Exhibits & Events

Montclair, NJ, (November, 2025) – Studio Montclair is delighted to announce its first juried sculpture exhibition, “Not Just Set In Stone”. The exhibition will run from November 14 to December 12 at Studio Montclair’s Leach Gallery, 641 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair, NJ. The opening reception and announcement of cash awards will take place on Friday, November 14, from 6 to 8pm.

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“Not Just Set In Stone” celebrates the limitless potential of mediums, showcasing both representational and abstract sculptures. Artists were encouraged to explore the “myriad materials beyond stone” available to them as makers, and the resulting exhibition reflects remarkable diversity.

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The artists collectively utilize all four core sculptural processes. Some have chosen to carve, model, or cast pieces from conventional materials including clay, plaster, cement, wood, and metal, while a number of artists construct their work using found objects of manmade or organic origin. Other artists employ unconventional materials in unexpectedly striking ways. The exhibition presents a balanced selection of freestanding sculptures and wall-mounted reliefs.

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The phrase “set in stone” signifies something permanent or unchangeable, like words carved into a stone tablet. By reinterpreting this expression, Studio Montclair encourages both artists and viewers to look beyond stone as the definitive sculptural material, while suggesting that the boundaries of sculpture can be fluid and subject to reinterpretation.

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About the Juror:

Mary Birmingham is an independent curator based in Montclair, NJ. She began her career at the Whitney Museum and worked for nine years in the curatorial department at the Montclair Art Museum. She was Director of Exhibitions at the Hunterdon Art Museum from 2007-2010, and Curator at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey from 2010-2022.  Birmingham received an MA in Art History from Hunter College, New York. She has organized more than one hundred exhibitions and has written and lectured on a variety of topics in American and contemporary art.

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