(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)August 21, 2018

MAHWAH, N.J. – Melanie Baker, a one-person exhibition of large drawings, opens on Wednesday, September 12, in the Kresge Gallery of the Berrie Center for Performing and Visual Arts. There will be an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. with an artist’s talk at 6 p.m. The exhibition continues on view through October 19.

The exhibition features large realistic drawings in charcoal concerning power and empire. Figures ranging from historical notables like Napoleon and George Washington to contemporary politicians are included.

Melanie Baker states the following about her work:

“I work in charcoal for the power of the blackness: the deep, endless space it can represent. It is the void that will suck you in, without any indication of what awaits.  My work has revolved around images of power, political figures, robber barons and their paraphernalia and symbols of empires past and present. I’m especially interested in empires past, the crumbling remnants which sound a warning to our own empire on the verge of tipping into the abyss.”

Melanie Baker lives and works in Brooklyn, N.Y. Baker earned her BFA from Pratt Institute and her MFA from Stony Brook University. Baker’s artwork has been featured in solo and group exhibitions at many venues around New York City including the Brooklyn Museum, the Jersey City Museum, Roebling Hall and White Box. Baker received a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in 2003 and was named the recipient of the 2003 New York Foundation for the Arts Prize. Other grants and fellowships include the Art Omi International Artists’ Colony, the Sacatar Foundation in Bahia, Brazil, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Workspace Program, Dejerassi  Resident Artists Program, the Tyrone Guthrie Center at Annaghmakering, Ireland, Valparaiso in Mojacar, Spain and Yaddo.

This project at Ramapo is funded in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. The Kresge Gallery is located in the Berrie Center for Performing and Visual Arts on the Ramapo College campus. Gallery hours are Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 1 to 5 p.m. and Wednesday from 1 to 7 p.m.

For further information, please contact Sydney Jenkins at 201-684-7147.

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About Ramapo College

Ramapo College of New Jersey is the state’s premier public liberal arts college and is committed to academic excellence through interdisciplinary and experiential learning, and international and intercultural understanding. The comprehensive college is situated among the beautiful Ramapo Mountains, is within commuting distance to New York City, was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America by CondeNast Traveler, and boasts the best on-campus housing in New Jersey per Niche.com. Established in 1969, Ramapo College offers bachelor’s degrees in the arts, business, data science, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, as well as in professional studies, which include business, education, nursing and social work. In addition, the College offers courses leading to teacher certification at the elementary and secondary levels, and offers graduate programs leading to master’s degrees in Accounting, Applied Mathematics, Business Administration, Contemporary Instructional Design, Computer Science, Creative Music Technology, Data Science, Educational Leadership, Nursing, Social Work and Special Education, as well as a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

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