FREEHOLD — Downtown Freehold Borough has added an art gallery to its roster of business establishments.
The Freehold Art Gallery, 7A W. Main St., above a CVS pharmacy, offers a venue for area artists to display their paintings, sculptures, jewelry and other artwork.
The gallery opened with the exhibit “Western Monmouth Masters” featuring the work of Richard Berger, Leslie Daley and Wally Zuber. The exhibit also featured artwork from members of the Freehold Art Society.
The art gallery is part of the vision that its owner, Jeff Friedman, said he has had for downtown Freehold for years.
“I have always believed that one of the steps to revitalize the downtown, to make it a destination and make it thrive, is to create fun and exciting things for people to do,” Friedman said.
“I am always looking for opportunities to further my vision of what the downtown should look like. When the space became available, it made it possible to do it. We hope the Freehold Art Gallery will serve as a hub for the artistic community of Freehold and beyond, as well as a gathering spot for the community as a whole,” he said.
The art gallery fills 1,100 square feet of space, and Friedman said its mission is to feature all mediums of art from emerging and established New Jersey artists, works by artists from around the country and the world, as well as prints, historic maps, photographs and documents.
The gallery’s curator, Jilltrude Barba, has been an artist for more than 40 years and studied with Susan Winter, Ed Hicks and Grace Graupe-Pillard.
Friedman studied art with New York artist Dorothy Zilka. He earned his Juris Doctorate from the Widener School of Law, Wilmington, Delaware.
Friedman said the gallery consigns and sells original paintings, sculptures, jewelry, glass works, etchings, photographs and more by local, regional and international artists, and also deals in historic maps, photographs, documents, and other pieces.
Admission to the gallery is free. Fall hours are Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 2 p.m. and 6-9 p.m., and by appointment for private parties or other events.
A new exhibit opened Oct. 17 and will run through Nov. 28. “More Western Monmouth County Masters” features the work of Mary Caruso-Albert; photographs by Vicky Culver; the mixed medium works of Kortez; and oil paintings by Eddie Mungiello. For more information, visit Facebook.com/freeholdartgallery
— Clare Marie Celano