Join us for our next exhibition: "Reflections."

Friends of Metuchen Arts is proud to present the art of two artists: Nathan Johnson, photographer and Paul Simon,

Meet us at the Gallery, 315 Main Street, across the street from the Forum Theatre in Metuchen.

Gallery Hours: Wednesdays from 6–8pm and Sundays from 1–3pm until December 21

Nathan Johnson

I was born in Oklahoma in 1978 and moved around a bit before my family settled in California. At 19. I moved to New York on my own to study at The New York Film Academy. The chaotic and captivating big city quickly became my home. After completing my studies at the Film Academy, I enrolled at The Fashion Institute of Technology to study graphic design. where I also took a course in photography.

Falling in love with photography. I began capturing fleeting moments in the never-stopping excitement of New York City. During the day, I worked, and at night. I spent endless hours in the quiet of the darkroom. Later. I moved to Sacramento, CA, where I continued to shoot California's beautiful landscapes and develop my work in the local darkroom.

Film was my first love, but as a Xennial, I watched as film became harder to find, and darkrooms closed their doors. With the rapid advancement of digital photography. I found myself taking a hiatus from my passion. The transition from film to digital was challenging, as I struggled to find a digital camera that met my artistic needs and preferences. This period of technological change led me to step back from photography for a while.

Years later, after moving to Metuchen with my wife Rose and son Franco, I picked up a camera again. I finally found a digital camera that gave me the same excitement as film, and I have never looked back. I discovered new ways to experiment with this new medium, and the more I did, the more I learned to love it just as much as film.

Paul Simon

I was born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1942. I was drawing at a young age. I studied Art at Brooklyn College, received the Drawing Award at my senior exhibition, and obtained both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in 1963 and 1965, studying under some of the most prominent artists in NYC at the time. I received a teaching fellowship in the doctoral program at Illinois State University and completed all coursework toward a doctorate in Fine Arts in 1969.

Finding drawing and painting on the flat plane too limiting and somewhat illusory, I began working in wood, breaking free from the 2-D plane. I have subsequently branched out over the past 60 years into working with found wood, copper, steel, vines, wire, and mixed media.

My work covers various styles. The “Tree Lanky” series evolved out of the “suggestures” found in dried limbs, branches, and twigs. (See the 6-piece “Dance” series, “Don’t Go Near the Water”; and “Grief”), in the exhibit. The “Vineline” series came from the discovery of the unique curvilinearity of dried grape vines. (See “The Creation of Man”; “Hercules with Corrective Lenses” and “The Dance”), in the exhibit.

My “Fluid Cube” series uses the inherent tension in the contradictory title to create pieces such as “Capital Punishment” in the exhibit. As a socially conscious and concerned person, an ongoing series of my work falls into the category of “Social Realism”. ( See “Caste of Money….; “Soul Holes”; “Jos.”; and “American Religions” in exhibit).