Gallery organizer puts art & soul into exhibits

By Kate Savacool

“A picture is worth a thousand words,” goes the old expression, and Chris Koep seems to have taken this phrase to heart, at least when talking about the Art Gallery at Raritan Valley Community College.

“Simply talking about the works of the gallery isn’t enough,” Koep says. “You can’t really describe anything like that – you have to actually go to the gallery and see the works for yourself to really experience what it’s like.”

One might not be able to describe in detail the works at the art gallery, but what can be described is the amount of work that goes into organizing the gallery and collecting artwork for a show. That seemingly effortless job takes a lot more effort than many people would believe.

Koep is the visual arts coordinator at Raritan Valley. He supervises the organization of the gallery, along with gallery technician Darren McManus, an adjunct instructor at RVCC. Koep recalls how he first got involved with the Arts Department at the college. “They didn’t need me for teaching at the time,” he says, “but they wanted to put some of my works in the show.”

Koep has been working for Raritan Valley for 18 years, as both the coordinator of the gallery and an art professor, and as far as he knows, there has always been a Faculty Art Exhibition. Bonnie Thornborough, a full-time instructor at RVCC who has been in several faculty shows, says that submitting work is a requirement for full-time faculty.

“It’s both an opportunity and an expectation to participate in the shows because so many teachers take their classes down there,” she observes. “Being taught about art is good for every student, and it’s good for the students to be able to ask questions about the process.”

Fortunately for the faculty members, it doesn’t cost anything to submit their works to the shows. “When an artist shows in the gallery, the contract usually states a 20% commission” on any sales, Koep explains.

“The shows are also a good way to show students what we do – that we’re active in our profession,” Koep says. “We give viewers art statements at the front door, and we usually have a nice flow of people coming in.”

A show earlier this semester contained a variety of works by the faculty, both full-time and adjunct. The works included clay sculptures, paintings, photos and animation.

Koep says the gallery is a good way to get the students to learn more about art. “We use the gallery as a springboard for class participation, and also a learning tool … a relationship to the field. Each year we have an art talk before the reception, as well as a gallery guide which shows what’s going on in the gallery at that time. One of the beauties of an art gallery is that it is a learning experience.”

Recent works at the gallery included Thornborough’s “Envisioning,” which was a continuation of her one-person show, and Koep’s “Eclipsed Time (Flowers),” which stands at a good 17-by-6 feet and is part of a larger piece.

What isn’t shown is the amount of time and effort involved to get these works in spaces that will show them best, and that is usually an art form unto itself. Koep himself chooses where each work of art will be situated in the gallery. According to him, the process is like a puzzle.

“You really have to know and be familiar with the space you’re working with,” he explains. “It takes someone with a real sense of balance and equalization, and you have to understand that each person who submits their work wants to showcase their show to the best of their ability. We’re dealing with people’s egos here, so we have to be very careful not to insult people.”

Koep has a lot of potential egos to be careful with. This year, four full-time and 25 part-time instructors have submitted works to the faculty show; each of them has at least one or two pieces in the gallery. Of all the people he has dealt with, Koep says he has had only one or two who didn’t like the way he presented their works. He recalls that one person was upset because he forgot he had promised to give the artist a bigger spot.

Koep tries hard not to make mistakes like that again, at least with people who ask for a specific place to display their work. Luckily, it is the rare artist who is not happy with the way his or her works are presented, and people are generally pleased with the way each show turns out.

“Everyone is very proud of the gallery,” Koep says. “We usually have a mixture of shows per year. We also invite artists outside the community to show, which we find by visiting various studios. For a community college, this is the largest gallery in New Jersey.”

Koep also hopes that the college can one day make the gallery bigger and more enjoyable to the public. According to him, the college plans to make many renovations to the gallery in the fall of 2007. One of their many plans is to split the gallery into two, leaving the right part of the room for animation. Maybe then someone might be able to find the words to describe the gallery and the works within them, but until then, the gallery is open to anyone who wants to visit.

The gallery is open Monday, 3-8 p.m; Tuesday, noon-3 p.m., Wednesday, 1-8 p.m. and Thursday, noon-3 p.m. The current exhibit, “Dedicated to Discover: Fine Art From Corporate Artists,” runs to May 18.