New Exhibit by New Jersey Artist Marsha Heller to Open at Riverside Gallery, 4/9

Marsha Heller of Leonia will present "New Pastels and Paintings" from April 9-26, 2014 at The Riverside Gallery, Suite 201, located at The Shops at Riverside, Hackensack Avenue at Route 4 in Hackensack, New Jersey. The gallery is open from 10:00 a.m.-9:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 10:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. on Saturday. An opening reception will be held on Saturday, April 12 from 3 p.m.-6 p.m.

The show features small pastels painted "en plein air" in various locations, and oils and acrylics from Ms. Heller's landscape series. The scenes are from her own garden, beautiful areas she has visited on her tours as a musician and others created from her imagination.

The exhibition reflects the training and work she has undertaken as a painter and a professional musician, playing the oboe. Born into a family of artists, Ms. Heller studied at Oberlin College, Salzburg Mozarteum and the School of Visual Arts. In New York, she trained with the renowned oboist, Harold Gomberg, and credits her painting teachers, Irving Marantz and Sam Feinstein, with influencing her work significantly.

"I let certain subjects in my paintings shimmer, as certain notes in a melody vibrate, lighting up canvas or phrase from within. My landscapes celebrate the sensuality of nature as found in the corners of my garden in Leonia and places encountered in my travels as a musician. I want my paintings to bring light and sunshine to the viewers' lives," said Ms. Heller. She has received high praise for her art from leading arts publications.

Ms. Heller's work was selected for the "Fountain Art Fair" at the Armory in New York City in March and for the Studio Montclair show "The State of the Art" at Academy Square in Montclair, New Jersey. She was featured previously as one of the Art History Channel's "21st Century Artists", and her encaustic (wax) work has been shown on the network's on-line gallery.

Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States, Israel, and other countries. Several locations in New York City have shown her work, including Montserrat Gallery and the Citicorp Building. Ms. Heller was juried into the Chautauqua National Annual Show by Kim Foster of Kim Foster Gallery, NYC. In New Jersey, she has exhibited her work at many sites, including a one-woman show at Fairleigh Dickinson University. She exhibited her series "Summer Gardens" at her brother Yaacov Heller's Gallery 22 in Boca Raton, Florida.

Image: The Other Side of the Pond by Marsha Heller