interview:
Cheryl Agulnick Hochberg
Get in touch:
What are you working on right now?
I am just completing an installation called "Keeping Quiet" (after Pablo Neruda's poem of the same name). I moved to NJ a year ago, and during COVID lockdown, I took the opportunity to explore the natural areas around me, and in the "quiet" to listen deeply to the place. The result will be a series of square drawings (mostly 22x22 inches) and an installation in my studio (for the time being) that includes three dimensional reconstructions of the natural world under a reconstruction of the Pulaski Skyway. The project embodies what in the end spoke most strongly to me: the intense side-by-side existence of the natural and the human-made ecosystems, which are equally complex, intense , diverse, and beautiful.
To see the progress of this project, go to https://www.cherylagulnick.com/keeping-quiet
What would you like to say about Manufacturers Village Artist Community?
Since I just moved to the region, I am also relatively new to the community. But during the pandemic, I became aware of the degree to which I already value the relationships that have begun to take hold. In the end, artists share a specific experience of COVID which is both negative and positive; the negative aspects are obvious, but most artists seem to also be acknowledging the positive benefits of more time and less activity. A community of artists is just plain vital in processing this very weird thing we are going through.
What's next for you?
I look forward to beginning a residency this fall at Guttenberg Arts (Guttenberg, NJ). This will give me the opportunity to focus on making woodcuts for the entire fall, and also provide a shop with printing presses and the expertise one gains working around other printmakers. The residency culminates in a group exhibition in December of work by the three resident artists.