A Closer Look at Two Artists at Torche Galerie in Belmar

April W. Klimley

April W. Klimley, Art Critic

If you’re at the south end of the Jersey Shore this month, stop by the Torche Galerie in Belmar. Many of the works on display last month in the gallery’s 2^nd anniversary exhibition have been either taken down or sold. But it’s worth a stop to see the magnificent interior space—as well as to examine some of the art gems which are still hanging on the wall. The space is the creation of owner/sculptor Roddy Wildeman, who has his own workroom connected to the gallery in the back of the first floor.

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The Shore Fine Art Scene Springs to Life

By April W. Klimley, Art Critic

April W. Klimley

April is certainly the cruelest month, as T.S Eliot wrote. Spring keeps peeking out followed by rainy and cold days here at the Shore. So, why not cheer yourself up by jumping into the Shore Art Circuit as it emerges from its winter torpor.

New exhibitions are emerging like the daffodils in your garden. Last weekend at least two galleries held openings. One was the A.J. Dillon Gallery of Art in Atlantic Highlands with an exhibit entitled “Art in Nature,” a theme appropriate to the season, despite the chill. The other was held in Red Bank. The Art Alliance held a juried member show with two themes–“Contrasts” and “Personalities.” The curator of the show was Michael Burrus Johnson who had several paintings displayed in the showcase front windows of the gallery.

As I strolled around the small gallery gleaming with a wide variety of styles, Bathers by Miguel A. Fugeras drew me in. At first glance, the piece looked like a wood block print—a powerful rendering of statuesque tall women in black and white bathing in a river. But up close, it’s clearly a drawing, probably pen and ink. It’s an arresting piece that reinterprets the time honored,  traditional theme of artists painting (dressed) women or female nudes at the seashore, ocean, or other body of water. Virtually all major artists from Botticelli to Degas have painted these scenes. But in tone and feeling, Fugeras’ drawing feels closer to Picasso’s Demoiselles of Avignon because of its angles and abstract nature .

Bathers by Miguel A. Fugeras. Drawing. The Art Alliance.

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