Galloway, NJ – The Stockton University Art Gallery will host two exhibitions from Jan. 16 through March 28, 2018.

James Raczkowski’s “Visions” and “9 New Jersey Photographers” featuring Barbara Beirne, Terry Boddie, Sandra C. Davis, Michael Froio, Chuck Kelton,Wendy Paton, Alison Rossiter, Helen M. Stummer, Howard F. Zoubek, curated by Stephen Perloff, will be displayed in the lower and upper galleries. Images available upon request.

A walking gallery talk and reception with James Raczkowski and Associate Professor of Art at Stockton University Jacob Feige will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 1 in the lower gallery.

A meet-the-artists of “9 New Jersey Photographers” reception will be held from 5-6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 6 followed by a conversation with exhibit curator Stephen Perloff, Michael Bzdak and Distinguished Professor of Art at Stockton University, Wendel White.

James Raczkowski, also referred to as Razko, is an Iraq veteran and Stockton alumnus. Through his paintings, Raczkowski recounts and reimagines his experiences of combat.

Raczkowski’s work depicts images of Middle Eastern tiles that appear old and chipped, and images of walls covered with posters that look as if they are peeling off in layers. The latter series includes symbolic words and images including soldiers, guns, and airplanes, and words such as "liberty," "freedom" and "terrorism."

Raczkowski’s landscapes are entirely green, and sometimes circular in format; they suggest we are seeing the landscape through a gun's night scope. Raczkowski uses various techniques as loose metaphors for the ways trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder are experienced and then re-lived.

In 2016, Raczkowski painted portraits of each of Stockton’s former presidents, which now adorn a wall in the Campus Center.

The “9 New Jersey Photographers,” exhibit reflects the diversity of image-making among photographic artists today.
Curator Stephen Perloff is the founder and editor of The Photo Review, a critical journal of international scope publishing since 1976, and editor of The Photograph Collector, the leading source of information on the photography art market.

Artists Alison Rossiter and Chuck Kelton create photographs without the use of a camera. Rossiter collects decades-expired photographic paper—the oldest dating to 1900—which she develops in her darkroom, coaxing out of each sheet the gorgeous composition of lights and shades it holds within. Her intimate compositions often resemble moody landscapes or Abstract Expressionist paintings. Kelton creates chemograms and photograms inside the darkroom; transforming light, chemistry and paper into abstract landscapes.

Barbara Beirne’s photographs have been widely exhibited and two nationwide tours of her work have been sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). She is credited as the photographer for five children’s books.

Terry Boddie’s work as a photographer and multi-disciplinary artist explores the historical and contemporary aspects of memory, migration and globalization.

Enjoying adventure and discovery, Sandra C. Davis seeks out historic architecture and gardens, turning her lens to the spiritual and symbolic icons. Her recent work continues to focus on memories, history and symbolism to create narratives that explore the distorted memories of personal histories as well as legends, myths, fairytales, fictions.

Through exploring both building and place within the American landscape, Michael Froio’s work reveals an era where industry, wealth and power impacted the land. His work examines the remarkable architecture and engineering projects as well as the remains of a post-industrialized nation in the back lots, wooded areas, and small towns throughout the Northeast region.

Wendy Paton is best known for her dramatic black and white candid, nocturnal portraits, where she works with film and printing in a traditional darkroom setting.

Landscape photographer, Howard F. Zoubek’s finely detailed black and white silver prints capture both the spirit and fact of the natural order.

As a socially concerned documentary photographer, Helen Stummer captures images of the dignity, elegance and suffering of people who are trying to survive on nothing. Her 2017 book “Risking Life & Lens- A Photographers Memoir” will be on sale in the Stockton University Campus Center book store during the spring 2018 semester.

For more information on “Visions,” “9 New Jersey Photographers” or the Art Gallery, visit stockton.edu/artgallery or visit the gallery Monday-Saturday 12-7:30 p.m. and Sunday from 12-4 p.m.

-Reported by Marielena Dottoli.

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Contact:        

Diane D’Amico
Director of News and Media Relations
Galloway, N.J. 08205
Diane.D’Amico@stockton.edu
609-652-4593
stockton.edu/media