No pictures exhibited in New Jersey this year were as lonely as our crowd scenes. Maybe it was residue of the pandemic. Maybe it was our Garden State reticence and our suspicion of outsiders. Maybe it was a coincidence. But paintings of people together were, very often, paintings of people far apart — separated from […]
Tris McCall
Tris McCall has written about art, architecture, performance, politics, and public culture for many publications, including the Newark Star-Ledger, the Bergen Record, Jersey Beat, the Jersey City Reporter, the Jersey Journal, the Jersey City Independent, and New Jersey dot com. He also writes about things that have no relevance to New Jersey. Not today, though.
Posted inUncategorized
Cantantes in Cordibus Invites Jersey City to Midnight Mass
So what are you up to on Christmas Eve? Maybe you’ll be wrapping presents or baking cookies well into the night. Maybe you’ll be getting a jump on the holiday at a family gathering. Or maybe you’ll be trying your best to ignore the whole thing. But if you can’t get enough of the season […]
Posted inVisual Arts
Jersey City Arts 2023 — What Happened?
Well, you can’t fault us for trying. After many years characterized by more inspiration than coordination, we went large — or, at least, larger than we ever had before. Jersey City Art Week bundled the fifth Art Fair 14C, the thirty-fourth Art and Studio Tour, and the thirty-first annual International Sculpture Conference into a single event. The […]
Posted inVisual Arts
The Fifteen Best Art Shows of 2023
No matter what else is going on in Jersey City, there’s one thing you can count on: first-rate visual art shows. There were so many good ones mounted in 2023 that I couldn’t stick to my customary Top Eleven. We’re going fifteen deep this year, and honestly, I could have gone further. When I look […]
Posted inFood and Fun
Nineteen Local Stores for Holiday Shopping
It’s the holiday season, and you’re going to have to buy a present. If you live in Jersey City, I’m afraid there’s no excuse for coming to the party empty-handed. You don’t have to go to a suburban strip mall or cross the river to find interesting gift shops. Chances are, there’s a strong option […]
Posted inVisual Arts
Imaginative Young Artists Take the Reins at Two Jersey City Fridays Art Shows
There is something unbearably lonesome about an image of a cross on another planet. Its presence reflects the hope that God might chase us across the stars. But there’s no church in the alien wilderness, and no congregation on the interstellar plain. The tiny cross in Kaira Villanueva’s “On the Lookout” is tucked into a […]
Posted inNarrate
Rogue Waves December: Live Music in Jersey City
So how’d we do? Pretty well, in a modest sort of way. In 2023, Bookers at Jersey City’s flagship venues demonstrated imagination and broadmindedness. White Eagle Hall, for instance, supplemented the usual parade of touring guitar-slingers with dates from K-pop acts, Latin stars, and a first-rate Indian progressive rock group. Fox & Crow felt like […]
Posted inNarrate
The Vegetarian Option: El Ranchero Taqueria
The cactus tacos with cheese and cilantro from Taqueria Downtown (236 Grove St.) are reliably good. Tacoria (24-26 Erie St.) can be inconsistent, but their fried avocado and brussels sprout tacos are creative and tasty. Unpretentious, welcoming Sol Azteca (328 Montgomery St.) cooks up some satisfying grilled veggie tacos. Then there’s Taco Drive (195 Newark Ave.) […]
Posted inVisual Arts
Two Recommended Shows From MANA Curators Close This Week
Curating a group show is a little like deejaying a set, a little like stitching together a patchwork quilt, and a lot like assembling a choir. A curator must get many different voices to sing in harmony. Like a choir, a well curated group exhibition isn’t univocal. Instead, each participant is selected to augment and […]
Posted inVisual Arts
2024 Arts Forecast: Cloudy, With a Chance of Storms
In 2023, our arts organizers went big. Jersey City Art Week was the most ambitious, most coordinated, and most ballyhooed event local organizers had ever attempted. The state’s largest art fair in the middle of Liberty State Park! Open studios at MANA Contemporary! An international sculpture conference! The 34th annual Jersey City Art and Studio […]