Monmouth Museum’s New Jersey Emerging Artists Series continues this spring with an exhibition entitled "Greed + Fear = Irrational Exuberance," by Princeton artist Joanne Amantea.  

This exhibit, which will feature a "gallery talk" forum with the artist next week, features collage artworks incorporating a unique variety of media: acrylic, pencil, currency, vintage paper and newspaper.

“Within our modern culture’s pursuit of more, 'Greed + Fear = Irrational Exuberance' is my visual response to the media and its influence and impact on our attitudes towards investing, primarily in stocks and housing,” Amantea said. “During a booming economy when Wall Street is flying high, and the accumulation of money seems so easy, we are often seduced by headlines in the media to invest, against our better judgment, in hopes of achieving the American Dream.”

Amantea’s work focuses on a range of related issues, from the stock market bubble of the late 1990s to the recent housing market meltdown.

Familiar visual signs found in the media are melded together in her pieces, linked by an underlying formal structure and content matter.

Amantea said she often uses collage as a visual element while employing "a variety of subtractive techniques, which act as a way of drawing with the collaged material and paint.

"I consider myself a humble observer based on my personal experience in the financial world.  While I will never claim to have the solution to our ‘irrational exuberance’ in financial matters, if my paintings can inspire the viewer to take a closer look, or, better still, provoke a conversation, then I have succeeded, if even for just a moment."

Amantea will share insights about her work in a discussion at the museum on the Brookdale Community College campus, 765 Newman Springs Road, Lincroft, from 7 to 8 p.m. on April 18.

The opening reception and gallery talk are free and open to the public.

For more information, call Monmouth Museum at 732-747-2266, or visit the Web site at: www.monmouthmuseum.org.