New Solo Exhibition at Hunterdon Art Museum Takes Viewers on a Journey to the Stars

CLINTON, N.J. - May 2, 2013 - PRLog -- CLINTON, NJ -- Assunta Sera’s ascent to painting stars and supernovae started not in open fields or an observatory, but in one of the world’s busiest transportation hubs: New York City’s Grand Central Station.

Sera, whose solo exhibition “Strong Attraction” opens at the Hunterdon Art Museum May 19, recalls first stepping into the main concourse of Grand Central Station when she was nine years old. Her family had just emigrated from Italy en route to Michigan. Years later, the budding artist returned to the terminal on her way to earning a Masters’ in Fine Art from New York University, and was entranced. She later worked on a series of paintings about Grand Central, which must have pleased the eyes of someone in the Mass Transit authority because Sera was selected to create a painting of the recently renovated station to be used as a poster.

“The painting is representational,” Sera said. “It has an inclusion of the celestial star ceiling and a young girl staring at its magnificence in the foreground.” The original painting hangs in the MTA director’s office.

About a dozen years ago, Sera’s art literally left the station, and she began seeking new frontiers.  She devoured books on art and science, including The Tao of Physics, in a search for universal meaning and imagination.

“It was exciting and mysterious,” Sera said. Along her journey, she saw Passport to the Universe at the Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium, and the voyage from Earth to the edge of the observable universe piqued her interest. “I knew I had found what I had been looking for,” Sera said.

The results of her artistic journey can be viewed, for instance, in “Globular Clusters,” which will be part of the “Strong Attraction” exhibition. The piece is a large paper drawing, inspired by matter that gathers into a cluster. Supernovae explode, pushing matter everywhere, and once it settles, attraction begins.  “Matter agglomerates in space,” Sera said, discussing the work. “Movement through space and time in a cosmic void set the framework for attracting, creating and destroying.”

Through swirling forms, Sera asks viewers to see the universe as an abstract, ever-moving pattern that continues beyond visible borders.

Sera creates her work using oil sticks, preferring to draw with them and to mix different sized portions of oil stick and galkyd lite (a fast-drying, low-viscosity fluid). She’ll mix multiple colors until arriving at a desired hue. “I always work with paper or canvas hanging on a studio wall, unless I’m working at home on a small drawing,” Sera said. “Paint is applied with a brush or directly with the oil stick.  I love the luminosity and translucency of color mixed with wax.”

The opening reception for “Strong Attraction,” which is free to all, will be Sunday, May 19 from 2 to 4 p.m. The exhibition closes June 30.

“Making marks on paper or canvas through an intuitive approach guides me to follow my interests and discover the known and the unknown,” Sera said. “Drawing and painting is my joy.”

GENERAL INFORMATION FOR THE PUBLIC

The Museum is at 7 Lower Center St. in Clinton, New Jersey, 08809. Our website is www.hunterdonartmuseum.org and our telephone number is 908-735-8415. Hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 11 am – 5 pm and suggested admission is $5.

ABOUT THE HUNTERDON ART MUSEUM

The Hunterdon Art Museum presents changing exhibitions of contemporary art and design in a 19th century stone mill that is on the National Register of Historic Places.  Founded in 1952, the Museum is a landmark regional art center showcasing works by established and emerging contemporary artists. It also offers a dynamic schedule of art classes and workshops for children and adults.

Programs are made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and by funds from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Hunterdon County Cultural & Heritage Commission, New Jersey Cultural Trust, The Horizon Foundation of New Jersey and corporations, foundations, and individuals.  The Hunterdon Art Museum is a wheelchair accessible space.  Publications are available in large print.  Patrons who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired may contact the Museum through the New Jersey Relay Service at (TYY) 1 (800) 852-7899.