Maria G. Pisano of Plainsboro has two completely different art exhibits coming up. As a book artist, she will be exhibiting her work at the Miniature Book Fair, on Sunday, August 30, from 1 to 4:30 p.m., at the Wyndham Conference Center, 900 Scudders Mill Road, Plainsboro. Part of the Miniature Book Conclave, a celebration of miniature books, the fair will display an array created by miniature books artists. It is free and open to the public.##M:[more]##
Her next exhibit, “Origins,” will feature works on handmade paper, prints, and photographs. It will run from Wednesday, September 9 to Sunday, October 18, at The Nassau Club in the Garden Room, 6 Mercer Street, Princeton. A reception will be held on Sunday, September 20, from 3 to 5 p.m.
Pisano’s book works encompass handmade paper, printing, and handbinding. “I am continuing the tradition of books as keepers of our collective memory, using the format, in its myriad transformative powers, to express and reflect my world,” she says. “As an artist I bring forth works that respond to a theme through structure as well as text and image. The works challenge the traditional book form in both reading and presentation, not following a prescribed pattern. The subjects and interpretation of the theme drive these works of art.”
Her works are in numerous private and public collections including the Library of Congress, the American Art Museum, National Portrait Gallery, Princeton University, Harvard University, Stanford University, and the New York Public Library.
She teaches all aspects of the book arts including papermaking, printing, bookbinding, and conservation — some at her Plainsboro studio. She teaches a course at Raritan Valley Community College and has taught at Rutgers University Library School, Mason Gross, Center for Book Arts in NY, and Oklahoma Arts Institute.
Her works in the Wyndham Conference Center display include “The Four Elements,” a set of four miniature tunnel books representing the belief that four elements made up the world. The books were created with handmade paper, gouache, and photographs, and laser printed.
“Continuity,” an accordion book, gives the promise of a new life by featuring desiccated seed pods among the winter bloom of a poinsettia with enclosed seeds in the front pocket, sharing the continuity of life inherent even in the death of the flower.
Her husband, Leonard Pisano, was a school psychologist for the New York schools for 25 years. Recently retired, he is now working in private practice. Their daughter, Milena, graduated from West Windsor-Plainsboro High School and William and Mary College. For the past 10 years she has worked as a scenic painter, working on sets for Broadway plays, TV shows, and movie sets. Their son, Michael, graduated from High School South, Class of 2004, and Carnegie Mellon University, 2008. He has been working for the School of Art at CMU for the past year creating and editing videos and additionally creating posters for both the English and art departments at the college. His works as an artist can be seen at www.michaelpisano.com.
“My works are an evocative blend of media and paper — these are the origins of my art — the feel and smell of handmade paper, the tactility of the ink on a freshly printed sheet of paper — these are sensory and esthetic manifestations of my art,” says Pisano. “The works in the exhibit are a response to nature and my architectural surrounding, translating my visual stimuli into layers of memories.”
Miniature Book Fair, Miniature Book Conclave, Wyndham Conference Center, 900 Scudders Mill Road, Plainsboro. Sunday, August 30, 1 to 5 p.m. Free admission. 877-999-3223.
Art Exhibit, Nassau Club, 6 Mercer Street, Princeton, 609-924-0580. Wednesday, September 9 to Sunday, October 18.
