The Once and Future City by artist Bill Rybak - Tomasulo Gallery at Union County College

From June 7 to July 12, the public is invited to view “The Once and Future City” by artist Bill Rybak in the Tomasulo Gallery at Union County College.  The exhibition is inspired by the City and urban infrastructure.  His interest in digital media stems from the unique ability to render methodically and with a precision that transcends the merely human, to create visual metaphors for the many layers of fecundity, diversity, obsession, and creativity that inhabit the place where complexity begins to tip into chaos.

The Opening Reception of the exhibit will be held on June 7 from 1-3 p.m. in the Tomasulo Gallery. The public is welcome to attend.  In his artist statement, Rybak explains that, “The City is like a coral reef-- a thing of heroic scale whose survival depends on themaintenance of a fragile equilibrium between its many parts.  It’s a shelter to diverse millions whose homes and work places are built of the remains and leavings of those who came before.

It grows by a process of accretion and collective striving. The things we build are the projections of our dreams and visions; nothing is built that wasn’t first a vision or a dream, a picture in someone’s head.  And the Once and Future City in all its unimaginable complexity and diversity is the product of a million visions and dreams.”  In addition to this exhibition, Rybak’s work was on display at the Museum of Art at Casa Colombo in Jersey City, NJ.  In 2011, his work was shown in the exhibitions, “Small Works” in the Kingston Museum of Contemporary Art, Kingston, NY and in “Pritzker, Rybak, and Young” also at Kingston.  He has also had his work shown at the Printmaking Council of New Jersey; the G.A.S. Visual Art and Performance Space in Poughkeepsie, NY; the Mack Cali Atrium in Jersey City, NJ; and the Canco Lofts Exhibition Space, Jersey City, NJ.

Rybak earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in Sculpture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.  His Bachelor's degree is from the George Washington University, Washington D.C.  He also studied at the Corcoran College of Art + Design and the Pratt Computer Graphics Center in New York. He has taught classes in Color Theory as an adjunct professor at Parsons the New School for Design.  He is also the director of Bill Rybak Design and Production, New York; a former member of the Board of Directors of the New York Association of Theatrical Artists and Craftspeople (ATAC); and an active advocate within the arts communities of the New York City metropolitan area and the Hudson Valley.

The Tomasulo Gallery is located on the first floor of the Kenneth C. MacKay Library on the College’s Cranford campus, located at 1033 Springfield Avenue.  Gallery hours are 1-4 p.m.  Monday – Thursday and 6 -9 p.m. on Tuesday – Thursday.  For more information on the gallery, please call (908) 709-7155.