VIRTUAL INVITATIONAL EXHIBITION • APRIL 12 - MAY 15, 2021
Juried by NYC art critic and writer David Masello.
Notes from the Curator
Some artists suggest reality, others record it. Some artists fill their canvases with or fashion their sculptures in forms decidedly abstract, while other artists relate narratives, but all of them use paints and inks, metals and woods, recycled materials and photographic images to express what they wish. For both the judges of an art exhibition andfor the viewers, that unpredictabilityis the best and most exciting feature of a show like this one, The Second Annual Essex Gallery Virtual Art Exhibition. Scroll through these 56 choices and you will be constantly surprised by what you see. Nothing shown here is predictable. No medium or style is excluded.
We received scores and scores of submissions, and culling them into a singular exhibition was a challenge simply because it seemed everyone who participated was talented. Everyone’s passion for his or her art was evident. It’s very hard to say “No” to an artist, but I can say, truly, that there was not a single artist who submitted works who was not worthy of consideration. Our goal with this show was to assemble an exhibition that has its own rhythm and effect on the viewer. Thus, these choices.
This is an online show that revels in color and form, and that combine real stories with fantastical ones. Themes vary from the cityscape to the landscape, the human form to the machine-made. I am reminded often of a line that I use whenever viewing art or having to judge artworks. The late poet Taha Muhammad Ali (1931-2011) wrote, “…art is worthless/unless it plants/a measure of splendor in people’s hearts.” We’re confident that you will experience splendor with this show and be inspired by every work you see. —David Masello
