“The Camera I Always Wanted” release date: Oct. 11, 2019

The Plume House of Prayer Series, 2019, is Shine’s newly published edition of books referencing a historic site in Newark, NJ. Once a ”cozy farmhouse on the outskirts of a little town on the riverside,” and rectory to The House of Prayer church, is the Plume House. Built in approximately 1725, and the second oldest home in the city  of Newark, now has its foundation visibly shaken by the vehicles driving on I-280, constructed a few feet from the house.

On this site, in 1887, Reverend Hannibal Goodwin invented celluloid photographic film in the attic. This invention was motivated by the frequent breakage of his glass lantern slides, which Goodwin used to teach children bible stories. The book covers in this series are designed to invoke a House of Prayer sermon pamphlet from 1852, on the life of statesman and slaveholder Henry Clay, delivered to “The Young Men of Newark, N.J.” 

Five books feature the work by artists: Anthony Alvarez, Dominique Duroseau, Colleen Gutwein, Nick Kline and  Scheherazade Tillet. Designed by Chantal Fischzang. 

The books published in this series vibrate with the various histories and nature of this site, including the intersection of American independence, slavery, gender, church, state, Newark’s role in the history of photography, obsolescence, and hope.

October 11, 6-8pm Book Release Event and fundraiser at Shine.

On October 11, 6-8pm, 100% of sales, of Shine’s 5 book edition, will be donated to support a foundation in Bolivia, working on projects of reforestation, environmental education and rehabilitation of the flora and fauna lost during the Amazon fires. Please help this effort which is being organized by our designer and colleague, Rutgers Professor Chantal Fischzang, who is from Bolivia and knows this landscape and volunteer group intimately.

For more information visit SHINE: https://www.shineportrait.com/publishing

Install and book images courtesy of SHINE Portrait Studio.

Bringing It All Back Home

INDEX ART CENTER 9.14 – 11.8. 2019
Lance Rautzhan, Patricia Dahlman, Dong Kyu Kim, Matthew DiLeo, Juno Zago, Devyn Nuñez.

Index Art Center presents Bringing It All Back Home, a group exhibition of six artists exploringthe concepts of home, and what it means to come back to a place. Each artist brings a distinct visual language to the exhibition as they explore personal and social narratives within their work.

The title, Bringing It All Back Home, hails from the avant-garde folk rocker Bob Dylan’s 1965 album release by the same name. Dylans album skins emotional nerves raw. It was created ata time not so dissimilar from today, bluntly facing racial injustice, international war and suffering, and rebellion in search of freedom. This exhibition seeks the meaning of home, a concept in constant flux, through the brutal honesty of the artists vision.

Curated by Colleen Gutwein O’Neal

SIDE GALLERY:Fern & Fossil X The Nork Project Fall Pop Up Shop

FIRST FLOOR: Art & Artifacts of NewarkArt & Artifacts of Newark is a part of IAC’s curatorial residency program featuring works and art exhibitions curated by Matthew Gosser.

Admission is free and open to the public.

Gallery hours and viewings are by appointment.

#miniretro 5.18.19 – 7.12.19

#miniretro

5.18.19 – 7.12.19

20 years (1999 – 2019) of photographic works by Colleen Gutwein. At the age of 5, Colleen developed her first image in a basement darkroom at her Grandparents house in Metuchen NJ. Years later she earned a degree in photography at Montclair State University with her Grandfather’s old Canon FT-b camera. This #miniretro shows Gutwein’s early use of 4×5 film (polaroid type-55) from her first solo exhibition, and the evolution of her work through both digital and traditional photographic formats and printing techniques, up through 2019 with a digital portrait of the medium format Jem. Jr. film camera used for The Newark Artists Photo Documentary Project.

Art & Artifacts of Newark: 233 Washington St Newark, NJ

Opening Reception: Saturday May 18, 2019 6-9pm Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/511032232761568/

Art & Artifacts of Newark is a pop-up space created by M. Gosser as part of a curatorial residency at Index Art Center

Regular Gallery Hours: Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 1 – 6pm (and by appointment)

Also opening at Index Art Center on Saturday May 18 7-10pm: Making Time curated by Wavelength Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1132604890278449/

These events at Index Art Center are free and open to the public.

Index at Index

INDEX is a group exhibition of works in all mediums by artists currently participating as both mentors and mentees in the New York Foundation of the Arts 2019 Immigrant Artist Mentor Program, Newark.

design by: Gisel Endara

5.4.19 – 5.9.19
Opening Reception: Saturday May 4th, 6-9pm

Exhibiting Artists:
Ole Lie Vandal
Ananda Lima
Anne Trauben
Jin Jung
Ceaphas Stubbs
Kimmah Dennis
Colleen Gutwein
Daniela Puliti
Agnieszka Wszolkowska
fayemi shakur
Olufunke Ogundimu
Jen Mazza
Mariejon de Jong-Buijs
Jo-El Lopez
Francisco Pena
Kati Vilim
Eka Pramuditha
Katrina Bello
Mic Boekelmann
Malik Whitaker
Kanako Tsutsumi
Matthew Gosser
Diana Candelejo
paulA neves
Gisel Endara
Sally Helmi
Sarah Walko
Adishetu Oyibo
Yvette Molina
Shiza Chaudhary

Index Art Center
1st Floor Gallery
233 Washington St
Newark, NJ 07102

* Index is free and open to the public.

Gallery Hours: Saturday 1 – 6pm
Sunday, Tuesday – Friday: by appointment
www.indexartcenter.org

A big thanks to: Index Art Center, NYFA, Ford Foundation, Project for Empty Space, Paul Robeson Galleries, New Jersey Performing Arts Center and Newark Arts.

Announcing my new position as Gallery Director at Brick + Mortar Gallery

https://www.brickandmortargallery.com/news-events

Effective immediately:

Brick + Mortar is pleased to announce, Colleen Gutwein O’Neal as it’s new Gallery Director.

Colleen comes to Brick + Mortar with more than 10 years of experience as an independent curator in the Northeast Metropolitan region. Working predominantly with emerging and mid career artists on exhibitions ranging from non-objective paintings to socio-conceptual projects.

O’Neal, brings a wealth of knowledge as an artist and educator. She recently completed a 5 year photo-documentary, The Newark Artists Photo Documentary Project, through a long-term residency at Index Art Center, is an adjunct professor of photography at Rutgers University Newark, and serves as a Community Partner at Large for Shine Portrait Studio in Express Newark. Colleen is in a unique position to propel  Brick + Mortar gallery into the contemporary conversation on an international stage while at the same time implementing a structure that will embrace and strengthen the local arts community.

“I’m very excited to bring Colleen onboard as Director of Brick + Mortar Gallery as we enter into our fourth year of operations” says Brick + Mortar Gallery and Design Studio owner, Chaz Hampton.  “Colleen brings a wealth of experience, a broad network of artists and collaborators, a fresh vision, and a shared ambition to take Brick + Mortar Gallery to the next level.”

Colleen and her husband Joseph O’Neal, himself an artist with an extensive domestic and international exhibition history, purchased a home in Easton’s West Ward in 2016.  The couple discovered the City of Easton through their close friend and colleague Joe Strasser, while visiting his solo exhibition 50 Years of Bad Behavior at Brick + Mortar’s previous location on Centre Square.  

Brick + Mortar Gallery is free and open to the public.  

Friday + Saturday 12 – 6, Sunday 12-4, and by appointment

www.brickandmortargallery.com

Facebook and Instagram

We Are The Ghosts of Our Future: on view through dec. 22

Index Art Center
2nd floor main gallery
237 Washington St.
Newark, NJ, 07102

‘We Are the Ghosts of Our Future’ encapsulates the analog portion of The Newark Artists Photo Documentary Project. Utilizing vintage Jem Jr. box cameras manufactured in Newark in the 1940s, Colleen Gutwein O’Neal forgoes the slow and methodical techniques of portraiture in favor of a more urgent and instinctive approach. A process that archives artists’ personalities in fuzzy, mysterious images emerging against a backdrop of vanishing architecture, forgotten places and artists’ workspaces. Putting forth a diverse cross-section of participants, the ghostly prints provide a subtle yet provocative commentary on the place of the artist in today’s society and the importance of honoring and documenting their contributions.

“ The camera was manufactured in Newark on Jelliff Ave in the 1940’s by the J.E. Mergott Company, and helps me to stray from the perfection of a digital image, and document these artists through my own artistic process. The gritty, fuzzy Jem Jr. images allow for disruption, ambiguity, and self-reflection by viewers, and create a truly unique perspective on archiving working artists. “ -Colleen Gutwein O’Neal

The Jem Jr. images are created in conjunction with modern, digital portraits depicting the artists in their studios or homes. The growing digital archive, the first such directory of significant visual artists in Newark, provides a useful tool and networking resource for the community at large and beyond. This portion of the project can be viewed at: https://www.newarkartsphotodoc.com/

THE ETHER ACRE

Pleased to announce my newest curatorial endeavor, The Ether Acre at Index Art Center 5.12.18 – 6.10.18  See images from the opening reception here: RECEPTION IMAGES

The Ether Acre explores the parallels between photography and poetry, from direct application to the surreal. These works lay bare the artists’ inclinations as testimony to the human experience.

Richard Cammarieri
Jennifer Coard
Jasmine Mans
Tom McGlynn
Cesar Melgar
paulA neves
Joe Strasser
Emma Wilcox

Also on VIew
Side Gallery: ‘de profundis’ works by Joseph O’Neal

Joseph O’Neal presents a collection of viscerally charged paintings and drawings. Words and text from De Profundis (Oscar Wilde’s controversial prison letter) are scrawled amongst the artist’s abstractions and presented in tableau form free of narrative. Utilizing both traditional and non-traditional techniques O’Neal’s preference for chance and the non-objective are apparent in his latest offering.

Gallery hours are by appointment.
Admission is free and open to the public.

This event is sponsored by our neighbors 27 Mix and Kilkenny Alehouse.
Featured artist at 27 Mix (27 Halsey St.)
Xplore Freedom

Index Art Center
233 – 237 Washington Street
Newark, NJ 07102
www.indexartcenter.org
index.gallery@gmail.com
Gallery ph. 862-218-0278

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Photography on view at the new Marcus Samuelsson restaurant in Newark

It was a pleasure working with the curator from Marcus Samuelsson’s new restaurant in Newark,  Marcus B&P.  There was a strong intention to represent Newark artists inside the new restaurant, and they were happy to have The Newark Arts Photo Documentary Project website as a resource.  Meet me for a photoshoot at Shine, and a celebratory cocktail after…all in the same spot, hard to believe that I used to live right across the street.

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Portraits on the SHINE website

May 5th was an incredibly grand opening of Express Newark.  As a community partner at SHINE portrait studio, I offered black and white portraits to visitors, collaborators, and staff. Check out some of the featured images, and take some time to explore all that SHINE is involved in Here: https://www.shineportrait.com/opening

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2017 Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program

I am super excited to be a mentor in the NYFA 2017 Immigrant Mentor Program: Newark, with support from the Ford Foundation.

“The program’s goal is to foster a local community of immigrant artists through entrepreneurial training, access to other artists, arts professionals, and organizations. It will offer 18 immigrant artists the opportunity to focus on their creative practice and gain support and exposure for their work while upholding their distinct cultural identities by combining two of NYFA’s professional development programs” – NYFA

Read the full article HERE: current.nyfa.org