The Trenton Times published the following article on June 28, 2013. To read the full article, click here.

Gallery 219 opens with ‘What’s Happenin’ ‘ exhibit

By Janet Purcell/For The Times of Trenton 
on June 28, 2013 at 6:10 AM, updated June 28, 2013 at 6:20 AM

Back in 2010, Trenton artist Will Kasso and musician Byron Marshall (a k a Black Collar Biz) got to talking about the need for artists in Trenton to have a place to gather, to get support and to exhibit their work.

They found a space where the rent was cheap, and they mounted the first show in April 2011.

“It was just me and four other artists, but it was a hit. We sold seven to 10 pieces,” Kasso says. “We used that space but lost it in June of last year because the owner owed back taxes. So we came here (219 E. Hanover St.), and within three weeks put up a show. We knew we had to put something together so people could see we were still active.”

They’ve been going strong ever since. “That was in June, and by that September we did our first Windows of Soul Project. Now it’s a yearly event,” Kasso says.

This year the event will take place Sept. 13-15 at the gallery and will span the entire weekend, with an exhibit opening Friday night. On Saturday morning, a chosen street will be closed to traffic and artists will create works that will then be installed on boarded-up windows of abandoned properties. Sunday will be reserved for music, food and fun.

“After we opened the gallery the perception of that area started to change,” Kasso says. “And when we moved into the studio at 219 in 2012, the lot next door was full of trash. We had the grass cut and made planters out of the dumped tires that were there. Glen Akroy made a design for the garden, and an out-of-work landscaper came and helped.”

On the website of the Sage Coalition, the organization founded by Kasso that is behind these endeavors, is the statement: “With the help of the Trenton Downtown Association we decided to reclaim the same for community use and devote it to Gandhi’s teaching: ‘You must be the change you wish to see in the world.’”

“It’s now the Ghandi Garden, and every month we have a get-together there and the opening of each month’s art show,” Kasso says.

This month’s exhibit, “What’s Happenin’,” is a collaboration between Sage and the Trenton Artists Workshop Association. It was curated by Mel Leipzig, who recently retired after 45 years as professor of fine art at Mercer County Community College.

Leipzig selected 23 works by 10 artists. According to Kasso, all are either college undergraduates or recent graduates from Mercer County Community College and Rutgers, and the prices of the works range from $50 to $2,500.

An example of the high-quality works you will see at the gallery is Guadalupe Reyes’ oil on canvas, “Viva La Vida Con Frida Kahlo,” in which the free-spirited Kahlo is referenced by a white-masked dancer in festive dress as Kahlo looks on from behind.

Justin Jedrzejcyk’s untitled oil on canvas allows the viewer to look down, perhaps from a platform backstage, upon a young dancer about to emerge into her dance. The quality of light that is captured in the artist’s portrayal is that moment of time in the young dancer’s life.

There’s a photograph by Carl Allen Washington called “Waste of Talent,” showing a man lying on the ground, obviously murdered, with his guitar nearby.

Sam Acuff’s untitled oil on paper is an outstanding composition. In this, Acuff presents a wonderfully drawn, painted and presented image of a couple at the bottom left of an otherwise blank paper ground. Acuff’s eye for composition is outstanding, as is his ability to render his subject well.

“The level of skill of these artists impressed me. It’s all very mature,” Kasso says. “They’re all young, they’re in the place I was 15 years ago. This is what I wish I had when I was their age. I had to go other places to find what’s happening in Trenton right now.

“I knew when I started this (gallery) I’d stay in the background,” Kasso adds. “I’m just excited to say I’ve had a hand in it. Let them get the accolades. This is their time.”

“What’s Happenin’”
When: Noon-2 p.m. Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays, by appointment Saturdays, through July 5
Where: Gallery219, 219 E. Hanover St., Trenton
Contact: Elizabeth Aubrey, tawaexhibits@aol.com