Sweet Savages: An Exhibition Petruziello, Minch, Sayegh: Drawing, Sculpture, Painting

Pictured Above: “The Dragonfly,” 30 x 18 x15 paper clay collage by Barbara Minch.  Photo Credit: Contributed.

Newsroom Post: TRENTON, NJ:

 

Trenton, NJ  – Opening Reception will be held May 5, 6-8 PM. Artworks Trenton is located at 19 Everett Alley, Trenton, NJ 08611. The Gallery can be reached at 609-394-9436. Sweet Savages describes a range of emotions one may encounter at Artworks Trenton, May 2- June 3, 2023 when visiting the exhibition of these three accomplished New Jersey based artists. Minch, Petruziello and Sayegh explore private and personal thoughts through sculpture, graphite and painting respectively. Giving form to their individual subconscious thoughts and feelings brings to life imaginative and powerful artworks speaking to what it is to be human in this world through their eyes. Symbolism, self, identity, politics, spirituality and the natural world are some of the shared threads between them. Having varied approaches in medium and authentic voices in style, similarities exist that bind them to each other and most importantly to you. This is an exhibit to be enjoyed by the whole family (there are some nudes on exhibit.)

 

Sarah Petruziello’s highly skilled and meticulous graphite drawings often embellished with stitching, beading and gold leaf make a dazzling display of skill, imagination and depth of content to marvel at and ponder on. Her elaborate and large scale drawings based on self portraits rendered realistically weave rich stories certain to take you on a terrific journey through her imagination. Barbara Minch’s sculptures depict a more feminine fantasy world. Many of these life-sized works are “Warrior Women” with wide-eyed hope and an eerily real presence. While these sculptures may look whimsical, the faces are hyper realistic creating a tension between fantasy and reality. They are made with Minch’s own recipe of paper clay and collaged with intricate pieces of paper in a labor-intensive process of overlaying papers.

 

Sharon Sayegh’s oil paintings exhibit a sense of wonder she has felt since childhood. Turning inward for inspiration, she focuses on moments of philosophical awareness and emotional memories. Her paintings are sometimes mysterious, striking a sonorous color chord. She translates her ideas into a symbolic language using mixed and isometric perspectives, and repeating patterns in her compositions. Art as a spiritual experience is at the core of her work.

 

Pictured Above:   “Gathering Storm,” 54×38 pencil by Sarah Petruziello.  Photo Credit: Contributed. 

Petruziello received her MFA in painting from the University of Georgia in 1994. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in Graphic Design and Drawing and Painting from the University of Georgia in 1991. She is the recent recipient of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts 2022 and 2006 Artist Fellowships for Works on Paper as well as a Grant for Working Artists from the George Sugarman Foundation in 2007.  She has had solo shows at Stockton State College Art Gallery, Azarian-McCullough Gallery at Saint Thomas Aquinas College among others. She was an adjunct professor at Seton Hall and presently teaches art at James Caldwell High School. Sarah’s studio is in South Orange, NJ.

 

Minch has exhibited at Gallery Henoch, NYC, and Gross McCleaf Gallery in Philadelphia. She has additionally exhibited at the Johnson and Johnson World Headquarters, NYC, Trenton Museum, Newark Museum, Woodmere Art Museum, Ella Sharp Museum, Saginaw Art Museum, Midland Center for the Arts and taught at the Montclair Art Museum. Her work is in the collections of Philadelphia Airport, Marriot Hotel, Amoco, CIGNA Corporation, Bell Atlantic, Beaver College, Simon & Shuster, BC/BS, among others. She was the founder and director of the Exhibitors’ Co-op, a professional artists critique and exhibition group. Barbara’s studio is in West Orange, NJ.

 

Sayegh received her BA from University of Pennsylvania with a major in Fine Arts and attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Sayegh received the 2021 Bernadette Award from the National Association of Women Artists, was interviewed on the Creative Brick Road Podcast and The Artist Nest. She has work in the permanent collection of South Texas College and exhibited at the Holocaust Museum Houston, Texas. She is a member of International Guild of Realism, a Signature member of Artists for Conservation, National Association of Women Artists and a member of PoetsArtists. Sharon’s studio is in East Brunswick, NJ.

Pictured Above: “The Flying Machine,” 36×24 Oil by Sharon Sayegh. Photo Credit: Contributed. 

All of these artists are collected internationally and have extensive exhibition histories which can be viewed on their websites: www.sarahpetruziello.com ,www.sharonsayegh.com , www.barbaraminch.com

 

Follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sayeghfineart/ https://www.instagram.com/sarahpetruzielloart/ , https://www.instagram.com/barbaraminch/