{"id":148572,"date":"2026-04-08T22:02:50","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T02:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=148572"},"modified":"2026-04-08T22:02:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T02:02:50","slug":"art-walk-2-in-downtown-phillipsburg-saturday-april-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=148572","title":{"rendered":"Art Walk 2 in Downtown Phillipsburg, Saturday April 11"},"content":{"rendered":"

Art Walk 2 in Downtown Phillipsburg, Saturday April 11 <\/strong><\/p>\n

The streets and shops in Phillipsburg\u2019s 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\u2019s Second Annual Art Walk. Artists exhibiting will include Patricia Porter, Suzy Kamber, Tom \u201cChalkborg\u201d Smaldone, renowned sculptor J.A. Nicolai and Joanne Klein.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe downtown will be filled to the brim with art and music again,\u201d said Alex Ibarra, a co-founder of the Phillipsburg Arts Association, headquartered at 140 S. Main St. \u201cPhillipsburg is home to a growing arts community and Arts Walk is a great opportunity to showcase that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Artists will place their work, gallery style, in more than 10 different businesses along S. Main St. and the surrounding streets from the \u201cFree Bridge,\u201d which connects Phillipsburg to Easton, PA, down to a few blocks beyond Shappell Park.<\/p>\n

For those who also wish to create, art and craft classes will be held at the Bloomin\u2019 Cottage, 260 S. Main St. starting at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.<\/p>\n

Arts Building at 140 S. Main St.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Patricia Porter Phillipsburg (photo credit A. Ibarra)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Phillipsburg Arts Association will be featuring the work of Patricia Porter<\/strong>. Entitled \u201cChromosphere,\u201d the new exhibit will open at 10 a.m. on the day of Arts Walk, coinciding with the Winter Farmers Market.<\/p>\n

An opening reception for the exhibit featuring light refreshments and food is slated for 6 p.m.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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

Music at 140 S. Main<\/strong>
\nThe 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<\/strong>, a Parisian who began his musical career performing in various French venues, including the Jules Verne restaurant, which sits atop the Eiffel Tower \u2013 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.<\/p>\n

Violet Fest & Indoor Farmers Market at<\/strong> 140 S. Main St
\n<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

More to Come at 140<\/strong>
\nSince 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 caf\u00e9 and an outdoor community art garden with a stage for live music and events.<\/p>\n

Gallery at MJR Communications, 95 S. Main St. <\/strong><\/p>\n

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Landscape Room 95 Photo Credit M. Ricciardelli<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On display will be original artwork from such artists as Camille Pissarro<\/strong> (a charcoal sketch); Italian master Antonio Ciseri<\/strong> (1821-1891),\u201dPortrait of Savonarola\u201d; leading American Tonalist J. Francis Murphy<\/strong> (1853-1921); Emile Henri Bernard<\/strong> (1868 \u2013 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 C\u00e9zanne; Elaine de Kooning<\/strong> (American, 1918- 1989), best known as the \u201cvoice of abstract expressionism\u201d and for her official portrait of JFK; James Morrice (1865 \u2013 1924), whom Matisse referred to as \u201cthe artist with a delicate eye\u201d; and highly awarded local artist Bob Gherardi<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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<\/strong>), depicting a processional of American Indians on horseback, presumably after battle \u2013 and seemingly suffering displacement.<\/p>\n

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Purvis Young, Photo Credit M. Ricciardelli<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Purvis Young<\/strong> was an African-American artist of Bahamian descent whose art arose from the desolate alleys of the Overtown neighborhood in Miami. Considered \u201coutsider art,\u201d 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 \u2013 with a following that included Brice Marden, Jane Fonda, Damon Wayans, Jim Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited to \u2018unveil\u2019 this original piece by Purvis Young for Arts Walk II,\u201d said Michael Ricciardelli, lead writer at MJR Communications and a co-founder of the Phillipsburg Arts Association. \u201cI\u2019m also excited to be featuring the work of Joanne Klein<\/strong>, an upcoming local talent that is currently exhibiting at ConneXions Gallery and, like Purvis Young, is a born artist.\u201d He continued, \u201cHer 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 \u2013 and still. I\u2019ve already purchased several of her pieces and I look forward to introducing her work to a much wider audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

95 S. Main will also feature the artwork of Hampton artist John Koblen<\/strong> and renowned sculptor, J. A. Nicolai<\/strong>, a Trenton native and alumni of the famed Art et Industrie<\/a> gallery in NYC. Nicolai is said to have \u201cgathered up Trenton\u2019s abandoned relics and architectural ruins and recast them as art \u2013 molten, melded and re-envisioned for a world that simply does not exist, but perhaps should.\u201d 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 \u201cpost-industrial historic futurism.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

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J A Nicolai<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe are honored to bring J.A. Nicolai\u2019s work to Phillipsburg,\u201d said Ricciardelli. \u201cThe scale, scope and force of his art is astounding. For now, we\u2019ll have to settle for a few smaller pieces \u2013 but we\u2019ll see about next year. I might have a plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Music at 95 S. Main<\/strong>
\nIn addition to visual art, 95 S. Main will feature Jazz trombonist Donald Skelly<\/strong>, 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.<\/p>\n

From 1:30 to 2:30 John Koblen<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

From 3:30 to 4, Josef Lamberti will take the stage as Fysics<\/strong>, 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.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

More Art & Music Throughout Town, Participating Businesses & Artists (to date)<\/strong><\/p>\n

FREE entry unless specified.<\/p>\n

Cisnero\u2019s Pizzeria<\/strong>, 370 Memorial Parkway (11 am+)<\/p>\n