UNION COUNTY, NJ — Each year, the freeholder board’s annual Union County Senior Citizens Art Exhibit showcases original work created by county residents aged 60 and older. The 2020 exhibit comprises 124 works of art entered by both professional and nonprofessional artists.
This year’s exhibit can be viewed online at www.ucnj.org/senior-art. All artwork images were submitted directly by the artists.
“The freeholder board is proud to showcase the artwork created by our senior citizens each year, and this year we are very pleased to present this exhibit virtually, enabling these talented artists to share their work with everyone in the community,” said Freeholder Chairperson Alexander Mirabella.
Professional artists Barbara Wallace, Joseph Borzotta and Alina Marin-Bliach served as jurors, designating awards in various categories.
All entries awarded first-place honors will advance to the state level, to represent Union County in the 2020 New Jersey Senior Citizens Art Show.
The artworks awarded first place cover a wide variety of mediums and materials by professional and nonprofessional artists, including Eileen Bonacci, oil painting; Dante Bonardi, watercolor; Lynda DuBois-Jackson, craft.; Marcia Haller, acrylic painting; Janice Metzger, printmaking; Nancy Ori, photography; Leona Seufert, digital/computer art; Barbara Uhr, pastel; Roberta Zlatkin, mixed media; Anne Castellano, pastel; James Colangelo, craft; William Connolly, drawing; Stephanie Dexter, oil painting; Nancy Fine, mixed media; Robert Gasson, acrylic painting; Deborah Mainiero, sculpture; Anne Occi, watercolor; Catherine Varnelas-Smith, digital/computer art; and David Weisbrod, photography.
“Afternoon in Amsterdam,” an oil painting by professional artist Eileen Bonacci, was awarded Best of Show by a Professional Artist.
A sculpture by Deborah Mainiero, “Abstract Flower,” was awarded Best of Show by a Nonprofessional Artist.
The annual Senior Citizens Art Exhibit is coordinated and administered by the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs and made possible by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.
For more information about the virtual art gallery and other programs and services related to the arts and history in Union County, contact the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, a division of the Department of Parks and Recreation, at [email protected] or 908-558-2550 — NJ Relay users dial 711 — or visit online at ucnj.org/parks-recreation.