By Peter Elacqua
Staff Writer
COLTS NECK – The Colts Neck Friends of the Library will hold its 17th annual Fine Arts Show and Sale at the Colts Neck Library, 1 Winthrop Drive, on two weekends in October.
The event will take place on Oct. 15-16 and on Oct. 22-23 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.
The show and sale will include paintings, sculpture, pottery, photography and wood carvings that have been created by township residents. Patrons will have the opportunity to purchase the pieces that have been placed on display.
Event co-chair Eileen Petruch said the 30 to 40 artists who participate in the event will set their own prices for their art. She said prices could run from about $50 to thousands of dollars for a particular work. A portion of each sale will be donated to the library.
“It is a cultural event as well as a fundraiser for the Friends of the Library,” Petruch said. “Some paintings are of local areas, such as farms, and it is really nice to give a piece as a gift or to have a piece that was created by a local artist.”
Patrons may attend an opening reception preview party and wine tasting event that will be held at the library from 7-9 p.m. Oct. 14. Tickets for the preview party will be $10 at the door.
Petruch said the gallery may be opened to the public during the week or by appointment.
From 2-3:30 p.m. Oct. 16, the library will host a lecture titled “Matisse vs Picasso: The Great I-Can-Do-Anything-Better-Than-You Rivalry.”
The lecture will be presented by Fred Dixon, who is the author of “700 Years of Art History: Pre-Renaissance to Modernism.”
“Uniquely to them, not only were (Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso) the two master painters of the 20th century, but they had an unusual relationship in which they would compete against each other and take inspiration from each other’s previous works,” Dixon said.
Dixon said one of the most influential modern paintings, “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon,” which was painted by Picasso (1881-1973) in 1907, was inspired by earlier paintings of Matisse (1869-1954).
“They both knew they were competing to be the No. 1 painter of their time,” Dixon said. “When you have two people competing for No. 1, you are bound to see interesting things.”
No registration or payment is required to attend the Oct. 16 lecture. Dixon’s book will be available for purchase at a discounted price of $35 at the event.
