“Left of Central: Later 20th Century Visual Arts in the Capital City” Comes to MCCC Gallery Jan. 21 to Feb. 20

The Gallery at Mercer County Community College (MCCC) hosts “Left of Central: Later 20th Century Visual Arts in the Capital City,” an exhibit featuring works by pioneering artists from the Trenton Artists Workshop Association (TAWA). The exhibit runs from Tuesday, Jan. 21 to Thursday, Feb. 20.  An opening reception takes place on Saturday, Jan. 25 from noon to 2 p.m.  A panel discussion and conversation about the Visual Arts Trenton from 1979 to 1999 will be held Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m.

The MCCC Gallery is located on the second floor of the Communication Building on Mercer's West Windsor campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road.

The exhibit, curated by Leipzig and Tricia Fagan, recent past director of The Gallery, uses 59 featured artists to explore seminal events in the founding and evolution of TAWA, including its early relationship with MCCC and the early days of the Princeton Art Association’s (now ARTWORKS) move to the city.  Artists who have played a leading role in the progression of Trenton’s arts scene from the late 1970s through the present day are featured.  The exhibit will also feature several of artist Judy Brodsky’s original videos from the historic 1991 TAWA/Soviet artists’ exchange.

Featured artists include: Liz Aubrey of Hamilton; Joy Barth of Ewing; Alan Bennett and Rosemary Bennett of Bath, NY; Valerie Bowe of Hamilton; Gail Bracegirdle of Bensalem, PA; Lonn Braender of Washington Crossing, PA; Judith K. Brodsky of Princeton; Marge Chavooshian of Yonkers, NY; Larry Chestnut of Hamilton; Walter Culbreth of Trenton; Sally Davidson of Princeton; Hanneke de Neve of Hamilton; Marguerite Doernbach of Broadheadsville, PA; Jeff Epstein of Brooklyn, NY; Tricia Fagan of West Windsor; Rob Giarandolo of Yardley, PA; Rob Greco of Columbus; Susan Hockaday of Hopewell; Deborah Hockstein of Trenton; William B. Hogan of Morrisville, PA; Margaret Kennard Johnson of Princeton; Aubrey J. Kauffman of Ewing; Thomas Kelly of Hamilton; Stephen S. Kennedy of Fort Washington, PA; Helmut Kunst of Clifford, PA; Robert H. Lafond of Williamstown, MA; Mel Leipzig of Trenton; Kathi Littwin of Brooklyn, NY; Micheal Madigan of Hamilton; Elizabeth McCue of Yardley, PA; Terri McNichol of Cranbury; Marge Miccio of Trenton; Carol Mitchel of Haddonfield; George Olexa Jr. of Titusville; Douglas M. Olsen of Ambler, PA; David Z. Orban of Hamilton; Linda Osborne of Pennington; Latta Patterson; Dallas Piotrowski of Hamilton Square; Lorraine Raywood of Doylestown, PA; Terry Rosiak of West Berlin; Robert G. Sakson of Trenton; Randy Salewski (past MCCC Gallery director and early TAWA president); Gary Saretzky of Lawrenceville; Marie Sturken of Princeton; Annelies van Dommelen of Lambertville; Gloria Wiernik of Lawrenceville; Joan Wood of Lawrence Township; Aundreta N. Wright of Mercerville; Mary Yess of Trenton; and Nancy C. Zamboni of Mercerville.  Deceased artists represented in this exhibit include Anne Bobo, Jimmy Colavita, Lou Draper, Julia Weber Gordon, Frank Greco, Thomas Malloy and Molly Merlino.

The MCCC Gallery is one of five venues around the region participating in the year-long exhibit series entitled “Concentric Circles of Influence: The Birth of Artists’ Communities in Central New Jersey,” organized by Ilene Dube and Kate Somers.  (The other exhibit venues include the Arts Council of Princeton, the Historical Society of Princeton, the New Jersey State Museum and the Princeton Public Library.)  In addition to art exhibits, the series includes films, gallery talks and panel discussions that focus on notable art communities that developed in central New Jersey beginning in the late 1930s.  Other groups being explored are the original Queenston Press artists, the artists of Roosevelt, MOVIS, and Princeton Artists Alliance.

The director of the MCCC Gallery is Dylan Wolfe. Gallery hours for this show are Mondays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Tuesdays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.  Additional information about this show and other exhibits at the MCCC Gallery are available on the Gallery webpage at www.mccc.edu/gallery.