JERSEY CITY.- This spring, Jersey City Museum’s Atrium Gallery is transformed into an urban labyrinth of stairways, tracks and streets with Priscila De Carvalho’s installation titled Passageways. On view through August 22, 2009, this 10 ft. long, 35 ft. wide city, constructed of paint, foam, paper, photographs, collage and rubber, guarantees to intrigue viewers. This exhibition at Jersey City Museum is De Carvalho’s largest and most ambitious work to date.
Passageways conveys the complexity, chaos and paradoxes of contemporary life that affect America, as a continent, in the age of globalization. While addressing the great ills of humanity such as war, poverty and drug trafficking, the installation also reveals a side of humanity that also hungers for joy and happiness. This body of work incorporates photographs taken during Carnival in Brazil, parades in New York City, as well as portraits and photographs taken from everyday life experiences. Carnival in Brazil becomes a prism through which one views universal themes and concerns. The idea of transformation, which is at the very heart of Carnival, allows night to become day, the poor to feel rich, and the plain to become glamorous. For a brief period of time, barriers dissolve. These concepts of inversion and transformation allow a life without hope to become, however briefly, a life without limits.
Priscila De Carvalho is a self-taught installation artist. Born in Curitiba, Brazil, Carvalho immigrated to U.S.A. in the 1990s. She has been active as an artist in Long Island City, New York since 2004. During this time, she has been engaged in her studio practice and involved in several exhibitions throughout New York. Among many professional accomplishments are her recent Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, Sculpture Space Fellowship and residency, Aljira Emerge 10 Fellowship, and NYFA Immigrant Outreach Program. And now she makes her solo debut with Passageways in the Jersey City Museum, opening March 19, 2009.
Founded in 1901, the Jersey City Museum is the major presenter of contemporary art serving the people of Jersey City, Hudson County and the region. The museum organizes many group and solo exhibitions every year, featuring works by culturally diverse, contemporary artists and from its 10,000-piece collection of regional significant art and historical objects. Through exhibitions, educational initiatives and programs, the museum welcomes over 25,000 visitors each year, including 11,000 school-aged children and youth.
Jersey City Museum’s gallery hours are Wednesday through Friday from 11am to 5pm and Saturdays from 12pm to 5pm. Admission is $4 for adults, $2 for seniors and students, and free for children under 12 and museum members. Admission is free for all on Thursday evenings from 5 to 8pm. Jersey City Museum is located at 350 Montgomery Street at Monmouth in the Historic Downtown District of Jersey City, within walking distance of the Grove Street PATH and Jersey Avenue Light Rail stations. For more information, visit www.jerseycitymuseum.org or call 201-413-0303.
