The Newsmagazine of Long Beach Island and Southern Ocean County

By Victoria Ford | on August 10, 2022

SKY LINES: Harvey Cedars painter and retired architect James Cordasco’s ‘Untitled’ is a stylized re-envisioning of Barnegat Lighthouse. The artist chose a color palette not commonly seen in artistic depictions of the landmark. (Artwork by James Cordasco)

Behind the Scenes: The self-guided LBI Artists Open Studio and Gallery Tour takes place this weekend. User-friendly maps show 24 locations throughout the Island, representing over 30 participating artists.

The event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days, but some artists are participating only on Saturday, co-organizer Carol Nussbaum pointed out, so plan accordingly.

Nussbaum, a digital photo mandala artist, and her co-organizers, photographer Fred Ballet and abstract painter Joan Gantz, have taken over the job of coordinating the tour since last year.

“I feel there’s a strong art community on LBI,” Nussbaum said, describing it as full of “mutual admiration and support.” Her specialty is finding and connecting artists, she said, giving them the Open Studio weekend as a platform to be seen and heard.

The 2022 tour got a refreshed look and an earlier application schedule, she explained, which eased the planning process. The main goal is to generate “incredible foot traffic and turnout.” Last year’s tour was one of the best attended ever, Nussbaum said, “so we want to ride that wave.”

PHOTO-REAL APPEAL: New to the tour this year are Eric Van Der Vlugt and his photorealistic paintings, many of Barnegat Light scenery. ‘Forgotten Landscapes/ Relentless’ is oil on panel. (Artwork by Eric Van Der Vlugt)

New to the tour this year are half a dozen two- and three-dimensional artists: painter Eric Van Der Vlugt in Barnegat Light, painter Sally Evans in High Bar Harbor, painter and collage artist Anna Yates Krain in Loveladies, photographer Tony DiBella in Harvey Cedars, Amanda Klinger at Paint-a-Pot in Beach Haven Gardens, and Ann Coen’s Pop-Up gallery in Beach Haven.

Pro tip: Nussbaum recommends clustering studios to make the most of the two days. Two areas – High Bar Harbor, and Loveladies/Harvey Cedars – have a handful close together.

“If you live in Loveladies, get on your bike,” she suggested.

View artists’ links and download the map at lbiartists.com.

BREEZING BY: An untitled painting of sailboats was selected as the poster image for the 2022 LBI Artists Open Studio and Gallery Tour. (Artwork by James Cordasco)

The poster image for this year’s tour is three bold graphic sailboats painted by retired architect and snowbird James Cordasco, who has participated in the tour since the 1990s. He spends summers in Harvey Cedars and winters in Bonita Springs, Fla.

This week he is busy taking down hundreds of paintings from their storage racks in preparation to let the public in.

“My studio is open for everyone to see,” he said. “I can show them how I paint and the materials I use.”

His first impression of art as a youngster was viewing Joseph Stella’s “Brooklyn Bridge” at the Newark Museum in 1947. There, at age 11, he took lessons and started painting representational art, gradually advancing to contemporary, art deco, geometric and abstract art, influenced by Bauhaus artists and architects.

For architecture he attended the Institute of Design and Construction in Brooklyn, completed his graduate work and architectural registration at Yale University in 1966 and taught at the New Jersey Institute of Technology during much of the ’70s .

“Architectural school changed me,” he said. “I saw that there is more to art than traditional art. Creativity is the key, as shown by the Bauhaus (movement) in Germany in the 1930s.”

FILL ’ER UP: Sue Pohanaka’s ceramic work is recognizable by its playful illustrated characters. (Artwork by Sue Pohanka)

His firm, Haas & Cordasco in Denville, designed over 1,800 buildings. He retired in 1998.

Cordasco first came to Long Beach Island in 1972. First he rented; then he bought a house in Harvey Cedars in 1980.

“The Island inspires me to paint the sea, sky and sun” in his various styles, he explained.

His expressionist and geometric abstract paintings “interpret shape, color and design to achieve visual and spatial harmony,” according to his artist bio. “The paintings show creativity with an innovative outlook on rhythm, color, structural order and form. The paintings are very creative, having a sense of significance with purity and strength to satisfy the eye.”

Many of his traditional and contemporary paintings are about LBI. The work expresses his inner world and emotions – “an innovative outlook on rhythm, color, structural order and form.”

Face to Face: Be sure to catch “Unmasked: A Contemporary Portrait Exhibition,” a show with extra personality at the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences in Loveladies, before it closes Aug. 14.

The juried show represents 60 artists out of 460 applicants, according to LBIF Executive Director Daniella Kerner.

Be ready to think, feel and wonder. Take a spin around the Main Gallery and meet mysterious strangers and new friends. Gallery Co-Manager Jeff Ruemeli said visitors may notice patterns in the way paintings are hung or grouped together. Some are loaded with concept, while others are to be taken at, ahem, face value. Who might the viewer recognize in the eyes staring back?

LBIF has made it easier for shoppers and collectors to purchase artwork ­– directly from the online gallery. Buy art from LBIF exhibitions, including the current one, at lbifoundation.org/store.

Brush Up: Free recurring monthly events continue at the Pine Shores Art Association at 94 Stafford Ave. in Manahawkin. The August show is called “Travels Abroad,” featuring the work of Mary Walker-Baptiste and Linda Saladino. Visit pineshoresartassociation.org to view the full calendar.

Tuckerton-based Art Chat, an official part of the PSAA, meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 10 a.m. at the Tuckerton branch of the Ocean County Library, to share what they’re working on and receive feedback if desired or “just to see what everyone else is doing,” according to founder Nancy Glines. Newcomers are welcome. The only “rules” for participation, she said, are to be kind, helpful and encouraging to fellow artists. For more information, contact Glines at dun.roamin@verizon.net.

Many Pine Shores artists will participate in the ninth annual Art Show and Sale at St. Mary’s Parish Center in Manahawkin on Saturday, Aug. 20 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. In total over 30 participating artists have “something for everyone” in oils, watercolors, pastels, acrylics, graphite, photography, silk painting and more. Lunch is available to purchase. All proceeds benefit the St. Vincent DePaul Society food pantry and Family Promise. For more information, call Linda Saladino at 609-660-8062.  —V.F.

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