Art Walk 2 in Downtown Phillipsburg, Saturday April 11

The streets and shops in Phillipsburg’s downtown historic district will be filled with art and music this Saturday from 10 a.m. as area businesses have teamed up with the Phillipsburg Arts Association and the Phillipsburg UEZ program to provide local artists and musicians a home for their work in the town’s Second Annual Art Walk. Artists exhibiting will include Patricia Porter, Suzy Kamber, Tom “Chalkborg” Smaldone, renowned sculptor J.A. Nicolai and Joanne Klein.

“The downtown will be filled to the brim with art and music again,” said Alex Ibarra, a co-founder of the Phillipsburg Arts Association, headquartered at 140 S. Main St. “Phillipsburg is home to a growing arts community and Arts Walk is a great opportunity to showcase that.”

Artists will place their work, gallery style, in more than 10 different businesses along S. Main St. and the surrounding streets from the “Free Bridge,” which connects Phillipsburg to Easton, PA, down to a few blocks beyond Shappell Park.

For those who also wish to create, art and craft classes will be held at the Bloomin’ Cottage, 260 S. Main St. starting at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Arts Building at 140 S. Main St.

The Phillipsburg Arts Association will be featuring the work of Patricia Porter. Entitled “Chromosphere,” the new exhibit will open at 10 a.m. on the day of Arts Walk, coinciding with the Winter Farmers Market.

An opening reception for the exhibit featuring light refreshments and food is slated for 6 p.m.

Patricia Porter, along with her late husband, is a co-founder of the renowned ConneXions Gallery, a cornerstone of the Lehigh Valley arts scene. Known as an art adventurer, Porter is said to have embraced the freedom that comes from having no formal training, allowing her to explore various processes and mediums purely for the joy of creation. Her passion and innovative spirit continue to inspire and enrich the local art community and her exhibit in Phillipsburg is expected to do the same.

In addition to Porter, the Phillipsburg Arts Association will be featuring the photography of Suzy Kamber, who has won numerous awards for her highly rendered impressionistic and tonalist images.

Music at 140 S. Main
The Arts Building will feature a combination of Electronic Jazz and live music throughout the day, with musical appearances that will include pianist and composer Patrick Poladian, a Parisian who began his musical career performing in various French venues, including the Jules Verne restaurant, which sits atop the Eiffel Tower – a performance that was broadcast live by Radio France. A number of countries, albums and stellar reviews later (and too many performances to list), Poladian plays frequently in the Lehigh Valley and has served as musical director/accompanist at Unity East Church Center in Brooklyn for well more than a decade.

Violet Fest & Indoor Farmers Market at 140 S. Main St
In addition to art and music, 140 S. Main will feature the Indoor Farmers Market with a host of vendors and Violet Fest from 10 -1 p.m. Visitors will receive a free meadow violet plant.

More to Come at 140
Since it opened last year, the Phillipsburg Arts Association building has become a hub for the arts in town, with a number of gallery shows, arts classes, community gatherings and soon, a café and an outdoor community art garden with a stage for live music and events.

Gallery at MJR Communications, 95 S. Main St.

On display will be original artwork from such artists as Camille Pissarro (a charcoal sketch); Italian master Antonio Ciseri (1821-1891),”Portrait of Savonarola”; leading American Tonalist J. Francis Murphy (1853-1921); Emile Henri Bernard (1868 – 1941), a French Post-Impressionist painter and writer who had highly influential artistic relationships with Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and at a later time, Paul Cézanne; Elaine de Kooning (American, 1918- 1989), best known as the “voice of abstract expressionism” and for her official portrait of JFK; James Morrice (1865 – 1924), whom Matisse referred to as “the artist with a delicate eye”; and highly awarded local artist Bob Gherardi.

There is also a new addition to the Gallery @ 95 S. Main: an untitled work from Purvis Young, (American, 1943-2010, Commercial Paint on Wood, Broadloom Carpet Scrap Border), depicting a processional of American Indians on horseback, presumably after battle – and seemingly suffering displacement.

Purvis Young was an African-American artist of Bahamian descent whose art arose from the desolate alleys of the Overtown neighborhood in Miami. Considered “outsider art,” Young’s work is celebrated at the museum and institutional level (Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Centre Pompidou (Paris); the Whitney; Philadelphia Museum of Art; the Smithsonian, and the Miami Museum of Modern Art, to name a few) while also finding a home in many private collections – with a following that included Brice Marden, Jane Fonda, Damon Wayans, Jim Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and others.

“I’m excited to ‘unveil’ this original piece by Purvis Young for Arts Walk II,” said Michael Ricciardelli, lead writer at MJR Communications and a co-founder of the Phillipsburg Arts Association. “I’m also excited to be featuring the work of Joanne Klein, an upcoming local talent that is currently exhibiting at ConneXions Gallery and, like Purvis Young, is a born artist.” He continued, “Her lack of opportunity for formal training only makes her work stronger. A mother of two grown sons now in their 50s, she creates found-art sculptures that evoke a strong sense of vision, estrangement and the societal constraints placed upon working class women in a bygone era – and still. I’ve already purchased several of her pieces and I look forward to introducing her work to a much wider audience.”

95 S. Main will also feature the artwork of Hampton artist John Koblen and renowned sculptor, J. A. Nicolai, a Trenton native and alumni of the famed Art et Industrie gallery in NYC. Nicolai is said to have “gathered up Trenton’s abandoned relics and architectural ruins and recast them as art – molten, melded and re-envisioned for a world that simply does not exist, but perhaps should.” Working within an expanded and highly personalized form of the Steam Punk vernacular long before there was a movement or, arguably, even a recognized sculpture form bearing that name, Nicolai’s work has been described as a form of “post-industrial historic futurism.”

Nicolai graduated with a degree in Fine Art from Lafayette College, Easton. P.A., and continued at the School of Visual Art in NYC. He served as an instructor, supervisor and Director of Installations at the famed Seward Johnson Etellier for 14 years and has worked closely with and for the famed Rosa Esman Gallery in NYC and the New Jersey State Museum. In addition to Art et Industrie, his work has been exhibited at numerous galleries throughout New York and New Jersey.

“We are honored to bring J.A. Nicolai’s work to Phillipsburg,” said Ricciardelli. “The scale, scope and force of his art is astounding. For now, we’ll have to settle for a few smaller pieces – but we’ll see about next year. I might have a plan.”

Music at 95 S. Main
In addition to visual art, 95 S. Main will feature Jazz trombonist Donald Skelly, a Phillipsburg native who teaches music and attempts to translate his love for Prokofiev, Scarlatti, Mingus, Jeff Beck and Art Tatum into original works of music. Skelly is scheduled to play from his extensive repertoire of standards and original compositions from 12 noon to 1.

From 1:30 to 2:30 John Koblen will fill the air with his original American Folk Rock. Koblen blends his love for story with electric guitar amidst neo-funk and soul grooves.

From 3:30 to 4, Josef Lamberti will take the stage as Fysics, a solo acoustic project featuring voice and a handmade guitar built with local luthier Frank Finocchio. His performances combine expressive guitar playing, fingerstyle instrumentals and melodic songwriting. He has performed in numerous venues in NYC and up and down the east coast and is currently preparing his debut album and for an appearance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland this August.

More Art & Music Throughout Town, Participating Businesses & Artists (to date)

FREE entry unless specified.

Cisnero’s Pizzeria, 370 Memorial Parkway (11 am+)

• • • Artist: Terry Woodson

Jimmy’s Doggie Stand, 7 Union Sq. (10:30 am+)

• • • Artist: Chris Minerley

Tailor Fit Cycles, 27 Union Sq. (11 am+)

• • • Artist: Alex Ibarra

Old Soul Smoke Shop, 61 S. Main St.

• • • Artist: Tom “Chalkborg” Smaldone
    • Artist: Bill Benz

Rapean Cuisine, 62 S. Main St. (11 am+)

• • • Artist: Jamie Sands

MJR Communications, 95 S. Main St. (10 am – 6pm)

• • • Artist: John Nicolai
    • Artist: Joanne Klein
    • Artist: John Koblen
    • Music: Donald Skelly (12 – 1 pm)
    • Music: John Koblen (1:30 – 2:30 pm)
    • Music: Fysics (3:30 – 4 pm)

Phillipsburg Arts Association, 140 S. Main St. (10 am+)

• • • Artist: Patricia Porter, Reception at 6pm
    • Artist: Suzy Kamber

Phillipsburg Winter Market: Violet Fest, 140 S. Main St. (10-1)

• • • Free meadow violet plant to take home

LaLaYummy, 163 S. Main St., Ibarra Gallery (11am+)

• • • Artist: Richard Schissler

The Bloomin’ Cottage, 260 S. Main St. (Noon+)

• • • Art Class 11am $: Beachy Seaglass Wreath or Tree
    • Art Class 3pm $: Hen Pot Holder

Joe’s Steak Shop, 274 S. Main St. (11 am+)

• • • Photos of classic cars over the years at Joe’s Cruise Nights

For the Love of Cupcakes, 35 Sitgreaves St. (9 am+)

• • • Artist: Taylor Pierce
    • Art Display: Baked Art!

Sullivans Mercantile, 338 S. Main St. (10 am+)

• • • Many local Artists!

Rocco’s Pizza & Italian, 360 S. Main St. (11 am+)

• • • Artist: Lori Brown

Party & Pop Balloon Co, 493 S. Main St. (9 am+)

• • • Artistic: Photo Op, Free Gift with Purchase, Refreshments+

The Second Annual Phillipsburg Arts Walk will be held on Saturday, April 11 and will run from approximately 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. followed by a reception at 140 S. Main St., home to the Phillipsburg Arts Association.

Information provided to TVL by:
Michael Ricciardelli