Galloway, N.J. – The work of artists and Stockton professors Mariana Smith and Joseph Podlesnik are on display in the campus Art Gallery until Mar. 27. 

Smith’s collection, titled “Liminal Spaces,”  is in the lower wing of the gallery, and Podlesnik’s photographs, titled “Acts of Looking,” are displayed in the upper level of the gallery. 

Smith is a master multimedia artist and Assistant Professor of Art at Stockton.  She works with transitory, in-between spaces (hence the exhibit’s title rooting from the Latin word ‘limen,’ which refers to a transitory, in-between state), and, according to Smith, she “looks at the threshold crossings that demarcate the actual and psychological landscapes within the ever-expanding, dislocated ‘in-between.'"  Smith explores and manifests ideas such as immigration and displacement through miniature paintings, architectural prints, and collages. 

Adjunct Professor of Art Podlesnik draws and paints, and he attributes these skills to his approach to photography.  He believes lenses depict perspective too easily, so he uses his camera to practice what he calls “frustrating readable perspectival space.”  In “Acts of Looking,” Podlesnik emboldens his philosophy that photos are not solely pieces of documentation, but opportunities to comment on or re-enact perception itself.   

There will be an “Artist Gallery Talk” featuring Smith on Jan. 30 at 2:30 p.m., where she will be discussing her artworks and answering questions. Podlesnik will host a gallery talk from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. on Feb. 12., during his “Meet the Artist” reception. Both events are free and open to the public.  

The L-wing art gallery is open Mondays through Saturdays from 12 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Sundays from 12 p.m. until 4 p.m. Admission is free.

Reported by Kat H. Wentzell.  

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Contact: 
Diane D’Amico  
Director of News and Media Relations 
Stockton University 
Galloway, N.J. 08205 
Diane.DAmico@stockton.edu 
609-652-4593 
609-412-8069 
stockton.edu/media