MCKAY IMAGING STUDIO & GALLERY
October – November 2011 Special Exhibit
McKay Imaging announces
“Deep Sea Salvage Operations”,
Paintings by:
Monika McCall
Opening Reception:
Friday, October 21, 2011 7 – 10PM
20% of all proceeds from this show will be donated to “Clean Ocean Action”
The show will run from October 21st thru November 10th.
Gallery hours are Wed. and Thu., 1PM–7PM, or by appointment
McKay Imaging
Photography Studio and Gallery
12 Monmouth Street, second floor
Red Bank, NJ 07701
732.842.2272
www.mckayimaging.com
Artist’s Statement
These paintings are not about anything specific. They are a song without words, an instrumental, a mood, an emotion. Music plays an important part in my painting process. Selecting the right music that suits my psyche is as important as the colors on my palette.
The exhibition title comes from a deep sea diving technique called Saturation Diving. This technique allows the diver to live and work at great depths for extended periods of time, using an ideal mixture of gas and a system of pressurized support vessels so the diver can stay compressed while not working.
This town is my ocean. My studio is the job site. Music is the ideal mixture of gasses that allowed me to dive deep within myself. The support vessels are all of those who kept me compressed while in the process of making a piece of art, which can sometimes take many months. As the paintings near completion, I am safely decompressing. In this dive among many things, I have salvaged my heart!
Monika
Artist’s Bio
Monika McCall
American painter
born Red Bank, NJ
lives in Red Bank, NJ
Education
1995 BFA Drawing and Painting The Art Institute of Southern California, Laguna Beach CA
1982 Paralegal Certificate Monmouth College, West Long Branch NJ
Special Projects
2007 Guest Instructor LA Goal, Santa Monica CA
1995 Artist assistant LA County Museum of Art, Los Angeles CA
Installation of “Central Meridian” by Michael McMillon
1994 Artist assistant La Rosa Blanca, Colonia de Esperanza, Mexico
Mosaic murals by Artist Architect James Hubble
Exhibitions
2010 Fi and Felines paintings on burlap 4th st., Ocean City, NJ
2008 Explorations paintings and drawings Sonnet Gallery, Chelsea, NYC
2007 Group show Sonnet Gallery, Chelsea, NYC
2006 Rare beauties Parluor Gallery Asbury Park, NJ
2006 Ten years Later Drawings and Paintings, Art Alliance Red Bank, NJ
2005 Grids paintings Sonnet Gallery, Sarasota FL
2003 5 years of paint paintings Art Alliance, Red Bank, NJ
2001 Figure paintings 4th st., Ocean city, NJ
1999 Midwifery paintings and mosaics Catherine Starr Gallery Philadelphia, PA
1998 Heartburn paintings Cleopatra Steps Out Asbury Park NJ
1997 Jersey Girls Cleopatra Steps Out, Asbury Park, NJ
Gallery Statement
Sometimes, things happen for a reason. That’s the way we feel about this show, “Deep Sea Salvage Operations”. When Monika first contacted us and we went our to see the work, we were instantly impressed by both the complexity and the tranquility of the work and decided that giving her a show was a no-brainer. She told us that the work was inspired by water and born of music and we could see her vision clearly. Still we always find ourselves trying to justify showing paintings when we really fancy ourselves to be a photo gallery but somehow it just felt right.
Then we got another call from our friends at Clean Ocean Action. They explained that they wanted to partner with someone to put on an arts event that may be of interest to their members and the answer came to us instantly; Monika’s work was clearly perfect and suddenly it all made sense. Eureka! Kismet!
So, this show works so nicely for us on so many levels. Globally speaking, we love art and we love Planet Earth and Liz and I really are very environmentally conscious in so many aspects of our lives. Locally speaking, we love Monika’s paintings and have so much respect for the dedication and hard work of Clean Ocean Action staff and members towards making all of our lives just a little bit better here in New Jersey. Recognizing this opportunity, Monika, Liz and I are donating the space for the C.O.O. event that is to be immediately followed by the artists opening reception. We will also donate 20% of all sales of Monika’s work, for the duration of the show, to Clean Ocean Action. Please join us for the opening reception on October 21st, from 7-10PM and immerse yourself in an environment of art, music and charity. It’ll do us all some good. Admission, as always, is free.
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