April 28, 2021

Local Artists’ Sculptures Add Personality to Jersey City’s VYV

Maximilian Pelzmann’s second studio in San Sebastian, Spain. Photography courtesy of Maximilian Pelzmann.

With paintings and sculptures threaded through the public spaces, artwork is fully integrated into the VYV experience. The program both reinforces the development’s energetic yet sophisticated brand identity and also celebrates Jersey City’s strong local arts scene, which is anchored by a renowned institution: Mana Contemporary, a studio and ex­hibition center located in a converted tobacco warehouse nearby.

Maximilian Pelzmann sanding his ma­quette for Pavilion at VYV. Photography by Eric Laignel.

Two internationally exhibited artists with ateliers at Mana feature prominently at the VYV buildings. Maximilian Pelzmann, who has a second studio in Northern Spain and is known for small and large sculptures in such mediums as glass, bronze, and foam core, contributed the large-scale Totem and Pavilion to the project’s amenity deck. Then, in one of the lobbies, are compositions by painter Stanley Casselman. For his Liquid Series, he creates intriguing abstractions by pushing acrylic paint or synthetic polymer through the backside of polyester screens and then manipulating them medium further with custom spreaders; the pieces are then surfaced with a layer of silver nitrate.

The Jersey City–based artist’s Cloud Form, in Hydrocal-coated high-density recycled foam core. Photography by Eric Laignel.

Though the VYV collection, which also includes works by Bette Klegon Halby, J. Margulis, and Jessie Morgan, is museum-quality, the goal ultimately was to create a homey vibe. “The art is there,” explains
Sallyann Thomas Farnum, director of interior design at Arrowstreet, which led the program, “to make sure the spaces feel residential.”

Harmony of Sound, a trio of sculptures in lost wax-cast bronze with high-polish patina, also at VYV. Photography by Eric Laignel.
Stanley Casselman forcing acrylic through a polyester screen with custom spreaders. Photography courtesy of Stanley Casselman.
Casselman’s atelier at Mana Contemporary. Photography by Eric Laignel. 
Stanley Casselman’s Liquid (Z8M1), in chrome over synthetic polymer on polyscreen, in VYV’s south tower lobby. Photography by Eric Kieley.

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