Recycled art and found object art take on a new meaning in the Plainsboro Library’s September gallery show, “Lost and Found,” with three artists giving new life to “trash” and reused objects. Works by Bob Justin, Art Lee, and Russ Rice make up this exhibit of painting, assemblage, sculpture, and musical instruments. The artists’ reception on Sunday, September 15, from 2 to 4 p.m., will provide an opportunity to ask questions of the artists as well as to hear Rice’s performance on a selection of his found — and fully functioning — musical instruments. The exhibit is on view through Wednesday, September 25.
Bob Justin, a former Plainsboro resident, is a “free spirit, non-conformist, and self-taught artist” who has gathered “scraps of society” (read: junk) since childhood and transformed them into art for which he has since received international acclaim.
“I have always believed that all things have another life waiting to be discovered by a twist of fate or vision,” he says. When you view his found object sculptures, which include such seemingly unrelated items as bed pans, zippers, parts of mannequins, books, and more, you will wonder why the individual parts were never joined before. Justin has exhibited nationally and abroad, including at the New Jersey State Museum, the Frank J. Miele Gallery in New York, the Eisenhower Hall Theater in West Point, New York, and as part of a global tour for a USIA exhibit on American primitive artists.
Art Lee, of Dayton, began painting the day after Thanksgiving, 1988, and describes his production thereafter as “explosive.” He has created more than 2,000 art works in oil, acrylic, watercolor, mixed media on canvas, paper, wood, matte board, foam core, glass, and “anything else available” (frying pans, auto brake discs, hats, T-shirts, ties, bags, underwear). His sculptures are ecological art that reuses what many of us throw away.
“Everything has an intended lifecycle. I see that cycle continuing to another iteration — a new day/beginning,” says Lee. With degrees in public health, health education, and sociology, Lee has also become a master gardener and real estate broker. In his yard he has an outdoor gallery, where sculptures and plantings face the elements in harmony.
Russ Rice, a resident of Cranbury, was born into a family of musicians and started playing instruments at an early age. He formed several bands and went on to perform, write, and record music in his own studio. Another man of many talents — a mechanic and builder — Rice has found a way to join his music with art by making fantastic working instruments out of discarded junk.
“As a musician my inspiration comes from an idea, and then I am able to bring the music to life,” he says. “Now as an artist, I can bring the two together. By using what others may consider ‘trash’ I have found a medium that allows me to share my music and art creations with others.”
Art Exhibit, Plainsboro Public Library, 9 Van Doren Street. Saturday, August 31, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. First day for “Lost and Found,” an exhibit by three artists giving life to trash and reused objects. Reception on Sunday, September 15, from 2 to 4 p.m. On view to September 25.
