John Ruddy – Oculus Deus at Paul Vincent Gallery in Hoboken

Posted on May 21, 2011 by itees

Last Sunday I attended the wonderful opening reception of local artist, John Ruddy, at the Paul Vincent Gallery in Hoboken. The gallery gives an artist the space to spread their art out into multiple rooms, and during the afternoon we all moved into one of the rooms for a special musical performance by Cris Nyne. It’s wonderful to see the artists community come out and support one another and the place was hopping! Different types of artists crowded the rooms, painters, photographers, actors, etc…

John Ruddy’s art was quite original. What I loved was that he treated the frame and the wall surrounding the picture as part of the piece. The frames were decorated, the walls were decorated… it made me think where does the art begin and where does it end? It makes me realize art is not just a picture on a wall, (not that I thought this, but it’s a nice reminder) but everything surrounding the piece and me as well.

Have a look at some of the folks who attended and John Ruddy’s work.

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Gallery Hopping in Downtown Jersey City

Posted on April 3, 2011 by itees

As Bilbo Baggins once said in LOTR by J.R.R. Tolkin, “It’s amazing what can happen once you step outside your door!”

It was a very long week and I had worked long hours and by friday was quite tired. My good friend and photographer, John Crittenden and I had planned on visiting a bunch of galleries, but it was a rainy, dreary day and I wasn’t sure I was up for it. However, I had a feeling I needed to go with him, and so off we went.

First stop was the _gaia gallery space at 315 3rd street. They had some interesting photographs up and a small intimate crowd had gathered. While there, I made a connection through a friend to a woman who works at the Bronx Zoo and can help my cause, Frogs Are Green. Then I met the artist Aileen Bassis, who is also a school teacher (kids may enter the 2011 Frogs Are Green art contest) and her friend Andrew Kapochunas, (we had a neat discussion about single malts and Scotland).

Next stop was “Unzipped” showing the two artists, “Then One” & “Ntel” at 58 Gallery at 58 Coles Street. Very cool gallery design and multimedia artwork, (you’ll see in the photos).

We picked up another friend there, and off we went to the closing party of “Freeze” at Art House Productions, Hamilton Square, 1 McWilliams Place. As I moved around the room I noticed a beautiful photograph of a cat and standing next to me is my friend John, taking a few pictures of the exhibit. I look down at the card saying who’s work it was and it was John’s piece! The conversation went something like this… “I’ve never seen this photograph, I want it!” He looks at me surprised, “what?” he says… I say, “I’m buying it!” “Really?” he says… “Yes!” and I did.

I’ve never bought an image off the wall in a gallery before, and it was thrilling! The picture is now proudly hanging in my home!

After seeing all this artwork, we were so hungry, so off we went for a bite at the Hard Grove Cafe. The food there is always awesome, and the place was packed… and it was Karoke night! This kid (in photo) was fabulous!

Saturday evening was the closing party for John’s exhibition at Made With Love, Actualities II. Friends gathered, wine flowed, and great food of course!

Here’s a small gallery from the weekend.

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New Jersey Fashion Week March Mixer – W Hotel in Hoboken

Posted on March 26, 2011 by itees

What a night, what party! When I arrived at the W Hotel last night and made my way up to the second floor Chandelier room, the place was packed. I was mesmerized by beauty queens of course, all around the room wearing Tiaras. The cameras were flashing… the models posing… low cut dresses showing off what they’ve got, and lots of glittering sequence. There were almost more photographers than fashion industry people.

As I moved around the room, I met so many fabulous new people. Here are some of the new friends I’ve made… Charon Richardson of G’wan, Pam & Rashid Salaam of Pam’s Vintage Soul Boutique, Ashley Marie, Event Planner, Nikkia Tené McClain of Tené Nícole, Marketing & Public Relations, Porsha Star, Hair Stylist, and Dr. Randy Kansky of Hoboken’s own Eyeshapes.

The event was organized by New Jersey Fashion Week Founder, Donnella Tilery. Joining Donnella were co-host, Kim Granatell from “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” and Tom Murro from CelebrityMagnet.com. We’ll see when all those photos surface, if they were there! Photos are forthcoming. Also on the list for the event was the Mayor of Hoboken, Dawn Zimmer, although given the 300 people there, I didn’t see her.

Here’s a photo of the beauty queens posing, taken by photographer, Gary Preis, and click here to see his gallery on Facebook!