Margaret Murphy: Dollar Store Divas

Margaret Murphy, Woman 180 Degrees 2004, watercolor and acrylic on paper, 22 x 15 inches

SILVERMAN AND MAJESTIC THEATRE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION present
Margaret Murphy: Dollar Store Divas

Opening Reception: Friday, March 1, 2013, 7–9 p.m.

The Majestic Theatre Condominiums
222 Montgomery Street
Jersey City, NJ 07302
201.435.8000

Exhibition on view in the lobby from March 1, 2013 to May 31, 2013

SILVERMAN AND MAJESTIC THEATRE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION present “Margaret Murphy: Dollar Store Divas,” curated by Brendan Carroll. The exhibition presents a series of acrylic and watercolor paintings on paper. Murphy draws inspiration from her native Baltimore and her adopted hometown of Jersey City, with its diversity, blue-collar neighborhoods, and dollar stores.

For the last decade, Margaret Murphy has developed her own genre of portraiture: sentimental, pensive, abstract, and matter-of-fact. Murphy’s “sitters” are a collection of mass-produced figurines that she purchases in 99¢ stores. The collection includes girls, princesses, mothers, and whores, and the occasional family of bunny rabbits.

Margret Murphy, Sweet 16 with Brice Marden, 2007, Watercolor and acrylic on paper, 22 x 15 inches

To see her pictures of girly figurines as saccharine would be easy but limited, and dead wrong. Murphy is indebted to the critique of how women are objectified in American society. She writes: “The female figurines represent the ‘woman’ in a post-feminist analytical arena, one that has been objectified on many levels.” In her work, Murphy is constantly returning to issues regarding gender, class, and consumerism.

The subjects in Murphy’s paintings occupy the center of the composition like religious icons. In this matter, they borrow specific tropes from art history. They exist in fields of pure color, nondescript settings, and decorative backgrounds. The effect is jarring, as it thrusts her models into the viewer’s space. From this vantage point, the viewer can see how Murphy uses harsh side lighting to illuminate each model. This tactic, which contrasts light and shadow, suggests volume, form, depth, and weight. It is as if Murphy wants the viewer to feel as though he reach out and grab the model.

Murphy does not depict the faces of her sitters, but their backsides, from head to toe. The tactic is not arbitrary but full of cheek, so to speak. If these figurines operate as surrogates for women, is Murphy suggesting that society perceives women as nothing more than a nice derrière? A thing to be ogled, squeezed? As viewers, where do we stand, as we eyeball the backside of countless statuettes?

Murphy is constantly pushing herself as a painter—experimenting with medium, color, composition, light, and shadow. The paintings of figurines owe as much to the 19th-century French painter Manet, or the 20th-century American Alex Katz, as to kitsch.

Margaret Murphy, Rabbits (hear no evil…), Watercolor and acrylic on paper, 22 x 15 inches

What is most interesting about Murphy’s work is how she is able to balance the “serious” and the “playful,” without allowing one to undo the other. She is often cited as working in the tradition of Pop Art, which is true, but it’s not the whole truth. Like Warhol, she is concerned with making art about banal objects of mass consumption. But where Warhol was cool and ironic, Murphy is discriminating and judicious.

Margaret Murphy is a painter, curator, and professor. Her work is included in many national collections, including the Deutsche Bank, Jersey City Museum, and Hudson County Community College Foundation, as wells as numerous private collections. New Jersey City University, Ramapo College, Rosenberg Art Galleries, Real Art Ways, Visual Art Center of New Jersey, Pentimenti Gallery, and HPGRP Gallery have organized solo exhibitions of her work. The New York Times, ArtInfo.com, Art Fag City, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Star-Ledger have reviewed her work, to name a few. Murphy is the recipient of many awards, including New Jersey Print and Paper Fellowship, Pollock Krasner Foundation Individual Artist Grant, New Jersey State Arts Council Fellowship, and P.S.122 Studio Residency.

Murphy earned her Bachelor of Science from Towson State University, and she earned her Master of Fine Arts in Painting from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in 1992. Currently, she teaches at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD and New Jersey City University in Jersey City, NJ. She was born in Baltimore, MD. She lives and works in Jersey City, NJ.

The exhibition will be on view at The Majestic Theatre Condominiums through May 31, 2013. For further information, please visit us at SilvermanBuilding.com or call number (201) 435-8000.

Margaret Murphy: Dollar Store Divas the thirteenth exhibition that Brendan Carroll will organize for SILVERMAN.

For additional information, go here: Margaret Murphy.

This event is part of JC Fridays.

SILVERMAN has presented the works of Valeri Larko, Tenesh Webber, Glenn Garver, Jennifer Krause Chapeau, Michelle Doll, Tim Heins, Megan Maloy, Laurie Riccadonna, Thomas John Carlson, Tim Daly, Ann Flaherty, Scott Taylor, Jason Seder, Sara Wolfe, Beth Gilfilen, Andrzej Lech, Hiroshi Kumagai, Tom McGlynn, Victoria Calabro, Asha Ganpat, Darren Jones, Ryan Roa,Laura Napier, Risa Puno, Nyugen E. Smith, Amanda Thackray, and Kai Vierstra.

Tom McGlynn: Very Much Like (Pictures of Nothing)

SILVERMAN AND HAMILTON SQUARE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION present
Tom McGlynn: Very Much Like (Pictures of Nothing)
Opening Reception: December 7, 2012, 7—9 pm

Hamilton Square Condominium
232 Pavonia Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07302
201.434.1000

Exhibition Run: December 7, 2012 – March 25, 2013

Tom McGlynn, 2012, Survey 14, acrylic and gouache on wood panel, 30×40 inches

SILVERMAN AND HAMILTON SQUARE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION present “Tom McGlynn: Very Much Like (Pictures of Nothing),” curated by Brendan Carroll. This exhibition of new work presents acrylic and gouache paintings on wood panel, as well as a site-specific installation in the parking lot between Hamilton Square and Jersey City Art School.

For additional information, go here: Tom McGlynn

This event is part of JC Fridays.

Valeri Larko: Tanks, Trash and Graffiti

SILVERMAN and Majestic Theatre Condominium Association present

The Majestic Theatre Condominiums
222 Montgomery Street
Jersey City, NJ 07302
201.435.8000
Opening Reception: Thurs., November 1, 6—8 pm

Exhibition on view in the lobby from November 1, 2012 to February 22, 2013

Valeri Larko, Scrap Metal, Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn, 2012, oil on linen, 12 x 36 inches

“The painting has a life of its own that is separate from the scene that inspired it. I am more concerned about capturing the essence of a place, not reproducing a photographic copy of the site.” — Valeri Larko

Silverman and The Majestic Theatre Condominium Association present “Valeri Larko: Tanks, Trash and Graffiti.” The exhibition presents a series of large oil paintings on linen and small studies. The mini survey, which spans two decades, concentrates on northern New Jersey’s industrial parks and salvage yards, as well as New York City’s outer boroughs. Brendan Carroll organized the exhibition.

Valeri Larko paints what she sees: bridges and roadways, chemical plants and heavy machinery, refuse and graffiti. The hallmarks of her work include a no-nonsense approach to the subject matter, cinematic scope of vision, and keen attention to detail. For example, Scrap Metal, Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn, captures the everyday urban cacophony of a construction site that abuts an industrial, often noxious waterway. Two yellow backhoes wade into a heap of metal, as traffic beelines overhead along the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. This action is framed on one side by a set of large gas tanks, and on the other by a trash barge and warehouse. Pervasive daylight softens this dense industrial scene.

The cinematic format of this painting suggests the continuation of the scene beyond the limits of the canvas: We can picture the commuters driving bumper-to-bumper to the Barclays Center in Atlantic Yards, and perhaps, the wooden bulkheads sinking into the canal at some point in the distance.

To some, the subject matter is an eyesore. For others, it is an indicator of America’s post-industrial decline. Why would an artist devote her time to this maligned locale?

“I suppose some areas of the country are more conventionally scenic than others, but what I look for is something in my surroundings that speaks to me,” says Larko. “It doesn’t have to be traditionally beautiful to be worthy of my time and attention. Quite the contrary, it can be funky and have an interesting story to tell, and that is more important. The beauty of a place is secondary, but often there is beauty and color and even humor to be found in the most unlikely of places.”

Larko’s investment in the locales many people choose to ignore offers the viewer a unique opportunity to stop, look and consider the everyday world around us, and to perhaps, contemplate its accidental beauty.

Valeri Larko, Loading Dock, Bronx, 2012, oil on linen, 32 x 58 inches

In the tradition of Plein air painting, Larko paints on location in the outdoors. She admits to spending a “lot of time wandering around the urban fringes of the New York metropolitan area.” This activity, of getting up close and personal with the terrain, is key for the artist. It allows her to become familiar with the locale, to meet its inhabitants, to identify the milieu’s natural rhythms.

“All my paintings have a story behind them, one that reveals itself to me after careful observation and immersion in a scene over an extended period of time,” says Larko.

For the artist, the decision to paint a particular place is intuitive. As soon as she finds a place that resonates with her, Larko makes a quick sketch in small notebook with a Uni-ball pen. This type of drawing helps the artist distill the essence of the scene. But before she commits to painting on canvas, she completes a modest oil sketch of the locale, which allows her to work out any compositional issues that she may come across during painting. Depending on the size of the canvas, she can invest anywhere from two to three months on site.

The survey provides a unique opportunity to see the maturation of an artist as she contends with the landscape around for the past twenty years. It is a love story, really.

Larko studied painting and drawing at the Du Cret School of the Arts in Plainfield, New Jersey and at Arts Students League in New York City, New York. Her work is included in numerous private and public collections, including Jersey City Museum; Montclair Art Museum; New Jersey State Museum; Johnson and Johnson Corporate Art Collection; Rutgers University. Bronx River Art Center, Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, The Morris Museum, and The Hunterdon Art Museum have organized solo exhibitions of her work. New Jersey Transit awarded her a commission to paint a series of murals for the New Jersey Transit Secaucus Transfer Station. She has received grants from Joyce Dutka Art Foundation, George Sugarman Foundation, and New York Foundation for the Arts, to name a few.

Larko was raised in Lake Parsippany, New Jersey. After completing her studies at the Art Students League in the mid-eighties, she moved to Jersey City, New Jersey. She credits her time in Jersey City as playing a significant role in her artistic development. It was during this period that she painted her first urban landscapes on location. She continued to live and paint in New Jersey until 2004 when she moved to her current residence in an artist loft building in New Rochelle, New York.

The exhibition will be on view at Majestic Theatre Condominiums through February 22, 2013. For further information, please visit us at SilvermanBuilding.com or call number (201) 435-8000.

Valeri Larko: Tanks, Trash and Graffiti is the eleventh exhibition that Brendan Carroll will organize for SILVERMAN.

SILVERMAN has presented the works of Tenesh Webber, Glenn Garver, Jennifer Krause Chapeau, Michelle Doll, Tim Heins, Megan Maloy, Laurie Riccadonna, Thomas John Carlson, Tim Daly, Ann Flaherty, Scott Taylor, Jason Seder, Sara Wolfe, Beth Gilfilen, Andrzej Lech, Hiroshi Kumagai, Tom McGlynn, Victoria Calabro, Asha Ganpat, Darren Jones, Ryan Roa,Laura Napier, Risa Puno, Nyugen E. Smith, Amanda Thackray, and Kai Vierstra.

Valeri Larko: Tanks, Trash and Graffiti

Valeri Larko, Scrap Metal, Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn, 2012, oil on linen, 12 x 36 inches

Silverman and The Majestic Theatre Condominium Association present “Valeri Larko: Tanks, Trash and Graffiti,” curated by Brendan Carroll. The exhibition presents a series of large oil paintings on linen and small studies. The mini survey, which spans two decades, features the post-industrial landscapes of northern New Jersey, intimate closeups of salvage yards, as well as New York City’s gritty outer boroughs.

The Majestic Theatre Condominiums
222 Montgomery Street, Jersey City, NJ 07302
201.435.8000

Opening Reception: Thurs., November 1, 6—8 pm

Exhibition on view in the lobby from November 1, 2012 to February 22, 2013

Courtesy of the artist Valeri Larko

Megan Maloy: Dog Days

SILVERMAN and Hamilton Square Condominium Association present
Megan Maloy: Dog Days
Opening Reception: Friday, September 9, 2011, 7 to 9 p.m.

Hamilton Square Condominium
232 Pavonia Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07302
201.434.1000

Exhibition on view in the lobby September 9, 2011, to January 6, 2012.

Megan Maloy, Tilly in the Tub, Digital C-print

As a keen observer of the small moments of daily life, Megan Maloy is building an exciting career photographing candid scenes of loved ones. A solo exhibition of her work, Megan Maloy: Dog Days, will be on view at the Hamilton Square lobby from September 9, 2011, to January 6, 2012. The exhibition will include more than 10 of Maloy’s photographs of dogs. The most prominent canine featured is Tilly, her 8-year-old pit bull.

“When I found [Tilly], she had been living in the shelter for three months recovering from her broken leg. She didn’t even have a name. When I saw her, it was love at first sight!” says Maloy.

Maloy was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, in 1973. She grew up in Long Valley, New Jersey, a small rural town in Morris County with a population under 2,000 people. Maloy lived in a ranch house, which her dad built, on a dirt road in the middle of the woods. Corn and horse farms surrounded her home. As a kid, she remembers climbing trees and romping in streams amid the unspoiled wilderness.

Photography is in Maloy’s blood. Both her father and grandfather were ardent picture takers. Maloy cites high school as the period when she began to study photography in earnest. After a brief stint at Ohio University, she moved back to New Jersey to pursue a degree in photography at School of Visual Arts in New York.

From early on, Maloy set her own criteria for photographing subjects. As many of her peers continue to use nudity, illicit behavior, and sexual exhibitionism as guidelines for creating pictures, Maloy utilizes her own ideas. With a down-to-earth attitude and a great sense of humor, she captures the often-overlooked and underappreciated moments in life.

• A rogue mutt lying in a patch of grass under the noonday sun, in flagrante delicto.
• A chubby Black Lab—head encased in protective cone—kneels before her master in the kitchen. (You can almost smell the just-opened bag of Utz potato chips.)
• A pit bull spooning her master in the marital bed, with her paws situated in the crook of his neck.

“I just have to wait and observe and find my moment to capture. It’s not completely random,” says Maloy. “I find a situation where I think there is the potential for a good photograph to happen and then I observe for a while. I’ll talk to my subjects and interact with them for a bit until I work out my shot.”

What sets Maloy apart from the rest of her colleagues is her generosity of vision. With a keen sense of composition and formal rigor, she combines slapstick/make-no-apologies presentations of the intimate, everlasting bond between dogs and people.

For nearly two decades, Maloy has been recognized for her versatility. She shoots portraiture, lifestyle photos, documentary, and reportage. Maloy earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography from the School of Visual Arts in New York. Maloy participated in The Eagle Has Landed, a six-person exhibition that traveled to New York, London, and Tokyo. Several institutions have featured her work, including Jersey City Museum, Arts Guild of New Jersey, Aljira, and Print Space. She has also published her photographs in BMW Magazine, Esquire, Vibe, Paper Magazine, Black Book, and Nylon. She has also been the recipient of numerous awards, including Aljira Emerge Fellowship and Gold Lions Award, Cannes International. She currently lives in Jersey City with her husband, daughter, and pit bull.

~ Brendan Carroll, Curator

The exhibition will be on view at The Hamilton Square Condominiums through January 6, 2012. For further information, please visit us at SilvermanBuilding.com or call number (201) 435-8000. This event is part of JC Fridays.

Megan Maloy: Dog Days is the fourth exhibition that Brendan Carroll will organize for SILVERMAN.

SILVERMAN has presented the works of Laurie Riccadonna, Thomas John Carlson, Tim Daly, Ann Flaherty, Scott Taylor, Jason Seder, Sara Wolfe, Beth Gilfilen, Andrzej Lech, Hiroshi Kumagai, Tom McGlynn, Victoria Calabro, Asha Ganpat, Darren Jones, Ryan Roa, Laura Napier, Risa Puno, Nyugen E. Smith, Amanda Thackray, and Kai Vierstra.

Megan Maloy, Opening Postcard