Artists' Abstraction and Realism

The two opposites, abstraction and realism, come together in a new exhibition at the Middletown Township Public Library this month.

The show, Expressive Impressions displays 57 works of art by three local artists; Cecilia Swatton, Leonia Mroczkowski and Norma Wokas. The three artists will be on hand at a reception on May 21, from 1 to 3 p.m. in the library's meeting room, where the art is on display through June 3.

Expressive Impressions is an eclectic collection of artwork that will appeal to a wide range of art lovers. The colorful works express everything from inner feelings to outer beauty through the use of pigment and style. Each artist uses her own vision, whether it be through traditional, representational art or non-representational abstraction.

All three women belong to a local artists' group, the Art Society of Monmouth County and were recruited for the show by Swatton, who has lived in Middletown for 18 years.

She creates abstract artwork in mixed media, using bold color and expressive textures. An intuitive artist, she is continually evolving and exploring new mediums. She doesn’t plan ahead because she said, "I want surprise to greet me around every corner as I move through the art making process."

Although Swatton started out as a representational artist, she crossed over into abstraction in 1996 and has never looked back.  "The freedom of non-representational art making delights me," she said. "I love the challenge of creating design and impact with an approach that swings 180 degrees away from the rigid, structured approach that I used in earlier years.  I think this spirit of freedom communicates itself to viewers.  Along with that, I want to give them a tactile experience.  And I want to drench their senses in color." 

Swatton uses a myriad of painting tools to express her inner vision. She explained that acrylic paint is the basic element of her artwork, whether it's applied directly to the canvas or used in preparing novelty papers for collage.

"After acrylic paint, other favored media include acrylic gel, watercolor, colored pencil, crayon, charcoal, ink, salt, isopropyl alcohol and chalks," Swatton said. "Third comes paintbrushes and a packrats hoard of tools for scraping, stamping, printmaking and spraying.  Capping off my tool list, Photoshop and an archival inkjet printer provide imagery derived from original photos. These images can become collage material, while at other times they stand independently as digital art prints."

Her artwork appears in the book Exploring the Latest Trends in Mixed Media, Vol. II, by Cynthia Powell and Sherre Hulbert. Her art has  also appeared in the magazines Somerset Digital Studio, Cloth Paper Scissors, The Rubber Stamper, Scrap 'n' Stamp, Altered Arts, Somerset Galleria,  Stampers' Sampler, Inspirations, Expressions and Crafts 'n' Things. 

In 2010 and 2009 her work was accepted into three categories in Tinton Falls' juried annual Monmouth Festival of the Arts:  Fine Arts (for her mixed-media abstracts), Fine Crafts (for her tabletop decorative assemblages) and  Photography (for her digital art prints).

She is an associate member at the Guild of Creative Art, Shrewsbury, one of the numerous venues where her artwork has been exhibited.  She has created art rubber stamp designs now sold by three stamp manufacturers, as well as several CDs of original clipart now sold on-line.

Leonia Mroczkowski, a representational artist who lives in Shark River Hills, graduated from Staten Island's Wagner College, then studied  art with the Washington School of Art, DuCret School of Art, and the Art Students’ League in Manhattan.

She continues to take annual workshops with nationally known artists.  Her artwork hangs in the Frederick Gallery, Spring Lake, and is often displayed at the Guild of Creative Art, as well as the Monmouth Festival of the Arts. 

Mroczkowski is a member of the American Artists Professional League and an elected member of the NJ Watercolor Society.  Her work has won numerous awards in juried shows.

Mroczkowski explained that Swatton asked her to be a part of this exhibit and she was happy to comply. "My motivation to paint now is to capture the beauty of the landscape in a realistic style," she said. "I paint outdoors with the Plein Air Painters of the Jersey Coast. It is a lifelong learning experience to capture nature. I have both oil and watercolor landscapes in the show."

A retired nurse, Mroczkowski graduated from Wagner College with a B.S. in nursing. When she retired, she decided that she would give all the proceeds from the sale of her art to the Medical Mission Sisters.

"When my five children were little we would have yard sales every summer to benefit the Medical Mission Sisters," she said. "I almost feel as if I am in mission with them.  I so believe in their work. They were founded in 1925.  Today they continue their special mission in 17 nations on five continents helping the poor and oppressed."

She is a member of the New Jersey American Artists Professional League, an elected member of both the New Jersey Watercolor Society and the Garden State Watercolor Society

Norma Wokas, a representational painter, works mainly in oils to depict cityscapes, beach scenes and rural landscapes.  A member of the Guild of Creative Art and the Art Society of Monmouth County, Wokas has studied art at the Guild of Creative Art with Ozzie Arnts and at the Art Student League of New York with Terence Coyle.  Her paintings have been displayed in juried shows including the annual  Monmouth Festival of the Arts at Reform Temple, Tinton Falls.

Wokas was born in Nicaragua and has lived in New Jersey for over 30 years.  She has been painting and drawing since childhood and professionally for over 10 years. Her work is impressionistic in style, with emphasis on color. All of her paintings are vibrant, colorful and filled with light. Her inspiration comes from the artists she admires most, Cezanne, Pissaro and Utrillo.

The artist is a member of the Guild of Creative Art, The Art Alliance of Monmouth County and the Art Society of Monmouth County. She has exhibited throughout the area, most recently at the Monmouth Beach Cultural Center, Little Silver Borough Hall, and the SCAN Adult Education Center in Eatontown, where she currently teaches. She also teaches art at Community Center in Highlands, where she lives.

Wokas said: "My goal is to continue to grow as an artist and to teach and share my knowledge and passion for painting and creating art awareness and appreciation in my community."

Swatton explained how the group show came about: "It must have been at least six months ago, probably longer, that Leonia, Norma and I started talking about joining together to hang a show at the Middletown Township Public Library.  I'm a frequent patron, so I know it's an excellent library.

"Back when we made our initial queries, the library was in somewhat of a transition. The first queries went to the then-programming librarian, who was leaving the position. For several months thereafter, the position went unfilled. Eventually Elizabeth Thompson secured the position and then had the job of picking up all the loose ends inevitable in any situation of transition.  I don't envy Elizabeth her job, because working with artists is like trying to herd cats!"

She added that the title Expressive Impressions was Wokas' suggestion. "We agreed on this title because the 57 pieces of art in our show bring together two widely divergent types of art; representational as well as abstract," she said.  "Therefore, as a whole, it's a display that expresses three unique impressions of the outer world, which we see, as well as the inner world, which we feel.  As diverse as they are, these three collections have two elements in common; they sing with color and pulse with life.  Anyone seeking dull, bland color schemes, or depressing, 'downer' imagery, will not enjoy this show."

Middletown Township Public Library is located at 55 New Monmouth Rd., Middletown.  For directions call 732-671-3700, or visit http://www.mtpl.org.  Library hours are Mondays through Thursdays, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.;  and Sunday, from 1 to 5 p.m.