The Jersey City Independent "

Tokyo native Hiroshi Kumagai moved to Jersey City in 1999, left for Brooklyn, and came back in 2001. This “artist-at-large” is currently best known for his vinyl-based work, which will be on display in Near Sighted, a solo exhibition inspired by roadside billboards opening this weekend at 58 Gallery. This is Kumagai’s third solo exhibition at 58 and his first since 2009, and is viewed as a homecoming of sorts for the artist.

This summer, artists Christine DaCruz and Doris Caçoilo traveled to Nicosia, Cyprus, as part of an artist residency program. Their resulting work is as much a meditation on conflict as a physical document of it.

Like Keith Richards and Mick Jagger, photography and painting have had a hot and cold relationship over the years. In the 1840s, most painters considered photography to be a dire threat to their livelihood. Today, the perception has changed. Many painters view photography as an essential tool in their practice.

Share/Save Contemporary art has a history of rousing debate and inciting censorship. Look no further than Andres Serrrano’s photograph, “Piss Christ,” which depicts a crucifix submerged in the artist’s own urine or Chris Ofili’s painting, “The Holy Virgin Mary,” which combines a depiction of the Blessed Mother with elephant dung. To these examples, we can [...]

Share/SaveSeveral Jersey City-based artists are featured in two exhibitions as part of the Hoboken Artists’ Studio Tour, which starts today. The event, now in its 31st year, is a four-day festival with open studios, gallery exhibitions, site-specific installations and live music. When the festival began in 1981, just ten artists participated. Today, the tour features [...]

At first glance, local artist Jon Rappleye’s complex menageries of exotic and everyday animals can strike the viewer as flamboyant, saccharine, even playful. On repeated viewings, his work reveals an artist whose devotion to portraying the natural world borders on the religious.

Forty-eight hours before Halloween, U2, Nirvana, and the Cure will overrun the Historic Jersey City and Harsimus Cemetery, among other bands, thanks to local music promoter (Dancing) Tony Susco, who has invited local bands to dress up and perform as national music acts.

Share/SaveThe art party is moving to Newark. The city’s Open Doors Studio Tour, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, kicked off last night with a sneak preview of the exhibition Call & Response at 570 Broad Street. The four-day festival features more than 300 artists participating in events including group shows, site-specific exhibitions, live performances, [...]

When the annual Artists’ Studio Tour kicks off this weekend, Pro Arts will be at the helm – as it has been almost since the very beginning. But this year it will be led a new executive director, Sean Hollingsworth. An event producer with a deep love for the arts, Hollingsworth’s job is to build on the group’s existing work and, he hopes, make the nonprofit an even more vital part of the arts scene.

“I have lived in Jersey City since 1995, and I have been involved with the art community the entire time,” Michelle Vitale Loughlin says. “It is a great environment and there are so many people that are here already, or moving into the city, that appreciate art; WOOLPUNKstudios just adds another layer to city’s established creative fabric.”