Maplewood Artists' Work on Display at Fair

The remarkable contemporary art collection of a postal clerk and reference librarian is once again the inspiration for an affordable art fair at the Montclair Art Museum. The art fair includes the work of Maplewood artist Laura Gilkey.

The works of more than two dozen local artists will be offered for under $500 to promote the collection of art at the fourth annual "Collecting Art: An Affordable Art Fair," Saturday and Sunday, June 8 and 9, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., in Leir Hall.

The first affordable art fair was held in October 2010 in conjunction with the exhibition Living for Art: The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection. The Vogels were a working class American couple that assembled an incredible collection of contemporary art despite their limited means. 

For the 2013 affordable art fair, the museum received more than 100 applications for the fair and the following artists from throughout New Jersey, as well as New York and Massachusetts, were selected to participate: Anne Avigdor, Vanessa Bucci, Sandra Lee Butler, Pauline Chernichaw, Dana DiMuro, Poliana DeVane, Dave Dziemian, Rita Flores, Darlene Foster, Alexa Garbarino, Laura Gilkey, Joseph Haag, Brenda Hernandez, Kevin Hinkle, Katherine Jennings, Bonnie Maranz, Paul Moench, Cathy Pilkin, Brandon Rechten, Janice Reis, Christopher Sebastian, Anne Silber, Jessica Soininen-Eddis, Krista Svalbonas, and Viorika Unguryanu.

The works for sale will range from the Laura Gilkey’s abstract, otherworldly clay and felt sculptures to Pauline Chernichaw’s gritty, colorful photographs, to Rita Flores’ multimedia portraits.

During the art fair, admission to the museum’s galleries will be half-price. Current exhibitions include The New Spirit: American Art in the Armory Show, 1913, Oscar Bluemner’s America: Picturing Paterson, N.J., and The Bloomfield Avenue Hotline, on view through June 16.

The Montclair Art Museum is located at 3 South Mountain Ave., in Montclair.