Red Bank is an art town and Wednesday, October 25th is International Artist Day. “Getting this together was very spur of the moment for me,” says Ellen Martin, who about ten days ago asked the artists, curators, and gallery owners in town to create special events for the day.

Here is the schedule

Stop in and chat with the artists, learn a new skill, and look at some great art. It’s all free. Children welcome.

Wednesday, October 25, 2023
11 – 6 p.m.
Red Bank Frameworks

Owner Stephen McMillion will be on hand to discuss his current exhibition: “Con Ojos Propios,” an exhibition of Ecuadorian art curated by Red Bank Catholic senior Madeleine Carpenter. The exhibit includes paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and tapestries, most of which are from Madeleine’s grandmother’s collection.

135 Monmouth Street
Red Bank, NJ 07701
(732) 219-6688
Metered street parking.

4 – 6 p.m.
Art Pod Open Studios

See what Colin Goodall and Ellen Martin have been cooking up in their studios.

43 Front Street,
Red Bank, NJ
Hamilton Building, Units 7 & 8.
Entrance in the parking lot. Walk over or park in any “Art Pod” spot.

4 – 7 p.m.
Pat Butynski, Open Studio Visit

Visit Pat’s underground art studio. Pat is a working artist, who instructs and paints vibrant art on canvas and paper. Enjoy a stroll through her collection as well as a demonstration of the abstract process.

140 Maple Avenue,
Red Bank, NJ 07701
(908) 410-8244
Drive around the back and enter through the middle ground-level door. There is free parking.

4, 5, 6 p.m.
Exhibition Talk and Tour of the 31st Annual Open Juried Show with David Levy, Co-President

Learn a little about different types of art from David Levy, who himself is an artist and educator.

Guild of Creative Art
620 Broad St,
Shrewsbury, NJ 07702 (not technically Red Bank, but close enough)
(732) 741-1441
Free parking in the Guild lot.

5 – 7 p.m.
Squatter Potters Open Workshop and Studio Visit

Have fun with clay. Jane Kleiman will give a wheel-throwing demo, and show you how to make a pinch-pot. She’ll also give tours of the studio where you can see student and instructor work. Children are welcome.

43R Broad Street
The entrance is in the parking lot. Enter the lot on Wallace Street between the Charles Schwab and Metropolitan buildings. You’ll see the Squatter Potters shop on your left. Metered parking.

6 – 7 p.m.
Art Alliance of Monmouth County

Demo by window artist Julia Muench. Julia creates her vibrant fiber canvases or “textile constructions” in three layers, with embroidery, quilting, and sometimes hand-sewn beading, inside the top layer. She uses scraps and repurposed fabric, as much as possible, and incorporates sustainable materials such as hemp and linen. Julia is based in Leonardo, New Jersey.

33 Monmouth Street
Red Bank, NJ
(732) 842-9403
Metered street parking.

6 – 7:30 p.m.
Galerie Lucida

Wonderful news! A brand-new gallery is opening in town, and it’s owned by Michael Paris Mazzeo. Michael will be giving an exhibition preview of some exciting work.

18 Wallace Street, Red Bank, NJ
(732) 865-1997
Free and metered street parking

There is no right or wrong reason to buy artwork. The best reason is to buy what you love. But you’ve got to see it to want it. Browsing is always free. Don’t feel pressured into buying. If you do decide to buy a work of art, what might go into your decision?

PRICE

Original art is a luxury item, like fine perfume, spa visits, designer clothes, or anything really that is not necessary to one’s physical existence. Your spiritual and aesthetic existence demands more, of course.

  • If you can only budget a few hundred dollars for art at any one time, you can still get something you love. Starting small is no shame. If you really love a particular artist’s work, ask if they have small works they can show you. Negotiate. Can you barter goods or services? If you’re dealing with a gallerist, ask them whether the artist produces other, more affordable pieces.
  • If you can spend a little more, you can get a lot, especially if you patronize local galleries. Some remarkably good work is going for a remarkably few dollars out there, from young artists, or artists who would love to make sales. If you keep looking, you do get lucky and find work you want and can afford. But if you’re not looking, you won’t discover anything.

AESTHETIC EXPERIENCE

This is the most important aspect of buying. Unless you’ve got a treasure vault in Switzerland, you want to buy art that you love to look at every day. Nobody can tell you what you like. Your own personal aesthetic is unique and has great personal value.

  • You could be a sentimental person who loves things that tug strongly on your heart, that tell a story.
  • You could be a romantic, one who is moved by passionate expression, natural majesty, mysterious symbolism, or strong subjective identification.
  • You could be a manager or interior decorator wanting to add some contemporary zing to an office space, something visually soothing for a medical office or client’s bedroom.
  • Maybe you just want something the right size and color to hang over the sofa or fill some wall space. There’s nothing wrong with that.
  • You could be intellectually inclined, or politically motivated. These are great topics for artists, and there are plenty of artworks that speak to the current political and intellectual climate.
  • You might love painting for its own sake, and gestural abstraction for its celebration of the artist’s hand.

HISTORICAL VALUE

  • All art has some degree of historical value. At a minimum, the work marks the time or occasion when you acquired it. That would be subjective value. Since good artworks will last a long time, they become part of your legacy.
  • Objective and factual historical value relates to art movements and social and political history. This is a vast subject best left alone for now. I encourage you to become conversant with it. It’s especially important if you’re buying for investment or prestige. It’s delightful and interesting conversational material for almost everyone.

INVESTMENT

  • It’s true that investing in art can outperform investments in financial instruments. But, just as in financial investments, there’s not a lot of love in it. Go ahead and buy a share in Warhol futures, if you want. As of yesterday, when I checked, they’re at 17%
  • Many very important art collections have been built one inexpensive piece at a time (looking at you, Dr. Barnes).

YOUR TASTE

If you’ve made the effort in your life to develop some personal taste, you’ve made the investment you need to acquire work of increasing value.

If you have no personal taste, ask yourself why not. And start enjoying the art you like without apology.

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