MANCHESTER – Books, CDs, newspapers, magazines and DVDs are always popular items to find at your local library but enjoying artwork in the meeting room of the township-based library can be equally enjoyable.
Artist Robert Nealon lives in Maplewood but he and his family enjoyed a visit to the Jersey Shore for his reception at the Manchester Library.
“I used to work at the Sage Foundation which is a think tank kind of group. We weren’t the thinkers we were supporting the thinkers,” Nealon noted. “It was named after Russel Sage. He was a railroad baron from the 19th century and when he died his wife started this foundation which supports social welfare and social good. They would have various social scientists and get office space and they sponsored various things like Forest Hills Gardens.”
As to how he became an artist Nealon said, “I started out through that and studied art in high school and college and then I got this job at the Foundation before I went to graduate school. I graduated in ‘93 and I’ve been painting all along and got married and had kids,” he added.
He and his wife Cynthia said they love visiting the shore, in particular Ocean Grove and Asbury Park.
Nealon said, “I have a studio where we live now. We had a two-car garage that we turned into a studio which is now winterized and I participate in local exhibitions there (in Maplewood) and I’ve been trying to branch out to more activities.”
His exhibit was called “Swimming in Circles” and featured colorful contemporary paintings. It’s described as ‘a sea of circular forms emerge from matte fluorescent color fields. Clusters of spherical configurations suggest planetary bodies, star systems, satellites or even spectral traffic lights playfully suspended in space.’
“I work in doing a series with a particular theme. I did one kind of like this early on and then it kind of grew. One idea leads to another idea,” he remarked. “I started doing a series and for this one, I like to roam around Home Depot because you never know what you will find. I find square dowels and I bought a lot of them and I began painting and it was influenced by where I vacationed as a kid in Long Island – Winding River and Wildwood – so I began doing a series based on that.”
He also noted sticks that spread around beaches following Superstorm Sandy and decided to make that a series theme. “There were sticks that were in the sand and flags warning you not to go in certain areas. There were sticks that were 32 inches long and one inch around and I would show them in pairs and in different colors and that led to this development.”
The artist explained the work he brought to Manchester Library saying, “they are two circular forms in a square and it looks like a signal. I work in IT, I don’t know how I got there but there are switches that are always in pairs and forms of light scrolling across. There are a lot of artists I like who use fluorescent colors and it looks artificial like an entrance sign.”
Nealon’s wife and son Matteo came out to the reception that day to support him and greet attendees that came in to see his work. His wife and son are also artists but their work is as unique as his own.
Matteo remarked that his art work “is in a totally different direction. I’m not sure how to describe what I do.”
His mother did however, she said her son’s work involves “fantasy.”
“I create graphics and stickers and things like that. Graffiti, skateboards,” Matteo said in reference to what he creates.
“Street art is what he does,” his mother added. “He uses spray paint on canvas – stuff like that.”
Cynthia Nealon described her own works of art noting “I am a graphic designer. That is my passion. I have always done a lot of fine art, water color paintings, collage, it is all over the place except the collage is not representational but the water color paintings are more like landscape.”
The couple met in New York City through a friend Robert had in graduate school. “We had mutual friends and that is how we met in a park through work,” he said.
Nealon said he likes using unusual material for his work including a cheese box. “I used a Laughing Cow cheese box. I ordered about 12 of them but they sent me 90. I guess they were trying to get rid of them so while some are wood panels some of these are cheese boxes of cardboard. I knew I’d find a use for it and I did.”
The artist’s future plans included “a show in Jersey City and I have a painting I am working on.”
