Montclair Art Exhibit: ‘The Revelation of Goddesses’

MONTCLAIR, NJ — A new exhibit at 4 Flavors Art Gallery and Framing in Montclair will spotlight “The Revelation of Goddesses.”

According to a news release, the exhibit by artists Erica Rose Levine and Tommy Mitchell will be on display at the gallery from April 8 to April 28 at 204 Bellevue Avenue. Private tours will be scheduled throughout the run of the exhibition.

An opening reception is planned for Thursday, April 8 from 6 to 9 p.m.

The gallery offered some details about the exhibit and its creators:

“Both artists pull muses from everyday life, including clerks at grocery stores and people encountered in conventional routine, rendering their subjects with extraordinary precision. The addition of adornments, hair embellishment, and background, paired with hyper focus on the face, go beyond the realm of portraiture, transforming subjects into broader icons of power and femininity, evoking the inner strength of goddesses or royalty. For Levine, an artist based in Montclair, NJ, her artwork is inspired by “women's use of decoration and beauty as power.” Mitchell, on the other hand, “references fashion photography, along with religious elements to achieve an empowering representation of women of color in an attempt to complicate the notions of ideal beauty.” Both artists’ work draw striking similarity in their use of nontraditional mediums to create photorealistic figurative drawing--Levine, with the use of colored pencil, and Mitchell in his mastery of shading with ballpoint pen.”

According to the gallery:

Erica Rose Levine was born in NYC, where she attended LaGuardia High School of Music and Art before earning a BFA at the School of Visual Arts. After a short career of teaching art and special education, she left to concentrate on her artwork. Erica's drawings are inspired by women's use of decoration and beauty as power. She is interested in the way women define themselves with jewelry, hairstyles and accessories and loves all that glitters and grows. Her drawings are mainly done with colored pencil but sometimes she incorporates graphite, acrylic ink, pastels, paint, and collage as well. Erica has been part of group and solo exhibitions nationally, including a solo exhibition at Think Space in Los Angeles.

Tommy Mitchell was born in 1983 in Biloxi Mississippi. Relocating to Virginia in the late 80s, Tommy would draw a myriad of things from magazine covers to basketball cards. Out of high school, he began working numerous retail jobs before coming back to his calling in the arts. Tommy’s choice of ballpoint pen comes from friendly competition with a classmate. Whereas the classmate had mentioned that her grandmother used ballpoint pen to minimize her mistakes, Mitchell followed suit. Self taught, Tommy studied tattoo artists for their attention to detail and execution with ink. Tommy now lives and works in Baltimore. Tommy has participated in group and solo exhibitions nationally, including The Baltimore Museum and Band of Vices in Los Angeles, amongst others.

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Don’t forget to visit the Patch Montclair Facebook page. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Sign up for Patch email newsletters.