A collection of ceramic sculpture and reliefs by Plainsboro resident and artist J. Marion Simmons will be on exhibit at the Plainsboro Library Gallery starting at the end of this month and through November.
A reception will be held Sunday, Nov. 5, from 2 to 4 p.m. Simmons will give an informal chat about her inspiration and technical processes, including clay mixtures and glazes at 3 p.m., and will be open to questions. The exhibit runs from Saturday, Oct. 28 to Wednesday, Nov. 29.
“Executed with exquisite detail, the pieces displayed by Simmons are a combination of realistic human figures and portraits, and freestanding organic and architectural forms,” says a library press release.
From an early interest in drawing and sculpting, Simmons continued to formally study art and obtained a BFA degree from University of Maryland, and an MFA from School of Visual Art, NYC.
Through the years she has focused on realistic figurative sculpture and reliefs, as well as 3-D forms.
“Sculpture has a physical presence; it can be touched, be part of and interact with our environment,” Simmons says. “The desire to create, not just an illusion on a flat surface, but a form in the round—stone flesh—is what draws me to working in clay.”
She says is inspired by the great sculpture and sculptural reliefs of the Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical and Romantic periods, as well as by individual artists like Clodion, Poussin, Bernini, Rude and other lesser known sculptors of those eras.
Simmons has shown her work in various area art venues including TAWA Portrait Show and the Mercer County Artists Exhibit in West Windsor, Gallery 125 in Trenton, Ellarslie Open exhibits at the Trenton Museum, juried art shows at Phillips Mill in New Hope, Pennsylvania, and the Arts Council of Princeton.
For more information, call the library at (609) 275-2897.
