The Medford Arts Center is proud to present the works of Michael Cagno, Karen Chigounis, Phil Carroll, Bruce Garrity and R.J. Haas in an invitational exhibition Sept. 7 through Oct. 7. These well-known artists have served as jurors at earlier arts center shows. The public is invited to an open house reception to meet the artists on Sept. 9, from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m.
This show different, according to exhibits curator Tracey Femiano, because these artists have devoted their lives to promoting art and artists in their careers at major New Jersey art museums and centers. It is the MAC’s intention to present their works in a group exhibit as a “thank you” from the South Jersey art community.
Michael Cagno graduated from Rowan University and earned a Masters in museum management at Seaton Hall. An accomplished artist, he is the executive director of the Noyes Museum of Art and is an adjunct professor at Stockton State College and at Cumberland County Community College.
Phillip J. Carroll has been painting professionally for over 26 years and is currently the curator of exhibitions for the Perkins Center for the Arts in Moorestown and Collingswood. He grew up in Haddonfield and is a graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and studied art history at University of Pennsylvania.
Karen Chigounis is an associate curator and the director of ARTS Education at Perkins Center for the Arts. She was previously curator of exhibitions and programs for the Camden County Cultural and Heritage Commission and Hopkins House Gallery. Chigounis earned a BFA and Art Teacher Certification Degree from Moore College of Art and Design and taught art for 10 years. In 2001, she completed a Master’s of Science in Arts and Cultural Management co-conferred by Moore College of Art and Design and Rosemont College.
Bruce Garrity is a painter and draftsman. He holds a BFA in Drawing and Painting from the University of Delaware and an MFA in Painting from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Garrity has taught as an adjunct professor at Rutgers University since 1997 and was the 2010 recipient of the Sybil S. Cohen Award for Excellence in Teaching. He has also taught at the University of Delaware, Stockton State College and Rowan University. He is the independent curator at Hopkins House Gallery of Contemporary Art in Cooper River Park in Haddon Township.
R. J. Haas is an instructor of art at Burlington County College. He is also Curator at Burlington County’s Smithville Annex Gallery and the Warden’s House at the historic Burlington County Jail. He has studied with several well-known artists and has a passion for Acrylics.
The wine and cheese reception on Sept. 9 will also celebrate the unveiling of the Medford Cultural Arts Commission’s 9/11 Ten Year Commemoration Plaque and opening of the Annual Paint our Town winners and participants in the MAC’s Gazebo Room. This year’s exhibit will feature the art of Diane Wallace, Linda Hibbs, Tom Kimball, Gene D’Agostino, Marlene Craig, John Opal and Connie Randles.
