In his first show of new work in over a decade, Ben Goldman presents Water and Oil at the Mason Civic League, 1200 Washington Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. The opening reception is Saturday, November 4, 2023, 12 to 3 p.m. and will feature a musical performance by pianist and composer Victor Xie. Exhibition hours are Mondays through Fridays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through November 30, 2023. The show will also be open for the Hoboken Artist’s Studio Tour on November 12, 2023, 1 to 6 p.m. and will feature a musical performance by Diego Hedez and Gian Perez.

This ambitious exhibition displays over seventy watercolors and seven oil paintings that push the limits of these natural and manmade materials through representation and abstraction. The watercolors are spontaneous experiments in color, shape, texture, and line with an intention to surprise and delight. Some paint the Neptunian, watery dreamworld between sleeping and waking, liminal images from the hypnagogic or hypnopompic states that occur before and after sleep. Others come from distant memories, some inspired by other artists’ work, or, more often, from sources similar to what Salman Rushdie recalls as his mother’s “forgettery”: movements, patterns, puzzles, people, events from the archives of the artist’s subconscious.

The oil paintings are larger, more elaborate works of the local waterfront, beaches, some large-scale portraits of those who live nearby, and other elemental forces. The watercolors are presented in the artist’s unique, patented defEYE© frames that were sold by the Museum of Modern Art. They are made from UV-protective plastics, derived—like traditional oil paints and so much of our modern world—from oil.

Autographed copies of Dr. Goldman’s most recent books, which explore the nature of change, middle age, and the future of art are also available for purchase in the gallery, along with his nature-based tarot deck and homegrown local raw honey. The exhibit reflects the artist’s wide-ranging and pioneering work in the fields of the environment, technology, arts and human development as an advisor to governments and founder and director of several impactful organizations, including City Without Walls (cWOW), New Jersey longest-lived contemporary arts space (in Newark, NJ; now closed), United Visual Arts, and most recently, wilderness-based programs at Nature Breakthroughs.

The nonprofit Mason Civic League (MCL) assists community members and groups in need, including food for the holidays as well as arts, education, and civic engagement programs. It is easily accessible by public transit and car (Little Man Parking is two blocks away at 2 12th Street). A third of all proceeds support MCL’s charitable work. All art and products are available for purchase at www.naturebreakthroughs.com/mclshop.

CONTACT:
Ben Goldman
cell: 201-232-6141
ben@bengoldmanart.com