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Cultural Heritage Exhibition

Idli, Sambar and Chutney by Sarasvathy TK

Cultural Heritage Exhibition

May 20 to July 12, 2019

Princeton Junction, NJ (May14th, 2019) – Running from May 20 through July 12, 2019, the West Windsor Arts Council presents 30 artists in Cultural Heritage Exhibition. This show seeks to examine the expression of cultural heritage through art. “How does the past affect our view on the contemporary world?”  Whether it is the food, textiles, festivals, or family traditions, the art in this show demonstrates how these experiences can be shared through visual art.  An opening reception with the artists will be held Sunday, June 9, 2019 from 4 – 6 pm. Artists will be on hand at the opening to discuss their work. Please visit www.westwindsorarts.org for more information.

The jurors for the show are Maria Naumik and Bethay Wildrich, both active in Middlesex County’s arts community.  

Maria Naumik has long been the Chairperson of the Monroe Twp Cultural Arts Commission and an Educator of Visual Arts, also in Monroe Township.  She serves as Vice President on the Board of Trustees for the Arts and Education Center.  Maria holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Ohio University and a Masters in Educational Administration, Supervision, and Curriculum from Georgian Court University. During several summers off from the classroom, Maria has participated in extensive military, government, cultural, health and education related travel or has taken on the roll of Producer for the Monroe Township Community Theater Group, the Might Oak Players.

Bethany Widrich has been Associate Director of Arts Services for  Middlesex County since December 2014. She manages the Local Arts Program, the “Gateway to the Arts” regrant program, as well as  projects focusing on Art & Wellness, and public art.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Art History from Rutgers University, as well as a Master of Arts in Museum Studies from Seton Hall University. Prior to her employment at Middlesex County, Bethany worked in several private art galleries in Manhattan, Montclair State University’s George Segal Gallery, the Newark Museum, and the Jersey City Museum. She is an advisory Board member with the Jersey City Arts Council and volunteers at the historic Loew’s Theater of Jersey City.

The artwork on display depicts how random the human experience can be: a merging of voices from childhood, religion, gender, values and the path of each individual. Many of the works examine daily life, including such items as food, family gatherings and the home as seen in Sarasvathy TK’s, Idli, Sambar and Chutney, Ilene Dube’s Dying to Eat, Robert Lowe’s The Porch, and Judith Caccavale’s Step Out.  Other artists choose to work with traditions from their past as seen in Jennifer Yuan’s Plum Blossom in the Morning, Carlo Fiorenti’s Ginevra Plays Vitruviola and Minidha Arvindakshan’s Madhubani which look to literature, music, painting style, color and motifs of their heritage. Still other artists in the show represented the decay of material items due to recent weather events as in Martin Graifer’s After the Flood. 

The work by Sarasvathy TK (Princeton) represents the thoughtfulness and passion of the show.  Sarasvathy TK paints in a hyperrealist style, creating delectibe illusions of mouth-watering treats.  Her paintings depict every detail very closely, allowing the viewer to experience a delicious reality in it her work.  This realism can be seen in Idli, Sambar and Chutney, a 24 x 36 inch oil painting, currently on display at WWAC.  Her passion for painting and belief in art emerged little late in her career, giving up her professional career in Information Technology.  After a foray with landscapes and portraits, she turned towards a totally new kind of realism associated with still life and food. Her work has been exhibited in India, Singapore, Taiwan, New York and New Jersey. 

Artists featured in the show are Zakia Ahmed (Princeton Jct), Minidha Arvindakshan (Princeton Jct), Gaganpreet Bathla (West Windsor),  Judith Caccavale (Dayton), Dr. Thomas A. Chiola (Trenton),  Disha Dua (West Windsor), Ilene Dube (Princeton Jct), Carlo Fiorentini (Princeton), Carla Graifer (Monroe Twp), Martin Graifer (Monroe Twp), Margaret Kalvar Bushnell (Princeton Jct), Beverly Keese-Kelley (Trenton), Eleni Z. Litt (Princeton), Robert Lowe (Trenton), Aarti Mantri (Dayton), Jyoti L Menon (Lawrenceville), Suvarna Nagaraju (Belle Mead), Smita Nedunuri (Kendall Park), Arushi Patel (Plainsboro), Deborah W. Pey (Bordentown), Bill Plank (Lawrenceville), Helene Plank (Lawrenceville), Joy Sacalis (Rocky Hill), Vibha Singh (Monroe Twp), Rupali Swain (Princeton Jct), Sarasvathy TK (Princeton), Saima Yousuf (Hamilton Twp), and Jennifer Yuan (Princeton)