For this post I wanted to suggest someone who directly played an influential role in my art, one of my professors from the Fine art undergraduate studies program at New Jersey City University, Ben Jones. He is having a show now which will run from Sept. 8 – Feb. 9 over at the Jersey City Museum, which is located at 350 Montgomery St., Jersey City, NJ (tel:201-413-0303). Or you can go to www.jerseycitymuseum.org for more details.
Not only is he a good & prolific artist, he’s also a very gifted art teacher. Taking his class was like taking 2-3 art classes rolled up together; there was so much insightful information & suggestions to be taken from his courses and lectures. And although at the time (now looking back), it seemed as if his teaching methods/assignments were a bit of a heavy load to take alongside with other classes, I can now really appreciate what he was trying to instill in me & the other young aspiring artists at the time. That is, clearly a strong work ethic in producing lots of quality art consistently. So thank you Ben, for giving us as much advice, recommendations, criticisms and of course, multiple assignments as only you could’ve.
The following is a brief introduction about this exhibition from the Jersey City Museum’s website:
This major retrospective of the work of Ben Jones features a complete survey of the artist’s work, dating from the mid 1970s through his most recent paintings. “Deliverance” explores various aspects of the artist’s body of work, and delves further into its close relationship to religions of the African diaspora. Many of the artist’s key works are in the exhibition, including the iconic Black Face and Arm Unit, from 1971 (State Museum, Trenton). Organized by independent curator Ed Spriggs, whose relationship with Mr. Jones dates back to the early 1970s, when he was director at the Studio Museum in Harlem and Ben Jones was exhibiting his work there, this survey is an unprecedented examination of this important American artist’s work.
So do yourself a big favor & check out the provocative artwork of Ben Jones at the Jersey City Museum, you won’t be disappointed…
