The Late Summer Edit brings together works selected for the strength and individuality of each artist’s approach. Moving among painting, photography, sculpture and works on paper, the exhibition ranges from closely observed subjects to abstraction and constructed imagery. The selection is intentionally varied, allowing connections to emerge through color, scale, texture and mood.

Featuring works by Nathan Sullivan, Brooke Lanier, Susan MacDonald, Sophie Crimen, Candy LeSueur, Lex Heilijgers, Markus Klinko, Anne Novado, Eleazar Sanchez, Michael Alfano and Donalee Peden-Wesley.

This seasonal grouping highlights pieces that reflect the transition from summer’s warmth to autumn’s subtle shift, works that are bound in color, restraint, fast & slow energy and quietude.

October 3, 2026, 5-8pm: Live painting event in the gallery with Heidi Curko! Enjoy the art and performance throughout the evening as Curko’s large scale artwork evolves throughout her mark-making process.

Enjoy a Gallery cocktail on us during the performance.

b. 1971 Shelter Island, NY

Resides in Jersey City, NJ

Bibliography

Artists to Look Out For, 100 Artists from Around the World, 2016

Hudson Reporter, 2014, 2012

NJN, State of the Arts, Tools of the Trade, 2006

Jersey Journal, 2006

Shelter Island Reporter, 2002

Education

1993 BFA Purchase College, NY

1995-96 Post Baccalaureate, SVA, NYC

1997 Studio Semester in NY, SUNY Empire State College

“ALL OF US” by Johan Wahlstrom

Johan Wahlstrom’s new figurative paintings bring us face to face with something at once familiar and elusive: ourselves.

For more than a decade, Wahlstrom has developed a distinctive visual language in which expressive faces, charged color pigments and densely worked surfaces transform the atmosphere of contemporary life into painting. His work has been exhibited internationally, from New York, Chicago and Oslo to London, Dubai, Madrid and Marbella, and is held in museum, institutional and private collections across Europe and the United States. 

Yet “All of Us” brings the conversation closer to home. Here, the individual face becomes a point of entry into the larger, often contradictory experience of being human.

These paintings are not portraits in the traditional sense. Rather, they are encounters. Faces appear, shift and emerge through layers of color and gesture, carrying traces of humour, tension, vulnerability, confidence and uncertainty. They seem to belong to particular people, while remaining open enough for us to recognize something of ourselves within them.

Wahlstrom’s background in music remains present in the rhythm of his compositions. Color moves like sound; lines interrupt and overlap; dense passages give way to moments of visual silence. His characteristic sense of alienation is still there, but in this new figurative body of work it feels more intimate than distant. The figures are not simply observers of the world, instead, they are participants in it.

“All of Us” continues Wahlstrom’s longstanding interest in the psychological landscape of our time, while allowing the human figure to take centre stage. These are paintings about people, but also about recognition: the fleeting moment when an unfamiliar face begins to feel strangely known. In that sense, “All of Us” is precisely what its title suggests. It is not about one person, one story or one point of view. It is about the shared, complicated and wonderfully imperfect condition of being human.

by Eleazar Sanchez

Artist Statement.

“I see myself as a “post-post-modernist” playful painter of truth, exploring the psychological and spiritual toll of some of the most pressing social, economic, and political issues in our society. In our ever-accelerating media cycle, we process vast amounts of textual information daily, but often it is an iconic image that endures. For every crisis, triumph, and political intrigue, there is often an image that puts a human face to the news, capturing our empathy and becoming shorthand for the event itself. Faces serve as a barometer of the news — how we should respond, how we should feel, how much we should care — they symbolize the times and political systems that we live in, to human monstrosities and their conflicts for dominance. My paintings explore both our emotional entanglements with current events and the space these images hold in how we collectively understand them. I draw my inspiration from my previous career in music, reflected in the use of layered density of color and composition. I work to keep a constant feeling of alienation in my paintings, which in tandem with my color palette connects to a long history of a gloomy and mysterious aesthetic from the Northern Hemisphere.”

Novado Gallery, in an exciting partnership with the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy, is proud to release a very special Call for Entries (CaFE) for The Powerhouse Calls: Past, Present e Future, an epoch-making art exhibition opening at the gallery on December 12, 2026 - just a few feet away from the historic Hudson e Manhattan Railroad Powerhouse, Jersey City's most iconic architectural monument! Enter your submissions by November 6 to be part of a transformative cultural event centered around our ongoing Save the Powerhouse community preservation campaign and movement. Download the official entry form today to get started!

Novado Gallery Presents Elemental Forms, Featuring Nathan Sullivan, Grace Kerr, and Robert Lach

June 13 – August 15, 2026

Novado Gallery is pleased to present Elemental Forms, a three-person exhibition featuring the work of Nathan Sullivan, Grace Kerr, and Robert Lach. The exhibition brings together artists whose practices share an interest in organic form, material exploration, and the tension between order and unpredictability.

Nathan Sullivan paints vivid, slightly uncanny scenes where rock, plant life, and strange interventions coexist. His meticulously detailed oil paintings balance careful observation with invention.

Grace Kerr's stoneware sculptures emerge through an intuitive dialogue with clay, resulting in fluid, undulating graceful forms that evoke natural systems, movement, and change. Her work explores the expressive possibilities of material and gesture, creating objects that read as both delicate and powerful.

Robert Lach's mixed-media sculptures combine found and fabricated elements into intricate assemblages that suggest biological growth, memory, and mutation. Through layering, accumulation, and transformation, Lach creates forms that blur distinctions between the organic and the constructed.

Link to Nathan Sullivan’s CV

Link to Grace Kerr’s CV

Link to Robert Lach’s CV

Exhibition Catalog Link

Exhibition runs through June 6, 2026.

Curatorial Statement:

Where are we left when our senses fail us? Does something become real based on how it looks? How does it feel? What does it smell like? Or how are you able to remember it? Are any of these things actually important in an age of self consuming simulacra; where can an object begin if it may never end? Object Permanence as a phenomenon is described as “the understanding that whether an object can be sensed has no effect on whether it continues to exist.” Gathering 14 artists with a diverse group visual strategies, Object Permanence is not attempting to find an answer to these impossible questions, but rather commonality employed in diverse visual strategies that carry this thread within the contemporary moment. 

Surface comes into question when first noticing an object, while all objects have a surface, painting puts it at the forefront of focus. Paige Beeber sets the standard for surface, mark making raises and radiates outward, building up depth while approximating the windswept desert landscapes of New Mexico, allowing her paint to become both impasto and dune. Ray Hwang follows this trend with an airy glow, opting for objects that take shape but get undercut by the paint,firelight provides the artificial glow rather than natural sunset colors, and a black square is a redaction, the removal of space becoming the space itself. Continuing through abstraction, Nicole Basilone pulls more directly from representation in nature rather than reactionary inspiration, floral patterns and fall colors building up her surfaces, falling leaves dip and dissolve, autumn as her painting is titled giving way to a tv static like a forest in November. Moving towards representation, Christl Stringer takes a surreal approach towards contemporary life, lobsters walked on leashes a call back to classical decadence and the absurdity of how privilege can be twisted. From the floor to the dinner plate, Sarah Mueller and Emma Hapner bring table-scapes front and foremost inviting the viewer to dine, but also transform classical tropes in their own way, pulling from histories like Matisse and Manet. Song Watkins Park rounds out the food by presenting a cabbage, paired with her own body confronting the viewer, identity distilled down to the beautiful and mundane, and homage to tradition but also an unreality of how we perceive the limits of those elements. 

Pushing through notions of identity, Paul Anagnostopoulos and Daniel Morowitz reimagine their queer identities as something more mythological. Taking tropes from his greek identity and associated mythologies, Paul puts heroes and figures of those stories in vulnerable settings, his modern prometheus illuminated equally by fire and the day glow colors of our contemporary life. Inspired by painters like Goya and personal experiences on apps, a mirror selfie becomes a colossus in Daniel Morowitz’s work, a mundane butt selfie reinterpreted as codex and a reflection of changing societal tides. Stephen Saliba in literal codex, presents a map charting space as what is or approximating places that may never be, fact by representation, fiction of space. Katie Hector pushes desire with her kissing figures, sprayed on and covered by a sheen of gray, they dissolve into a haze of paint equally as much as a universal memory of a moment of desire. Finally Elliot Purse’s overt classical form, a crumbling marble bust rendered in oil paint, is collapse presented with care, solid and stable material made soft and seductive, new oil skin given to cold white marble, operating as both face and facsimile.

Jumping from marble to material, Rachel Cohen’s pulled skin of fabric over her paintings hovers between surface and sculpture. Sequins and flowers catch light as they wrap up layers of paint, a bow on the globby frosting of the cake rather than wrapping on the gift. Bows and Tongues protrude from Judy Giera’s painting, femininity as trope squeezed into and pouring out of a rectangle rendered in pink and referencing domestic space, a femininity pushed to the extreme. Christine Romanell completes the loop and bows with literal loops, mathematical geometry broken down into painted layers, reconstructing fundamental universal concepts into objects that hover between painting and sculpture, complementary colors pushing the forms static-ness into glowing dynamism, evolving more as a fractal than simply an object, layering the potentials of infinity. 

While the artists all attempt to work through surface, identity, and material in the construction of objects, the ideas behind the work never stay truly permanent. Each piece acts as a boundary, post markers that delineate a space that the ideas can move within. The gallery itself stands in as the physical and metaphorical place for this conversation. By bringing this grouping of artists together, the attempt is to find the thread that connects disparate visual languages and establish a commonality among individual thought processes. Ultimately the conversation attempts to be more spiral than circle, allowing ideas to loop back around but at ever changing vantage points, although the ideas never permanently exist, they can be sensed in ever repeating points of return. 

Curatorial Project at Galleria La Pigna, Rome, Italy: April 16-28, 2026.

Exhibiting artists include: Susan MacDonald, Heidi Curko, Stéphane Graciet, Lex Heilijgers, Steve M. Pearlman, Eleazar Sanchez, Anne Novado

Cartography of Contemporary Art:“From the Hudson to the Tiber," proposes contemporary art as a field of relations rather than a fixed geography. Bringing together artists, from different backgrounds and proveniences. the project unfolds as a transatlantic dialogue situated in Rome, between two rivers historically associated with cultural exchange and transformation.

The Hudson functions as a symbolic point of origin, representing a dynamic artistic ecosystem shaped by plurality and movement. The Tiber, by contrast, evokes continuity, stratification, and historical depth. Between these coordinates, the exhibition constructs a shared space in which artistic practices are understood not as representations of place, but as responses to experience, condition, and time.

Across painting, photography, and drawing, the works articulate distinct visual languages while participating in a broader cartography defined by correspondence rather than hierarchy. Each artwork operates as a point of orientation within an open map shaped by dialogue and exchange.

Presented on the occasion of Novado Gallery’s tenth anniversary, the exhibition reflects the gallery’s long-standing commitment to supporting artists while cultivating international connections. Conceived as a platform rather than a singular event, Cartography of Contemporary Art positions Rome as a moment of convergence within an ongoing curatorial journey.

First edition of the exhibition catalog LINK

Link to coverage in the El Salvadoran press.

Novado Gallery is proud to announce “The Consistency of Inconsistency,” a solo exhibition of works by Steve Datz, on view through May 2, 2026. 

Browse the catalog HERE.

In this compelling body of work, Datz explores the fluid territory between memory and imagination, challenging the notion of objective perception. Across paintings, relief constructions, and hybrid assemblages, Datz interrogates the materiality of paint and object, transforming surfaces into sites of collision and harmony. For the artist, abstraction becomes a field of heightened awareness, an arena where intention and spontaneity coexist.

"Memory and imagination are constructs of the mind. Memory is born out of experience; imagination builds on it. Our perception is not objective. This gives each of us space to be unique regardless of originality,"  says Steve Datz: “When I am working, there is no past or future, only now. I am interested in creating an object of presence. The viewer completes the work by staying present with it”.

Datz’s process begins with focused intention: to create an object that exists fully in the present moment. He describes his studio practice not as meditation, but as “serious play”, a sensory heightened state in which instinct and discipline converge. Completion is a conscious act, one that distinguishes the deliberate artist from unfiltered expression.

For the viewer, presence is equally essential. The works in “The Consistency of Inconsistency” resist easy categorization. Ambiguity is not an obstacle but an invitation. Rather than defining or judging prematurely, Datz asks us to remain with the work, allowing it to unfold as a nonverbal, experiential encounter.

For Novado Gallery, this exhibition aligns with its commitment to presenting artists whose work stimulates meaningful dialogue and intimate engagement. “The Consistency of Inconsistency” positions the viewer not as a passive observer, but as an active participant in the experience of the work.

Artist Statement:

I am drawn to materials that already carry a history. Found objects, discarded surfaces, everyday things not bought for their beauty or expense — these are my palette. What interests me is not the material itself, but what it can become in service of an idea. How does this thing, with all its prior life, transform the message? How does it shape what the eye receives?

This is how I understand the difference between art and craft. Craft is the mastery of technique — learning to do something with skill and precision. Art is a different pursuit. It is the willingness to question the very standards by which we judge aesthetics and meaning, using whatever means are necessary to get there.

Like Rauschenberg, I believe that the gap between art and everyday life is a place worth working in. My practice moves across painting, sculpture, and whatever form a given idea demands. The materials change. The themes drive everything. And while my work may appear inconsistent across phases, that restlessness is itself the constant — a refusal to settle for the predictable

Novado Gallery is pleased to present, “Transference – Torridon & Wester Ross”, a solo photography exhibition by Scottish-born, Jersey City based artist Susan MacDonald. The exhibition has been extended through February 28, 2026. Exhibition Catalog

In Transference, MacDonald distills the atmospheric terrain of Scotland’s northwest Highlands into subtle, whisper-quiet images of land and light. Using intentional camera movement, she explores thresholds, where loch meets hill, weather meets memory, and motion meets stillness. Rather than documenting a scene, her photographs capture duration and sensation: wind brushing across water, the fading afterglow of dusk, the gradual shift of weather. Her abstractions invite viewers to linger, translating the landscapes of Torridon and Wester Ross into images paced to the rhythm of memory.

Both regions carry centuries of geological and cultural resonance. Home to some of the oldest rock formations in Europe and shaped by ancient glaciation, Torridon and Wester Ross stand as living records of deep time. Their long histories of Gaelic heritage and crofting traditions enrich the landscapes with myth, memory, and human presence. MacDonald subtly echoes these layers, not by depicting the land as it appears, but by revealing what it holds.

Susan MacDonald, Artist Statement:

My work explores the boundaries between perception and memory through the lens of Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) photography. Each image is created in-camera, not as a record of a scene, but as a translation of fleeting emotion and atmosphere - an act of transference from the external world to an internal, felt experience.

By moving the camera in deliberate, painterly gestures, I invite the landscape to dissolve into abstraction. The resulting images encourage viewers to step closer and become immersed in the subtle interplay of color, light, and motion. These works are not about capturing a moment, but about releasing it; allowing the familiar to blur, shift, and become something new.

In the context of the Transference show, my art asks: What do we carry with us from the places we pass through? How do our memories transform the world around us? Each piece is an invitation to pause, reflect, and experience the quiet power of transformation.

This is Susan MacDonald’s second solo exhibition at Novado Gallery.

Link to Exhibition Review by Tris McCall

Link to Exhibition Catalog

In Of Matter and Light, we bring the viewer into a sustained encounter with elemental forces: the weight of substance, and the delicacy of illumination as explored through the distinct yet resonant practices of Robert Glisson and Brooke Lanier. The exhibition is a meditation on how material and ambient phenomena coalesce, fracture, or linger between presence and evanescence.

Robert Glisson’s canvases begin in the open air, formed en plein air and later resolved in studio by memory. He pursues atmospheric reverberations and emotional tonality rather than literal topography, pushing color, form, and spatial relations just beyond the familiar to evoke an inner landscape. His compositions often straddle the axis between realism and abstraction, dissolving boundaries so that light becomes a participant in form, not merely its illuminant.

Brooke Lanier likewise navigates the fluid thresholds between earth and air, solidity and reflection. Known for her depictions of water, vessels, piers, and waterfront structures, Lanier combines a painterly attunement to gesture with structural sensitivity to built objects and their histories. In works drawn from her maritime engagements, and especially her long commitment as Artist in Residence with historic ships, she renders form as though caught between buoyancy and gravity, between vessel and void, between past and present. 

If Glisson’s landscapes ask us to dwell in the glow between day and dusk, Lanier’s marine architectures solicit reflection on what is held, what is floating, and what is half-glimpsed. 

Together, the two practices extend one another in a silent dialogue: how light penetrates surface, how matter responds to ambient radiance, how the seen teeters on the verge of becoming memory.

The works in “Of Matter and Light” engage optical systems, material and atmospheric residue. In Glisson’s paintings, fields dissolve at the margins; shapes exert gravity or yield to the heat of color. In Lanier’s works, wood, water, iron and pigment converse in forms veiled in reflection that become luminous, or slip toward suggestion. Across the gallery space, the viewing becomes a cumulative act of perception: the eye tracking shifts in tone, the body adjusting to subtle modulations of weight, hue, and transparency.

This exhibition suggests that matter is never fixed, and light never inert. They coauthor. The gallery’s volumes become their theater: in that interstice, each of us can become a witness to utterance, to the play of tangibility and radiance to the world that emerges when our seeing is as much feeling as recognition.

• Brooke Lanier CV link

• Robert Glisson CV link

Link to the exhibition catalog

Novado Gallery is pleased to announce "Omens: Narratives Between Mythology & Reality," a solo exhibition of new paintings by Daniel Morowitz, and will be on view through Saturday, November 1, 2025. The artist will be in attendance at the gallery from 1-4pm on Saturday, October 25, and will give an artist talk at 7pm on Thursday, October 30.

In "Omens," Morowitz delves into the complex interplay of queer identity, tradition, mythology, metaphor, and the powerful language of painting. His work boldly addresses the precarious visibility of queer culture in our contemporary moment, while simultaneously elevating it to the timeless realm of myth. Drawing inspiration from surrealism, symbolism, and abstraction, Morowitz masterfully uses intense color to craft images that both allure and challenge the viewer's perception.

Morowitz states, “Painting has a responsibility to its own history, but it also functions as a tool to combat the dangers that queerness is facing." He adeptly utilizes art-historical references, bridging contemporary queer culture with traditional symbolism. Specifically for this exhibition, Morowitz employs flowers and a fig as metaphors, symbolizing both delicacy and danger. Historically in traditional Dutch still-life painting, flowers were used for making a political statement, with certain bouquets signified wealth and status as well as political reach. Morowitz employs burning flowers to reference the biblical story of God speaking to Moses through the burning bush, thus symbolically using florals to engage queer sensibilities and impart both warning and hope. Just as ancient civilizations interpreted omens in natural phenomena, queer communities today navigate shifting cultural landscapes, marked by progress and backlash, visibility and erasure.

Daniel Morowitz (b. 1989) is a painter based in Jersey City, NJ. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University and a Master’s Degree from Montclair State University.

 His work has been featured in Hyperallergic, Two Coats of Paint, New American Paintings, VICE, and Artnation on the Smithsonian Channel.

“If These Walls Could Talk", by Nathalie Kalbach

Mixed Media Portraits of Jersey City's Storied Buildings.

An Intimate Portrait of Jersey City Through Painted Architecture; Curated by Anne Novado & Eleazar Sanchez.

Jersey City, NJ – NOVADO GALLERY is pleased to announce “If These Walls Could Talk," a solo exhibition by Jersey City–based artist Nathalie Kalbach, running from September 6 -28, 2025. The exhibition presents a striking series of works that reveal the hidden personality, stories, and emotion embedded within the city’s historic architecture.

Departing from her previous mixed-media practice, Kalbach’s newest body of work embraces the purity and intensity of painting to explore the intimate character of Jersey City’s buildings. Each canvas becomes a quiet conversation between structure and history with a visual narrative where weathered brick, iron gates, and ornate cornices are transformed into “cantastorie”.

“These paintings are not just about architecture,” They are about presence… about the lives, histories, and voices that linger inside the walls” Kalbach sees each building as a portrait waiting to be painted.”

Rendered with expressive brushwork and a refined sense of detail, Kalbach’s paintings invite us to consider the built environment not as backdrop, but as living witness. Homes, storefronts, and brownstones are portrayed with sensitivity and respect, celebrating their endurance, mystery, and individuality.  Many of the subjects are rooted in the artist’s own neighborhood, offering a deeply personal tribute to the evolving face of Jersey City.

Internationally known for her work in the fields of mixed media and art education, Kalbach here turns inward, offering a quieter, more contemplative form of storytelling through paint. “If These Walls Could Talk” marks a significant shift in her artistic journey and a powerful homage to place, memory, and identity.                                  

-E.S.  

• Artist Talk: 7pm September 12, live music by Twisted Martini*. Held in coordination with JCFridays a free city-wide arts festival by Arthouse Productions. Info link: JCFridays

• Exhibition Dates: September 6 - 28, 2025

*Twisted Martini styles haunting originals and “twisted” covers with vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin and upright bass, creating a Manouche jazz meets pop folk vibe – or in other words, airport lounge on steroids. Members include Elena Zazanis (lead vocals), Zach Green (guitar, vocals), Ryan Fried (mandolin), Jim Kalbach (bass)

NOVADO GALLERY PRESENTS, "SUMMER MOSAIC," a group show, from June 29-August 23, 2025.

Next event: Downtown Art Crawl: Saturday, August 16 from 2-5pm

Exhibiting Artists: Michael Alfano • Markus Klinko • Lex Heilijgers • Steve Pearlman • Steve Datz • Susan Mac Donald • Nathalie Kalbach • Eleazar Sanchez • Robert Glisson • Anne Novado

“There is no single sun in a mosaic of light.”
-anonymous 

Summer Mosaic is a celebration of diversity, not just in backgrounds or styles, but in the ways artists see, think, and translate their inner worlds into visual form. This group exhibition invites viewers into a layered experience, where every artwork holds a personal logic, every technique becomes a language, and every image carries the trace of intention.

Each artist brings something profoundly their own: a gesture, a sensibility, a lived moment. What connects the exhibition isn’t uniformity, but a shared authenticity and the desire to shape meaning through image, form, and material.

About the Artist:

Lori Perbeck is a fine art photographer based in Jersey City, NJ. She holds a BFA in Painting from the University of Bridgeport and a Certificate in Photography from the International Center of Photography in New York City. Her background in painting is evident in her photography, where an exceptional command of color and light transforms each composition.

Rooted in themes of love, impermanence, and fragility, Lori’s still lifes explore the delicate balance between presence and transience. She shapes form and light into meditative compositions, inviting viewers to slow down and find meaning in the quiet, often overlooked details of everyday life.

Her work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in New York City and Jersey City and is held in numerous private collections. From her Jersey City studio, she continues to refine her practice while actively engaging with the local arts community—exhibiting regularly and contributing to the creative dialogue.

Artist Statement

I make work that derives from a place beyond visual perception to arrive at a more truthful understanding of my surroundings, the passage of time, and the fleeting nature of existence. By engaging my full sensorial range, I embrace a "whole body" approach toward observation. I hear the light call me to "Look over here!" Vibrant colors warm my skin. Hues become palpable. Shadows dance. Time is blurred. Through my images, I notice—and celebrate—the often- overlooked beauty of a reality that is, in so many ways, mundane and imperfect.

My photographs invite viewers to pause, to look more deeply, and to find meaning in the unnoticed—a flicker of light shifting across a wall, the distortion of a reflection, the delicate interplay of textures and tones. By blending the real with the ethereal, I aim to create a meditation on impermanence, offering a quiet reverence for life's fleeting yet profound moments.

“I Said What I Said”, curated by Jerome China

"I Said What I Said" is an unapologetic declaration of truth, voice, and presence. This exhibition is a celebration of the power of the artist’s role in shaping identity and challenging norms. The works presented here are direct, bold, and uncompromising, reflecting the strength it takes to stand firm in one's beliefs and ideas, even when they may be difficult to express.

Through various mediums, the works in this exhibition I believe reflect the artists’ commitment to authenticity in a world that often encourages silence, restraint and conformity. This exhibition challenges us to confront what happens when we refuse to edit or filter ourselves, to examine how our words and actions can disrupt, inspire, or transform. It is a call to embrace the fullness of our truths, to own the words we speak, the artwork we produce, and to empower ourselves through the unapologetic act of saying and creating what we mean.

Join us for an after hours cocktail gathering and artist talks on Wednesday, April 9 from 6-8pm.

“Converging Realities”

Extended through March 2, 2025

Novado Gallery is pleased to present this dynamic exhibition of how photography, abstract painting, and constructive surrealism converge to understanding our familiar environment.

Steve Pearlman presents his photography that captures the city’s architectural textures and fleeting moments, providing the viewer his vision of both recognizable and hidden realities.

Anne Novado interprets her urban vision through abstract forms, reflecting the energy, texture and rhythm of expressive colors and shapes. This abstraction reveals a different layer of understanding, emphasizing the emotional essence beneath the structures.

Eleazar Sanchez brings these perspectives together through constructivist artworks that incorporate both photographic and abstract elements into sculptural pieces. These works, created in collaboration with Steve Pearlman and Anne Novado, build a bridge between distinct genres, offering viewers a surreal perspective where reality and imagination intersect.

The result is “Converging Realities” an exhibition that invites us to re-examine how we see life, blending structural familiarity with conceptual depth. This collaborative journey across disciplines shows that reality is not a singular experience but a complex layered construction. 

The exhibition invites you to step into a space where different perspectives fuse into one, illustrating how diverse “elements” work in harmony to shape our collective perception.

Click here for the catalog of works in Converging Realities

"INTERFLOW": featuring HEIDI CURKO, STEVE DATZ, NICK De PIRRO, JED MINER

Click here for the INTERFLOW catalog.

Runs through November 9, 2024

Novado Gallery is proud to present “INTERFLOW," a dynamic group exhibition featuring four accomplished artists: Heidi Curko, Jed Miner, Steve Datz and Nick DePirro. This exhibition will showcase the diverse yet interconnected works of these artists, each contributing with an energetic style through their rigorous discipline.  On view will include mixed-media paintings and drawings by Heidi Curko and Jed Miner, plus their collaborative works; Nick DePirro's Raku fired sculptures, and Steve Datz mixed media "pulled" paintings.

“INTERFLOW” explores the dialogue between form and formlessness, bringing together different mediums to create a dynamic, non-verbal experience. Through these unconventionally created works, these artists explore and push the potential of their mediums. One may consider how human this is: to personify the fluidity of the creative energy, embracing adaptability, and stimulate genuine connection.  As the progression of human evolution exists, especially when considering memory and consciousness, the "artist" seeks to cultivate growth at all levels.

Through the intertwining of different techniques and approaches to making art, “INTERFLOW” revels in the shared undercurrents of artistic expression.  The work seeks out the viewer's engagement, serving as an invitation to consider the interplay between basic communication and sophisticated expressions. This is achieved wholly by being present with the art to attain an original, visually compelling, and thought-provoking experience.

About Color is the exhibition that examines ways artists use color in their painting practice.

Exhibiting Artists: Elizabeth Snelling, Allan Gorman, Daniel Atyim, Scott Bennett.

Susan MacDonald: “Transient Vistas”, Large format photographs from the artist’s 2023 residency in Scotland.

Link to Transient Vistas Catalog.

Bio

Susan MacDonald is a photographer who explores the beauty and complexity of everyday life. Born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland, she now lives in Jersey City, where she captures the extraordinary in the ordinary. She works in black & white and in color, creating images that evoke emotion, inspire contemplation, and challenge perception. Her photography is a means of expression and communication. She invites viewers to see the world in a new light through her lens. She believes,"Photography is the art of seeing what others don't" and strives to share her vision with the world. 

Artist Statement

For me, photography is an exercise in mindfulness. Time stands still, and it’s just me, the scene, and my trusty camera.

In my “Transient Vistas” series, the untamed grandeur of Scotland—my homeland—is my muse. The landscape’s brooding allure captivates me every time I return, and I find a certain gloomy beauty in it all.

Using intentional camera movement and long exposure times, I aim to capture nature's raw beauty. I take hundreds of images to find the perfect dance between light, movement, and time that results in an unrepeatable work of art. Each photograph is unique by its nature, and impossible to recreate.

I welcome you to linger, ponder, and rediscover the awe-inspiring beauty of our natural world through my photographs.

April 26 - Saturday, May 4, 2024.

Novado Gallery is pleased to partner with Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts in presenting their class of 2024 MFA exhibition.

This tour de force exhibition presents works by over 30 national and international graduate students in their final year of study.

Works in this exhibition include film, art video, photography, painting, ceramics, performance, sculpture and installation.

Opening reception is Friday, April 26, from 7-9pm.

Updated 04/21/24: Please note that there will not be a separate film screening on Saturday.

Curatorial Statement:

“Requisite Acts," serves as the final student exhibition of Syracuse University's Master Of Fine Art programs, featuring works by thirty-two students, including graduate degree programs in Film, Painting, Photography, Sculpture, Ceramics and Interdisciplinary Practice. This show, held at Novado Gallery, is the culmination of three years of intensive study by these national and international graduate students.

  Driven by the creator life-force of their artistic practice, these students demonstrate intelligence and sensitivity through their chosen art form to elicit awe, share deeply personal experiences, consider beauty, confront injustice, question value systems, and engage with humor and curiosity. Through the authenticity of the individual voice, the works in this exhibition transcend artificial constructs, reminding us that we have much in common with each other, and shared or similar experiences through the human condition.

 While the creation and experience of art are processes that go beyond rational thought, they invite us into an inexplicable but meaningful dialogue through visual language and metaphor. This exhibition is vast, it contains moments of peace and also jarring contrasts, including works with varying degrees of clarity and ambiguity. The power of art lies in its ability to reflect the complexities of the human experience in ways that words often cannot.

   It is a requisite act as gallery director, to invite visitors to slow down and approach exhibitions with a sense of receptivity and wonder. This unintentional act of resistance is crucial in a world where the narrative of importance is dictated, stifling individual voices that dare to challenge or question. How many times have we slowed down, focused on being more present and rediscovered something that resonated in an unexpected way? Creativity is unpredictable by nature. It helps to solve problems, and a show such as Requisite Acts, is case in point via individuals solving problems through creativity that brings about more ideas.

  In an open-conclusion, as they venture back into the world after graduation, these students will persist in sparking meaningful conversations through their practice. I encourage them to find ways to share their creativity and ideas beyond the academic bubble, where society at large will benefit from their gifts by influencing the evolving landscape through cultural exchange. It is requisite for a thriving society to recognize and support the vital role of these emerging artists in its ongoing development and progression. Go beyond preaching to the crowd, as more than ever, there's a whole world that needs your humanity.

-Anne Novado

Please note some content in the exhibition, "Requisite Acts" may be challenging for some individuals. The intention is not to offend, rather it is to include works dealing with complex topics and issues. Some content may not be suitable for young children.

Novado Gallery Presents:

The “2023 Sculpture Invitational”

Novado Gallery is thrilled to announce its first Sculpture Invitational in conjunction with Jersey City’s annual JCAST Festival.

Novado Gallery will showcase captivating works by nine talented sculptors: Syd Carpenter, Jerome China, Stephen Datz, Brian Gustafson, Robert Lach, Todd Lambrix, Paul Leibow, Linda Streicher, and Josh Urso. The invitational promises to be an unforgettable experience, inviting viewers to explore the diverse expressions and techniques within contemporary sculpture.

Running from October 14 until November 11, 2023, our exhibition will provide a rare opportunity to immerse oneself in the enchanting world of three-dimensional art. Each sculptor will exhibit their unique vision reflecting their narratives and creative explorations.

The Sculpture Invitational serves as a platform for artistic dialogue, encouraging visitors to engage with the works in the gallery's serene and spacious environment, while fostering a deeper understanding of the creative process, and appreciation for the sculptural artform.

Opening reception: Saturday, October 14, 2023 from 7-9pm

In a world where the term "selfie" is associated with quick smartphone snapshots, a new art exhibition is set to challenge the status quo by celebrating the profound beauty and intricacy of self-portraiture. "Slow Selfie," a national juried show of self-portraits, is poised to open its doors, inviting art enthusiasts and connoisseurs alike to explore the timeless art form of self-representation through different art techniques.

Curated by Anne Novado, "Slow Selfie" showcases a diverse array of works created by talented artists from across the nation. Each piece has been selected to highlight the exceptional technique, dedication, and thoughtfulness required to produce self-portraits that transcend the common nature of modern-day selfies.

"Slow Selfie" challenges the notion that self-portraiture is solely a product of the digital age. This exhibition brings together artists who employ techniques that demand time, effort, and skill to capture the complexity of self-representation. Visitors can expect to be transported into a world where every brushstroke, every detail, and every nuance reveals a profound connection between artist and subject.

"Our aim with 'Slow Selfie' is to rekindle an appreciation for the timeless tradition of self-portraiture, in an era dominated by quick snapshots and fleeting images, we want to remind people of the enduring power of art to capture the essence of the self in a thoughtful and intentional manner."

Attendees will have the opportunity to explore a wide range of media, from traditional oil paintings to innovative mixed-media creations, all unified by a shared commitment to the art of self-portraiture. Whether through meticulously executed realism, abstract interpretations, or experimental techniques, each artist in "Slow Selfie" offers a unique perspective on self-representation.

Opening Reception: Friday, September 8, 7-9pm. Exhibition runs through September 30, 2023.

July 27-September 2, 2023

Immerse yourself in a captivating display of carefully curated artworks by our talented gallery artists at NOVADO GALLERY's highly anticipated Summer Salon 2023 exhibition! From bold and vibrant paintings to limited edition photography, this exhibition offers a diverse range of artistic expressions to inspire and delight.

Summer Salon offers an exceptional opportunity to purchase your next prized possession or special gift for someone. Whether you're a seasoned collector or just beginning your art journey, this exhibition is the perfect occasion to find that one-of-a-kind piece. As always, our staff will be on hand to assist you in navigating the exhibition and provide valuable insights into the artworks and the artists behind them.

Summer Salon 2023 at NOVADO GALLERY will run from July 27 to September 2, 2023. We can't wait to welcome you and share this extraordinary collection of artworks with you. And, don’t’ forget to come back- the collection will be changing throughout the summer. See you at the gallery!

We celebrate the conclusion of Pride Month with a new exhibition, “Gods and Monsters”, featuring new paintings by Daniel Morowitz! June 30-July 15, 2023.

Link to Exhibition Catalog

About:

Daniel Morowitz, the renowned contemporary queer artist, delves further into the realm of self-portraiture in his highly anticipated exhibition, “Gods and Monsters.” In his latest series, Morowitz gathers inspiration from the legendary works of William Blake, particularly from Blake's masterpiece, the Great Red Dragon. By intertwining elements of mythology, art history, and the queer experience, Morowitz fosters a compelling dialogue between human and divine, queer and normative, past and present.

Drawing from Blake's iconic portrayal of the Great Red Dragon, Morowitz adopts elements from the mythological creature's varied sky backdrops as a way to reference the sublime in painting. Touching on otherworldly aspects in these paintings, a contemporary figure presented in vibrant rainbow color, becomes elevated to the level of mythological canon. Through this creative expression, Morowitz takes this exploration one step further by casting himself as the protagonist as a kind of personal mythology. 

By referencing themes explored by canonical painters and infusing them with his personal experiences, Morowitz continues his thought-provoking explorations of queering art history through a mythological lens.

Daniel Morowitz’s CV

Novado Gallery is pleased to present: “Berths and Ghosts”, a solo exhibition of paintings by Brooke Lanier! Artist Talk is scheduled for Saturday, May 20, 2023 at 3pm.

Artist Bio:

Brooke Lanier is a Philadelphia-based painter most known for her depictions of water and boats. She grew up in Minnesota and spent extended periods of time observing patterns of waveforms, light, and colors in water. This experience continues to inform her paintings.

Lanier earned her Masters of Fine Arts in Painting from Tyler School of Art, where she spent her first year studying in Rome, Italy. She also holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has exhibited her work in Prague, Rome, New York, and across the U.S. In 2007, she received 2nd award in Volkswagen’s “Driven” competition for young artists with disabilities; the prize- winning work was inspired by her retinal detachment. She received a grant and had her work displayed in the Smithsonian Institute and the John F. Kennedy Center before going on a two-year national tour.

During her time in Philadelphia, Lanier became fascinated by the historic ships on the Delaware River within walking distance of her studio. Initially compelled by their commanding forms and fascinating textures, her curiosity led her to seek more information about the history of the ships through conversations with their conservators. As a member of the Philadelphia Ship Preservation Guild, she volunteers to help restore the 1901 Portuguese tall ship Gazela, the inspiration for over twenty of her paintings. Lanier was named the ship’s Artist in Residence in 2022.

Brooke Lanier’s CV, click here

Brooke Lanier Show Statement, click here

March 17-April 19, 2023.

Exhibiting Artists: Al Johnson, Alma Roberts, Ashley Cole, Berrisford Booth, Danny Simmons, Dawn Stringer, Femi Johnson, Heather Williams, Lisette Morel & Moses Salihou

Curatorial Statement:

The exhibition provides a straightforward overview of the work of several of my favorite abstract artists. Male and female emerging, mid-career, and established artists from throughout the country are represented in the exhibition.

The absence of work produced by unrepresented artists in many galleries and museums does not indicate that these artists have not produced prolific work over the years. In an artworld dominated by White male artists, these artists embody the current uprising that is occurring in today’s artworld.

The purpose of this exhibition is to introduce this outstanding group of artists to a new and, hopefully, appreciative audience who will regard and view these works for what the are - excellent art created by outstanding artists.

-Jerome China

Novado Gallery presents “Site : Fragment” featuring works by Kim Bricker and Josh Urso. Both artists work is influenced and informed by various degrees of natural phenomena.

Opens on Thursday, February 9, 2023 from 5-9pm. Opening coincides with the Jersey City Downtown Art Crawl.

(posted 01/25/23)

“WONDER BRED” A multi-media show by Todd Lambrix and Sean Irwin

November 19- December 18, 2022

Novado Gallery turns into a tableau of artistic curios through works of wonder and amazement that exists in each artist’s practice. Poking a finger into the unknown and the inane, Lambrix and Irwin have created works that help us to understand how wondrous and absurd life can be. We present you with a three ring circus: two of the rings existing inside the gallery, and the third just outside its doors.

This work is about time, aging and empathy; and, It is also about how it is made.

My current work can be seen as being about the life around books, or the life of books themselves. Notes and sketches that become books - as found in archives; notes taken from books - study notes; as well as meaningful artifacts left in books - most often having been used as a bookmark.

I also source broader ideas of books, as found in reference materials, like handwritten lists, date books, timetables and old newspapers.

I work exclusively in textiles, which embody the history of the home, and domestic space.

Specifically I am making rugs, quite simply that on which we stand, ~ they also define a space one can be in.

These constructs provide frameworks, around which each piece is built.

For eight years, I lived at an intersection where my present life met with caring for my aging old mother, where all roads wind back through the past. The pieces incorporate images and text in layers, that sometimes overlap each other. This work reflects how I processed my mother’s disease - it’s hard and complicated.

Betty remained physically robust, but her mind was ravaged by dementia. For her, shifting shards of her life stuck and unstuck, folded and reformed resulting in reconstructed narratives that both affirmed and challenged my understandings. The depth of the work coming from the dark parts. Revealing how deeply entrenched fear and loathing can be, aspects of these qualities lived beyond, her ability to know, if her children were even alive.

The luxury of personal battles with her having ended, hearing a century of experiences randomly revealed and concealed and revealed,

As her mind collapsed, I was awakened, by how deeply my heritage is on the wrong side of history, and indicted by my own privilege.

I am finding my way in the work itself, and often feel that I am dragging my heart forward.

Ann Clarke Artist Statement Here

Ann Clarke Artist CV Here

Steve Singer Bio

Steve Singer is a Jersey City based painter and sculptor. He studied at The New York Studio School (1972), The Art Students League in NY (1972), Graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BA from Dartmouth College, NH (1973), and attended the Sir John Cass School of Art in London, England (1979-84).

Singer has shown in numerous solo exhibitions including HOUSE in London England; Denise Bibro Gallery and Bernice Steinbaum Gallery in NY; and Drawing Rooms and Chamot Gallery in Jersey City. His sculpture commissions include "Longshoreman" in Jersey City, "Camouflaged Heron" in Atlantic City; and public sculpture installations at Dartmouth College and Columbus Circle in Manhattan. Singer's work has been featured and reviewed in many important outlets including Art In America, The New York Times, Architectural Digest, Sculpture Review and Art News. Due to the outstanding quality of his work, he has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including the coveted Pollock-Krasner Award.

About the exhibition:

Steve Singer is a painter's painter and an art or image appreciator's painter in equal standing. His work is as much about the act of making an image, how the materials interact, and how he responds to his chosen location. There is also the tradition of the artist making a great landscape painting at work here. Singer's paintings would hold their own in an exhibition alongside watercolors by John Singer Sargent, Milton Avery and Winslow Homer. He is that quality of a serious painter.

With the level of Singer's skill, observation and energy, the work does not require an arts knowledge to appreciate, but those with a deeper understanding of art will certainly appreciate how deftly he handles temperamental water media. He may do 10 variations of the same view such as nearby Paterson Falls, with each painting having its own identity by offering something else that the artist sees. Singer also sees beauty in areas that most would not, such as capturing the view in his painting, "Marina, Jersey City". In his artist statement, Singer writes:

"I came to seek out demolition/construction sites, urban parks, desolate abandoned places as subject matter for my en plein-air watercolors after decades of foraging around in such locations for scrap steel to make sculptures.

At first, these places yielded half-submerged raw materials. Gradually, the echoes and evocations from these sites assumed this vast beauty and also a sense of loss, all of which I needed to capture in art."

Singer's resulting images are fresh interpretations that capture some well-known and lesser known areas. His paintings of the Brooklyn Bridge and of Big Sur are as iconic as you can possibly get.

The title of the show, "An Artist's View: Observations in Watercolor," was chosen as it places the emphasis thematically on how Steve Singer paints, keeping the focus on the artist's process and the resulting outstanding paintings. Viewers are reminded that these paintings are about the artist's intent, as much as the paintings depict near and far locales.

-Anne Novado, Curator/Director

About "The Third Abstract State of Mind"

Xiaoqiang Li's new ink works on paper springs from the deeply felt human condition. His patient layering of ink brush strokes on textured watercolor paper is a process of active meditation while developing the image. In sharing this act that is intrinsic and close to his heart, some of the paintings are collaborations with his daughters, Kelly, Lemon, and Amy.

The paintings sometimes serves as placeholders of memories, such as in "Definition of Time No.1", Confined No. 2", and in others it is a consideration of wonder that one sees in "Mirror of the Netherworld". The artist strives to come to terms with and maintain inner serenity within our chaotic world that is full of natural and artificial constructs. With all the technology in the world, we are reminded that humankind's first language of direct image-making with "traditional materials" is still where the individual voice can be recorded and heard.

The quest for an artist is never over, as they always have more they want to understand and communicate through their art.

XiaoQiang Li’s Artist’s Statement:

The New Ink Painting Movement was initially established in the field of Neo-Expressionism, with an emphasis on the expression of subjective intentions. My works seem intuitive at first glance, yet all have undergone a long period of observation and contemplation.

Since the 80s, I witnessed the emergence of waves of new art movements, along with the development of countless contemporary expressions at home and abroad. Through years of practice and experimentation, I came to understand both the fusion and transformation of tradition and modernity.

In this current era of chaos and animosity, when individuals are more obstinate than ever, "spiritual rhythm" still lingers, forming a subtle spatio-temporal relationship between objective observation and artistic portrayal.

How do subject and artwork cross and coexist, and in what form do observer and observed take? Inspiration must be based on spatio-temporality, i.e. maintaining a certain degree of spatial and temporal distance from reality.

Abstract yet rational thinking, when speaking of the expression of pure naturalism and humanistic observation, are distinctly different, while the visual tension and uniqueness of ink echo its form.

The spiritual release goes far beyond a simple expression of natural humanity.

Humans are helpless in the face of the epidemic, as if the pause button was abruptly pressed. Expectations, love and hate, gain and loss, all vanish in an instant. In the darkness, you can only look up at the stars and see the "light" draining all color from our world.

"The Third Abstract State of Mind"; An Expression in New Contemporary Ink by XiaoQiang Li was curated by Qingsong Hao with exhibition advisors Hui Tian and Bangyao Li.

September 10-October 8, 2022

Surface Tension is proudly presented by Novado Gallery and curated by Ann Welles of Exhibit A, Corning, NY. This group exhibition features six artists: Jackie Pancari, Dan MIrer, Felice Koenig, Melissa Zarem, Samuel Guy, and David Dowler; whose work builds around the idea of bubbles, surface, and tension.

Jackie Pancari's glass pieces incorporate literal bubbles of blown glass in her optic investigations. Dan Mirer examines the physics of bubbles - the shapes formed as they bump up against one another both in his glass wall pieces and in his frenetic projected video recordings of microfluidics.

The surfaces of artists' materials face outward and offer a range of aesthetic pleasures, from 'painterly' to 'slick.' Felice Koenig's obsessively built-up acrylic dots are wonders. Glimpsing through or beneath the surface, be it optically as in Pancari's Hazy Series or by Melissa Zarem's mixing of mediums on paper, posit enticing complexities.

Samuel Guy's figurative paintings present emotional tensions. In "Looking Inward," a larger-than-life figure is compressed, pressed by the physical boundaries of the picture plane; the posture is almost fetal, and the eyes are clouded. In contrast, David Dowler's steel sculptures are only loosely figurative and blur the boundary between doodles and sculpture.

All six artists in this exhibition adeptly employ surfaces, tension, and even the physics of surface tension to create works that engage in various ways.

Open special September 11 hours: 11am-2pm

(VIP opening by invitation 4-6pm Saturday September 10)

More images coming soon!

“A DEEPER DIVE” BY CLAUDIA WATERS

“A DEEPER EYE” BY STEVE PEARLMAN

With its return to exhibiting art after performing as a location for an upcoming movie, Novado Gallery is back with two concurrent solo exhibitions of unmatched artistry: "A Deeper Dive" featuring refreshing, semi-abstract paintings in oil by contemporary figurative painter Claudia Waters, and "A Deeper Eye," featuring high-definition street-art photographs on metal by Steve Pearlman. The pairing of these exhibitions focus the spotlight on the line’s movement, and the search for both soft and defined forms. Lines that become the vehicle of human creativity that traverse through the brushstrokes on a canvas, or the eye's journey within a space.

"A Deeper Dive" is a series of colorful oils on linen by Claudia Waters depicting the playful distortion of color and form of that occurs when swimmers are completely or partially underwater. The pops of color and rhythmic brushstrokes keeps the work feeling fresh even if the subject matter isn't new. Modest in scale, Waters presents her luscious oils in square format, measuring 20" x 20" and in rectangular formats measuring 24" x 36" up to 29" x 40". Through Waters' exploration of the interplay of representational forms and abstract elements, she creates a visual lexicon communicated through color, line, and form. Her works evoke ephemeral moments of perceived inner consciousness to express psychological, spiritual, or other emotional states of mind.

"A Deeper Eye" is an exhibition of nine street-photographs, presented in high-definition, metal sublimation prints by photo artist Steve Pearlman. The photographs are presented framed in black, rectangular format, measuring in range of 20" x 24" up to 18" x 55". Pearlman's work calls to attention the relationships of unassociated things. He deftly identifies connections in the unrelated and presents the viewer with an invitation to observe things from a different point of view. In accepting this invitation, one could be rewarded by a more interesting commute in this "game" of finding common connections of extrinsic things. Pearlman's work proposes an evocative synthesis of the subconscious in dealing with life daily.

"A Deeper Dive" / "A Deeper Eye" gives the viewer a window and mirror, as only art can, to participate in the less obvious in our everyday existence. In a timeless story signed and imagined by Claudia Waters and Steve Pearlman, a critical channel that connects the artist with the viewer is created. They're not going to tell you everything, as looking at art is life in which one makes it their own.

“BEHIND THE FRONT-SASS STUDIO”; an independent curatorial project by KImberly Sass of SASS STUDIO at Novado Gallery, February 2-11, 2022.

ABOUT:

BEHIND THE FRONT is a thought-provoking, immersive art experience featuring large-scale paintings, installation pieces & video inspired by Sass’ experience as a professional female athlete & highlighting the inequities she and her teammates face while playing professional women’s hockey.

“As female athletes, we often hear the criticism, ‘Just be grateful for the opportunity to play,’ ” Sass said. “I would often question if those critics knew the extent of our opportunity to play. The reality in the locker room was that my teammates would laugh off our negative playing conditions, because the alternative was to cry.”

Sass uniquely juxtaposes the realities of balancing careers in pro hockey and architecture, which stand in stark contrast to the positive images (the “front”) which professional women’s hockey portrays.

Through her show, Sass hopes to spark honest conversations about what it will take to achieve true equity in pro women’s hockey, while fostering public, corporate & private support for and interest in the sport to directly impact female athletes. A percentage of artwork sales through auction and prints will support the Women's Sports Foundation.

After its exhibition in Jersey City, Behind the Front is expected to make stops in Buffalo, NY; Seattle, WA and Los Angeles, CA.

Unique site link to the independent curatorial project: “Behind the Front-Kimberly Sass”:

"NON-LINEAR" WORKS BY ANNE NOVADO November 27, 2021 - January 22, 2022

Show Statement:

What happens when in the midst of a pandemic, an artist finds new sources of inspiration? What “NON-LINEAR" presents is my professional work as an artist; ramping up a healthy mega-dose of self-expression and self-care through a noisy, turbulent time.

This is like any job, really. Who hasn't been handed the task of balancing the unexpected in life and work and seeing where it takes you? The works in "NON-LINEAR" developed through years of experience in both producing artworks, and also in the field of running my gallery business. In carving out dedicated studio time, things can be a slow start and then the process takes off. Quiet time is a necessity in order to properly have mind-space to put the work in to create something good. Art-making doesn't like half attention, and responds in kind when your creative fire is fully lit.

"NON-LINEAR" includes new works that represent humanism as a reference to creativity; works that transcend the emptiness of the "technique and trend reliant". Through movement brought by the shades of colors, I am reproducing light in blind spaces and movement in static ones. I can't worry about making a bad painting, as even then there is something to be gained from the occasional "monumental fudge-up". For a bit of uncharacteristic nostalgia, I remember in the 1970's I made work that had wonderful clarity, and during the same time period, I felt the grave disappointment of making a muddy, overworked painting. In revisiting what had happened in this early work that was actually good, I was unable to appreciate it at the time.

"NON-LINEAR" is not about a cohesive body of work in which to connect the dots. Life has been too strange for that kind of restraint. This show is about getting back into some well known territory, and taking risks. There is a lot going on in the world of art that has nothing to do with or even liking the actual art. I may have had some fun with that. I'm also up for a challenge from a collector. All that matters is I have to care enough about it to actually make something of it regardless if anyone likes or gets it.

"NON-LINEAR" is the creative personalization of a journey into a world which is more than a series of works, it is a reflection on the importance of repossessing a moment from the storm, as the one we are currently facing.

For those who are up for seeing a show of my work in my own gallery, you are probably in for seeing beauty, some oddness, and fun. That is my intention.

-Anne Novado, 11/22/2021

NOVADO GALLERY PRESENTS: "FeelLicks," a solo exhibition of new works by PAUL LEIBOW; September 10-October 16, 2021!

Meet Paul Leibow, Sunday September 19 & 26, 6-8pm!

Iconography, old and new, exists in our everyday lives. It is incorporated through a less traditional sense in Paul Leibow's work. In his new solo show"FeelLicks," figuration merges with abstraction, and the resulting paintings, installation, and sculpture present us with a visual playground of dark humor.  Leibow draws inspiration from a wide range of sources, including vintage characters and popular urban culture, combining cartoonish contrivance and commentary with his raw mark-making.

Expressionism, Street Art, and Pop Art influence Leibow's creative process in his reconstructed characters and compositions. The figures he references include Felix the Cat, Batman, One Punch Man, and other Anime. Leibow developed his own visual architecture into an iconic shape, now merged into an up-cycled, iconic image known as FeelLicks. 


FeelLicks often appears with edited-out facial features, ears, mouth, and eyes, surveyed through a social lens.  Moulded and formed by guttural painterly lines, Leibow's characters serve as observations of contemporary life through light pathos and dark humor.


The FeelLicks series exists like the cracks that exist in the surfaces of polite society and the public sphere. There is always some form of social injustice that finds its way subversively embedded in Leibow's work. These artworks open up ideas about the dues we have to pay, the pleasures we seek, and often represent gender, sexuality, and other themes around the human condition.

FeelLicks opens to the public 7-9pm Friday, September 10, 2021.  Face masks are required regardless of vaccination status.

“Memento Mori” a Latin phrase translating to “remember you must die”, which developed with the growth of Christianity, A bit dark perhaps, but also a reminder to live and enjoy life’s abundance while living your best life. “Memento Mori” is based on the traditional concept of the Vanitas that has existed in art for centuries, that our earthly pleasures and possessions are temporary.

Historic depictions of Memento Mori can be seen in the 15th century painting, “Death and the Miser” by Hieronymus Bosch, “Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette” (c. 1885/86) by Vincent van Gogh, “Le Pichet noir et la tête de mort” (The Black Pitcher and Death's Head) c. 1946 by Pablo Picasso, and “Vanitas” 1613 by Clara Peeters, for example.

In contemporary times, the Memento Mori concept is still finding inspiration amongst artists. In this multi-media exhibition, we feature an amazing selection of works by the following artists: Rebecca Graves, Wilder Duncan, Dana Gambale, Denis Ouch & Russian Doll, Nick Schutsky, Lyman Dally, Robert Zurer, Linda Streicher, Nick De Pirro, Copie Rodriguez, Paul Leibow, Aaron Dunkel, Harold Olejarz & Mollie Thonneson, Hui Tian, Žilvinas Jonušas, Phil Powers, Dan Fenelon, Ry An, Ann Clarke, Pauline Chernichaw, and Steve Singer.

“WHERE ARE YOU FROM?”, July 16 - September 4, 2021 (extended)

Exhibition list here

Over the centuries, intellectuals, politicians, thinkers and artists have played an important role in influencing the fundamental aspects for positive leadership while participating in and also giving guidance in constant social change.

When a famous individual carries a degree of notoriety with an excellent reputation, they become fundamental in the exchange of ideas for change with a contagious positive attitude.

Novado Gallery puts the spotlight on Hui Tian, whose work is his response to current issues, and his attraction to well known individuals who in some way have gained the attention of the public. Through the depictions of famous people, and through the act and motivations of the artist to create these paintings, we are reminded of the continuum of the desire for positive change. It also brings to light the ethical responsibility that these VIPs and the artist hold, and must accept as such.

“Where are you from?" — a common question one often hears or thinks about. That question is also an introspective way to approach reading or "having a conversation with" a work of art.

"Where Are You From?" is the title of Hui’s exhibition at Novado Gallery; his work emphasizes the effect of constant self-introspection and the motivation for his research in making his oil paints. Through the artist, springs his calligraphic brushstrokes, creating a new self-living masterpiece in his singular style, focusing on his need of expression with all the factors that set it in motion!

“My perspective is that contemporary art is not only about aesthetics, but more importantly about the artist responding to the issues of their times. We are living in an age of global crisis, environmental, economic, medical, political, social inequality, and pandemic times. My art is the shout and cry of my soul in this special time.” -HUI TIAN

Hui Tian cv here

“TOP TEN HITS”, May 22 - July 10, 2021.

Click here for Jersey City Times Review (PDF)

Music is a big source of inspiration to Denis OUCH.

Every significant moment in our life is usually accompanied by a tune, each of us has a unique soundtrack to life. Music helps to heal and grow, move forward and be inspired, feel happy and nostalgic. Just like an old familiar scent, songs are associated with a powerful memory.

This new series, " TOP TEN HITS" by OUCH was created with the inspiration and motivation to do good through the sound of contemporary pop music that is both popular and familiar. OUCH's work bridges international pop music hits with global armed conflict, as both affect us on a daily basis. Music presents the positive force of the spectrum, and military conflict is the negative one. OUCH hopes to motivate people to come together, to heal the World of negativity by utilizing the positive energy of music and love through his signature street/pop style.

By using his art to raise awareness about the vagaries of history, OUCH hopes to bring people from all walks of life to fight for human rights across the globe.

Artist bio here

Artist CV here