La La Casa de Educacion y Cultura Latina Inc. & P.A.R.T.N.E.R.
Perth Amboy Gallery 9/19/18
*Photos by Katherine Massopust
Hispanic Heritage Spices Up the Month with Art in Perth Amboy: Julisa Marie Mujica Debuts Her Art in First Solo Show Exhibiting through October 11th
Press Release 9/20/18
PERTH AMBOY – La Casa de Educación y Cultura Latina, Inc. (La Casa) and the Perth Amboy Redevelopment Team for Neighborhood Enterprise and Revitalization (P.A.R.T.N.E.R.) in partnership with the City of Perth Amboy, hosted an art opening featuring a local Perth Amboy artist, Julisa Marie Mugica, with her first art exhibition, “Especias Familiares” or “Family Spices” on September 19th at the Perth Amboy Gallery Center for the Arts, located at 339 Reade Street. The opening reception was part of Perth Amboy’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebration taking place from September 15th through October 15th.
“Julisa Marie Mugica is one more promising artist that we’ve worked with,” stated Reinaldo Aviles, Board Chair of La Casa. “We will continue to support and promote Latino artists and educational initiatives that have a positive impact on our communities. We believe she will go far.”
The exhibition included a combination of oil paintings, ceramics, murals and silhouette images on canvas created with latin herbs and spices as a form of pigmentation. “Identity is the essence from which my pieces arise,” stated Julisa. “My oil paintings emphasize the models’ character and persona by exaggerating their features (wrinkles, eyes, beauty marks, scars)”.
Julisa’s influences are both Caravaggio and Georgia O’Keeffe. Caravaggio was an Italian painter whose paintings combine a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting. O’Keeffe was an American painter known for her paintings of enlarged flowers and her blown up images of nature. Julisa’s spice and herb paintings require the viewer to live in the experience and study the image and all its intricate details.
This is PARTNER’s second endeavor in promoting an artist through the Gateway Neighborhood Collaborative (GNC), a growing group of community-based partners and residents working together to shape and form the Gateway Neighborhood. “We are fortunate to work with Wells Fargo Regional Foundation, who support us with a long-term, resident-driven neighborhood revitalization plan, “ stated Lisett Lebron, GNC’s Program Manager. It is the strength of our collaboration with the City and art organizations like La Casa, that we are able to showcase an artist and their work at the Perth Amboy Gallery Center for the Arts, a neighborhood asset, and celebrate diversity during Hispanic Heritage Month.”
“My overarching goal as Mayor of this City is to bring unity and improve quality of life.’ said Wilda Diaz, Mayor of the City of Perth Amboy. “Art has a way of achieving that goal and allows for public expression, involvement, and mobilizes creativity for all ages that speaks to the entire community. By the same token, we see the benefits reflected through the celebration of its rich history and culture.”
Additional sponsors included Eddie Trujillo, for the catering. The exhibition will run through October 11th. To visit the Perth Amboy Gallery Center of the Arts, please call (732) 826-1690 Ext 4305
