FOR 7-11

ALJIRA CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER WILL OPEN ‘E9’ JULY 24

avv/lsb set 6/27 #743975

NEWARK, N.J. — Aljira, a center for contemporary art, will present “E9,” the annual group exhibition that is the culmination of Aljira Emerge, the acclaimed strategic career management and exhibition program for emerging artists. On view July 24–September 20, “E9” features the new and recent works by a dynamic group of 22 artists of diverse backgrounds who successfully completed last year’s competitive and rigorous program.

The exhibition highlights works ranging from painting and sculpture to video and installation by the following artists living and working in and around the New Jersey/ New York metropolitan area: Hima B, Melisa Baez, Soyeon Cho, Helen Dennis, Oasa DuVerney, Jeff Feld, Beth Gilfilen, Juan Hinojosa, Clare Grill, Swati Khurana, Beth Krebs, Barbara Landes, Sujin Lee, Sungmi Lee, Elizabeth Livingston, Dominic Miller, Ivan Monforte, Meridith Pingree, Ronny Quevedo, Rene Smith, Bisa W. Washington and Rachel Wren.

This year’s guest curator is Christopher Y. Lew, manager of curatorial affairs at New York’s PS1 Contemporary Art Center, an affiliate of the Museum of Modern Art. Through his work and exchange with this year’s Emerge participants, Lew has recognized that far from being novices, these artists are emerging from “places of tremendous and fearless accomplishment.”

Lew notes that while the exhibition is absent of a thematic framework, the works in “E9” confront some of the most crucial issues in the art world and today’s larger global arena. “They question not only the artist’s role in society, but also the role of each individual; present the complicated anxieties during a time of war and environmental collapse; and express formal concerns that bridge abstract and representation.”

Aljira is at 591 Broad Street. For information, 973-622-1600 or www.aljira.org.