Bridgewater Artist to be Featured in Montclair Show

He has been in numerous art shows in New Jersey, California, Virginia, Maryland and New York—and now Bridgewater resident Kevin Hinkle will be showing off his photography work at the upcoming Affordable Art Fair at the Montclair Art Museum.

“Hopefully people will take advantage of the opportunity to visit a fair where there is good work that is accessibly priced,” he said. “You don’t have to be a millionaire to incorporate art into your life.”

The art fair will be held at the museum on South Mountain Avenue in Montclair Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to the show is free.

Hinkle said this is a juried affordable art fair, which means artists have to apply to be included. He said he heard about it through some of the art organizations he is involved in, and he decided to submit some of his photography.

“A juried art show means that any number of people submit their work for consideration and there is one or two jurors who select what will be shown based on what they are looking for in their show,” he said. “A lot of times, it could be only 5 or 10 percent of works submitted that are in the show.”

This time, Hinkle said, there were 108 applicants, and 25 were selected to participate.

“I had no idea whether I would be accepted, but I feel very happy and lucky to get in,” he said.

Hinkle said he submitted his layered photographs, where he has taken up to four images and layered them on top of one another to create an entirely new photograph.

“I do a lot of abstracts too, but what I submitted was the layered photographs,” he said. “I don’t see a lot of it around, so I thought it would be a little bit different. It looks a bit like painting, so I just thought it might be appealing for that kind of setting, perhaps a little more unique.”

Hinkle said a friend of his initially showed him how to layer photographs.

“Then I just started experimenting with different types of images,” he said. “I might have a tree, and then stone, or a tree and a metal piece or something.”

“It was an experiment I started with and I liked the effect, so I continued with that,” he added.

Aside from this, Hinkle said, he is very involved in the Asbury Park art scene, and is a resident artist at Gallery 13 in Asbury Park.

“I have been there about seven or eight months,” he said. “There are about nine or 10 artists, and everyone has a space on the wall. And there are different shows every month.”

“It is an affordable way to have my work visible because it is hard to get in galleries,” he added. “It is a good opportunity to have my work displayed on a semi-permanent basis.”

Hinkle said he didn’t study art and photography in college, but he did take some courses at the School of Visual Arts and at the International Center of Photography, both in New York City.

“I have been interested in photography for a long time, but those courses were my major training,” he said. “About 2007, I was encouraged to submit photos to be considered for shows, and that’s how I started. I have kept going since then.”

With his work, Hinkle said, he likes to just experiment.

“I like the freedom to experiment, and to see what happens when you’re playing with the camera,” he said. “To me, it’s very relaxing, and not a stressful thing to do at all.”

Aside from his shows, Hinkle, who has lived in Bridgewater since 2008, also teaches at Raritan Valley Community College. He teaches English as a Second Language, but not art.

“I lived overseas, and had some overseas experience when I was younger,” he said. “I like working with people from different backgrounds and cultures.”

“I would consider teaching art, but I don’t have the credentials,” he added.

Hinkle said he gets his inspiration just from looking at other pieces and getting a chance to see art.

“I like museums, and I enjoy seeing other people’s work,” he said. “I wouldn’t call that direct inspiration, but being exposed to world class art is a sort of inspiration, even though I can’t claim to be anywhere near that level.”

Aside from Hinkle’s work, the show will feature other photographs, felt sculptures, multimedia portraits and much more.