D&R Greenway Land Trust Announces

Garden State Watercolor Society’s
51^st Annual Art Exhibit
“Recovery”

Garden State Watercolor Society and D&R Greenway Land Trust are pleased to invite you to attend a special art reception. Light refreshments will be served outside on the patio; small groups will be let in to the galleries to safely view the Delaware-themed juried exhibit and the 3rd annual art installation. Come early to hike one of the D&R’s nearby trails!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     August 9, 2021

D&R Greenway Land Trust announces the reopening of its Marie L. Matthews Art Gallery at its Johnson Education Center in Princeton with the aptly named exhibit “Recovery” in partnership with the Garden State Watercolor Society (GSWS). This river-focused 51st Annual Juried Exhibition will be available for reserved timed viewings from August 11 through October 17, 2021. Along with the juried exhibit, in the lobby of the Johnson Education Center, visitors will be greeted with the Garden State Watercolor Society’s 3^rd Annual Art Installation of over 100 mini-paintings illustrating aspects of the Delaware River, displayed among river stones.

These shows will be held virtually on the Garden State Watercolor Society YouTube channel and in-person at the Johnson Education Center, D&R Greenway Land Trust, 1 Preservation Place in Princeton, NJ.  All works of art are for sale.

Click HERE or scroll down for a video compilation presenting the Art Installation. — 44 Artists — 100 Paintings in blues, greens, and purple, celebrating the Delaware River.  Make sure your sound is on!

Click HERE or scroll down to view the 51st Open Juried Exhibit, “Recovery” — As the whole world struggles to recover, GSWS celebrates the Delaware River named “River of the Year” in 2020 by American Rivers for its outstanding beauty and significant recovery over the past 75 years. ​

In-Person Reserved Time Entries by Appointment Only

Experience the exhibit in person, with viewings scheduled by appointment only, by clicking HERE. Reserved timed entries will be available three days a week through the run of the show, with monthly Saturday hours. Visitors will follow CDC guidelines when they enter the Johnson Education Center to view the exhibit, with masks and social distancing. Entries will be timed so that each visitor and their guests remain separated from others viewing the exhibit. Events had been on hold for over a year and this will be the first returning indoor gallery exhibit. If you have trouble scheduling a visit or have questions regarding the exhibit, contact Tessie Fields, President, GSWS at 609-558-0207 or president@gswcs.org.

Garden State Watercolor Society’s “Recovery” portrays the wild landscape, recreation, birds, fish, flora and fauna of the Delaware River with creative imagination. Artists illustrate the natural beauty we all love. The art works showcase what “Recovery” signifies to each of us, in representational or abstract ways.

“This exhibit celebrates what we at D&R Greenway have learned over the past year and a half, that nature heals and helps us recover from isolation and trauma,” shares Linda Mead, D&R Greenway’s CEO and President. “Our founding mission to preserve water quality by saving land along our region’s waterways is reflected in the focus on the Delaware River.” The river is a comeback success story, with progress made in cleaning up the river celebrated in 2020 when American Rivers named the Delaware the “American River of the Year”. The river landscape has long been a place of reflection and beauty for area residents and artists.

Tess Fields, GSWS President declares, “I was delighted when D&R Greenway Land Trust challenged us with the theme of the Delaware River and its recovery. I grew up on the Delaware and have a great respect and fondness for it. Each season on the river holds its own particular beauty. It can be calm and serene, or, after a storm, it can be dangerous and threatening. GSWS Artists embraced the theme and created a wide variety of wonderful art. I hope that people will come to view the exhibit at D&R Greenway’s Johnson Education Center. GSWS is thrilled to be hanging its first exhibit in two years!”

This special 2021 “Recovery” exhibit by the Garden State Watercolor Society, hosted by D&R Greenway, recognizes the importance of the preservation of water that supplies 15 million people. Wildlife and vegetation benefit from stewardship of the Delaware River and its adjacent land and natural resources in local communities like Lambertville and Bordentown, and in cities that include Trenton, Camden and Philadelphia, PA and Wilmington, DE. The Delaware River’s waters have become a critical resource and connection for people, providing inspiration, safe passage and restorative recreation and meditation. The Delaware remains the longest free-flowing river in the eastern U.S., with the most extensive National Wild and Scenic River protection of any watershed in the country.

Featured as the gateway to the exhibit is the Garden State Watercolor Society’s 3^rd Annual Art Installation, a distinctive mini-art representation of aspects of the Delaware River with over one hundred 5”x7” paintings created by GSWS artists. Challenged to paint using only cool colors of blue, green and purple, the collaborative exhibit shows the imaginative creativity of the artists. The installation art celebrates the Delaware River: clean water, return of wildlife and source of scenic landscapes and interaction of nature and people. This installation exhibit follows the previous challenges of “Head and Shoulders” in 2019–in which portraits were done in primary colors of red, yellow and blue only, and “Beautiful Creatures” in 2020–using secondary colors: orange, green and purple, and showing: animals, birds and insects. Both were well-received; this installation is expected to draw much interest as well.

The community is invited to call 609-558-0207 to make a reservation to visit the free installation and exhibit, in person. Artist entry and prizes were juried by Tim Saternow, a Signature Member of the American Watercolor Society whose watercolor paintings explore the lost and forgotten areas on the edges of the urban scene. Art is available for sale. A percentage of each purchase will support D&R Greenway’s mission of preserving and caring for land and inspiring a conservation ethic, now and forever.

​The Delaware River – River of the Year
3rd Annual GSWS Art Installation 2021

Theme: Celebrate the comeback of the Delaware River: clean water, return of wildlife & source of scenic landscapes

Please stop by to view this unique installation and
​the 2021 Juried Exhibit!

In case you missed it…

Recordings of the Science and Art  Zoom Happy Hour held on August 15, 2021 are available at gswcs.org or by using the links below:

Part 1 – Science  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFG1POEU_Sk

Part 2 – Artists  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJN-7rf6mso
 

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BACKGROUND:

The Garden State Watercolor Society was founded in 1969 by Dagmar Tribble, a noted watercolorist. Over its existence, GSWS has been a beacon whose award-winning artists have inspired generations. The nonprofit organization’s goal is to encourage painting in water media and provide educational and exhibition opportunities for artists and residents of NJ, PA, NY or DE. Please visit www.gswcs.com for updates.