Family's huge international art collection highlighted at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City

By Summer Dawn Hortillosa | The Jersey Journal
on September 09, 2014 at 11:19 AM

Mega art complex Mana Contemporary in Jersey City is coming alive this Sunday with open studios and new exhibits pulled from one family's impressive collection.

The highlight of Sunday's openings at Mana, which is located near Journal Square, will be the work of Francesco Clemente, George Condo, Chuck Connelly, Julio Gal?n, and Daniel Lezama from the Pellizzi Family Collection.

"The Pellizzi Family exhibition is a show that we have been looking to for a long time," said Mana Contemporary president Eugene Lemay. "At Mana, we specialize in showing collections, and this is our largest collection -- more than 100 works -- to date."

Mana says Francesco Pellizzi, an Italian anthropologist, co-founder and editor of the Harvard journal Res, Anthropology and Aesthetics, has written extensively on contemporary art and collected Tribal Art and artifacts as well as Minimal Art since the 1970s. His collection includes work by artists from around the world which often feature undertones of mysticism, mythology, history and surreal romanticism.

The exhibit will be spread over three floors, with Italy's Francesco Clemente featured on the sixth floor, George Condo on the fifth, and the rest of the roster on the first.

On Sunday, there will also be other attractions like "Ken Price and Harvey Mudd: The Plain of Smokes," an exhibit of 30 original silkscreen prints Price created to illustrate a 75-page poem cycle by Mudd. The show is located on the second floor and is on view through Dec. 19.

Galerie Ernst Hilger of Vienna is also joining the fun with its show "Erro: American Comics," on Mana's ground level. The show features works by one of Iceland's foremost pop artists, Erro, who is known for his paintings based on collage and comic-book aesthetic.

Lemay says these exhibits are just some of the exciting events coming to Mana within the next few months. For example, from Oct. 16 to 19, the Marina Abramovic Institute will hold a 72-hour continuous workshop in Mana's Glass Gallery. They also have more exhibits coming in January, including a show featuring backdrops and costumes from resident dance company Armitage Gone.

"At Mana, we are creating a community for every form of art, so with the Marina Abramovic Institute we are adding a performance art element to our space," said Lemay. "The Armitage show will highlight choreographer Karole Armitage's collaborations with major visual artists such as Jeff Koons, David Salle, and Philip Taaffe. The show is curated by Jeffrey Deitch, former director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. It's an honor to have him as a collaborator."

Lemay adds that he hopes Mana will continue its rapid growth and expansion as a local arts center.

"One of our next major goals is to add art education programs. This will benefit the local community and the greater region, allowing young artists to interact with and learn from established artists," said Lemay. "(Our ultimate goal is) to be a magnet for artists, curators, collectors, and the public."

See new exhibits and open studios will be on Sunday, Sept. 14 from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Mana Contemporary, 888 Newark Ave., Jersey City. For more information, visit ManaContemporary.com

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