More Than a Rug
Tapestries, Paintings & Sculpture
by Armando Sosa, I-Hsiung Ju, Ayami Aoyama & John McDevitt
plus African Textiles & Jewelry from the David Bosted Collection
March 2 – April 19, 2013

Opening Reception Saturday, March 9, 2013  7-9 pm
Members & Artists Only ~  6-7 pm

Gallery Talk:  David Bosted on African Textiles
Sunday, March 24, 2013  2:00 p.m.
Free and open to the public

Chinese Painting Lecutre and Discussion
Professor Grace Ju Miller
Sunday, April 7, 2:00 p.m.

More Than a Rug showcases an international variety of works by four area artists of distinction, three of whom were born abroad, as well as African textiles and jewelry from the David Bosted collection.

Armando Sosa hand weaves his brilliantly colored tapestries on looms he built himself.  The tapestries reflect images and icons of his native Guatemala, some dating back to his Mayan and pre-Columbian heritage and others to memories of a Central American childhood.

The late I-Hsiung Ju worked in the tradition of scroll paintings bordered in silk of his native China.  Central to this tradition is the fusion of painting, philosophy, and poetry evident in the contemplative stance of the artist toward nature, including the flora, fauna, and landscapes of both China and America.

The abstract modernity of the sculptures of Aoyama and McDevitt complements the figurative traditionalism of the tapestries and scroll paintings.  Far from her native Japan, Ayami Aoyama carves stone to uncover the life waiting within, while American-born John McDevitt welds shaped steel into emblems of self-transformation.  Their works have in common a spirituality arising from the skill and vision of the sculptor in transcending resistant materials to create objects of sensuous beauty.

On Sunday, March 24th at 2:00 p.m., Trenton Museum Society trustee David Bosted will give a gallery talk on African textiles, illustrated by items on display from his collection. To supplement his talk, "Celebrated African Textiles,” Mr. Bosted will have copies of a gallery guide. Mr. Bosted will discuss the African textiles and artifacts in the exhibit and comment on the significance of the different types of textiles, jewelry and other objects.

With an eye toward the collector as well as museum-goer, he will ask and answer three practical but important questions to enhance appreciation of the objects on display from his collection:

• What is the best way to display textiles?
• Should antique textiles be repaired, or exhibited in original condition?
• What makes a successful exhibit of textiles?

On Sunday, April 7 at 2:00 p.m. Professor Grace Ju Miller will speak about Chinese painting. Read more>>