TRENTON, NJ -Artist As Curator and Mel Leipzig: Selected Works by Trenton-based painter Mel Leipzig, are now on display at the New Jersey State Museum through September 6, 2009.
In Artist As Curator, Mr. Leipzig took on the role of curator to organize an exhibition drawn from the State Museum's renowned collection of American art. In this exhibition, the viewer can see what has influenced the artist's own output. Mr. Leipzig chose to limit his selections to representational works created in the 20th century and included are works by Georgia O'Keeffe, Horace Pippin, Neil Welliver, Edward Hopper, Ben Shahn, Marsden Hartley, Larry Rivers, and Fairfield Porter, among others. A professor of visual arts at Mercer County Community College, Mr. Leipzig is a nationally respected artist, having studied at The Cooper Union, Yale University and Pratt Institute.
Visitors may watch the artist at work while he creates a new painting on the Museum's campus. Mr. Leipzig will be painting en plein air (in the open air) beginning on Wednesday, April 8 and continuing through the end of May. He will be on-site, weather permitting, on Wednesdays and Saturdays from noon to 4 pm.
Elected to membership in the prestigious National Academy, other awards include a Fulbright Traveling Fellowship, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award, and one of the last individual artists grants from the National Endowment For the Arts. Mr. Leipzig's work is also included in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Yale Art Gallery, New Haven, CT; Cooper-Hewitt Museum, New York; the White House, Washington, DC; the Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ; and the New Jersey State Museum; among others.
The New Jersey State Museum is located at 205 West State Street, Trenton, NJ. The main building and auditorium are open Tuesday through Saturday, 9:00 am - 4:45 pm, and Sunday, noon to 5:00 pm. The Museum is closed Mondays and all state holidays. On weekends, free parking is available in lots adjacent to and behind the Museum. Please visit www.trentonparking.com for a number of options for parking in downtown Trenton.
The New Jersey State Museum, through the Friends of the New Jersey State Museum, has received generous support for its exhibitions and programs from The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey; Hyde & Watson Foundation; PSEG; Atlantic City Electric; New Jersey State Council on the Arts/NJ Department of State; New Jersey Division of Travel & Tourism; AT&T; Merck; and the Prudential Foundation.
For more Museum information, please call the Museum's recorded information line at (609) 292-6464 or visit its website at www.newjerseystatemuseum.org. The New Jersey State Museum is a division of the NJ Department of State.
(Digital images of works included in the exhibitions are available by request)
The New Jersey State Museum offers an exciting range of family-friendly programs and events throughout the 2008/2009 school year. In conjunction with Young Audiences New Jersey, the Museum offers family performances on the second Saturday of each moth, art festivals in October and May, and school-day performances throughout the year. In addition, the Museum also offers science-based school-day performances, gallery tours on the first Friday of each month, weekly film screenings at 1:00 pm on Wednesdays, and exhibition-specific demonstrations and classes. Program information, exhibition schedules and more can be found at www.newjerseystatemuseum.org.
The Friends of the New Jersey State Museum was founded in 1968 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) to support the Museum's collections, exhibitions and programs through fundraising, volunteerism and advocacy. Friends members comprise the core docent group for the Museum. The Friends also operate a gift shop selling merchandise related to the Museum's exhibitions and New Jersey history and culture. Proceeds support the Museum's publications. This year marks the Friends' 40th anniversary and four decades of a highly successful, rewarding partnership with the Museum.
