inspiration, Joan strongly believes that it is essential to follow your passion in order to live a fulfilling and purposeful life.