MCCC Gallery Exhibit Features Two New Jersey Artists in Surface Tension

The Gallery at Mercer County Community College opens 2012 with "Surface Tension: Works by Ayami Aoyama and Florence Moonan." The show will run Tuesday, Jan. 11 through Thursday, Feb. 9. A reception with the artists will be held Wednesday, Jan. 18, 5 - 7:30 p.m., and a Gallery Talk features the artists Wednesday, Feb. 1, starting at 7 p.m. All events are free and open to the public. The Gallery at MCCC is located on the second floor of the Communication Building on Mercer's West Windsor campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road.

According to Gallery Director Tricia Fagan, “In creating their art, Aoyama and Moonan explore ‘surface’ not only as a noun – that flat plane on either canvas or raw stone on which they make their marks – but also as a verb. Each artist in her own way coaxes, cajoles and teases her medium to allow secrets that lie beneath the first impression to surface, allowing viewers to catch a glimpse.”

Together, Aoyama and Moonan present a show of dynamic yet quiet beauty. For Moonan, what often reveals itself is the actual archaeology of the painting itself. She says, "I'm interested in scraping through the painted surface to uncover buried marks that create a history of where I've been." Aoyama's sculpting process is almost the mirror opposite. She sees sculpting as an intimate conversation between herself and the stone, adhering to the Shinto proverb that "eight million gods dwell in everything." In her carvings, she works to uncover the spirit or intrinsic beauty of each stone.

Gallery hours for the spring semester are: Tuesdays, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.; Wednesdays, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. and 6 - 8 p.m.; and Thursdays, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. and 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. For more information, call the Gallery at 609-570-3589 or visit the college's website at www.mccc.edu/gallery or by email at gallery@mccc.edu. Directions to the campus and a campus map are available on the website.