Karen Bokert, Siegmund Joseph at Arts Unbound

Arts Unbound presents a two-person exhibition of work by long-time local artists Karen Bokert (Maplewood) and Siegmund Joseph (South Orange). This special exhibition features a selection of works from each artist’s respective career. The show opens on Saturday, August 27, with a reception from 2pm to 5pm and runs through September 3, 2016. Karen Bokert’s vibrant paintings reflect her extensive international art studies and personal travels. A resident of Maplewood for 48 years, Bokert received a BA in Fine Arts from the Universidad de las Americas, Mexico City, and an MA in Art History from Hunter College in New York City where she studied under Robert Motherwell. In addition, she studied at the Academia di Belle Arte in Florence, Italy, at the Sommerakademie in Salzburg and with Oskar Kokoschka, and she studied Impressionism with Henry Hensche in Provincetown. It is her experience visiting India and the American South West that informs the paintings in this exhibit. Bokert draws on the spiritual traditions and symbols of both cultures in her compositions and color palette – rich earthy browns and orange along with blue and green jewel tones -- to evoke a connection to the metaphysical. Siegmund Joseph’s dynamic drawings are snap shots of daily life in South Orange Village where he was a resident for 52 years. A friendly and engaging man, he was known in the local community as “Siggy”. Most days he could be found sketching out in front of Cait and Abby’s café where he captured congenial scenes of people chatting over coffee or waiting for the train. A self-taught artist, Joseph was born in Czechoslovakia in 1922. However, his artistic ambitions were not realized in his youth. Joseph and his family were taken to a Hungarian military work camp in 1943. Joseph escaped in 1944, but he was the sole survivor in his family. In the summer of 1948 Siegmund Joseph and his wife Yolanda emigrated to New Jersey, eventually settling in South Orange, where they raised four children and became active members of the community. For over 60 years, Joseph was the owner and operator of Siegmund Joseph Plumbing & Heating in Montclair, and he was active at Congregation Beth El, South Orange. Siegmund Joseph was 87 when he died on November 3, 2010. Arts Unbound is dedicated to the artistic achievement of people living with disabilities and the continued artistic enrichment of seniors. We promote careers in the visual arts as an option for people with disabilities or special needs, support the artistic expression and emotional well-being of seniors, and ensure artists with disabilities can express their own creative vision, rather than be isolated or suppressed. By promoting the work of artists with disabilities and seniors, we center their art-making rather than any impairments and by doing so challenge the stigma associated with disability and aging. The Dora Stern Gallery at Arts Unbound is located at 544 Freeman Street, Orange, New Jersey and is open Monday through Friday from 10am to 4pm, and Saturday 12pm to 5pm. Contact Person: Celene Ryan, Director of Marketing Arts Unbound 542/544 Freeman Street Orange, NJ 07050 973-675-2787 cryan@artsunbound.org