Mindfulness in Medicine

September 8–November 1, 2022
Overlook Medical Center

The Visual Arts Center of New Jersey is proud to collaborate with Overlook Medical Center on Mindfulness in Medicine featuring paintings by Diana Hsu Kung and Matthew Langley. This art-in-health program brings mindfulness to Overlook Medical Center’s team members, patients, caregivers, and communities to help individuals develop and strengthen mindfulness and other healing arts and cultural practices and expressions.

This exhibit is curated by Thomas Dooley, Overlook Medical Center’s Poet-in-Residence, Melanie Franklin Cohn, the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey’s executive director, and Teaching Artist Susan Natacha González, to restore, renew, and refocus the mind, body, and spirit. Mindfulness presentation and guided meditation will be led by Archimedes Bibiano, Founder of Inner Alliance Education and Professor at Mt. Sinai Medical Center. It is part of a series of programs, each including visual arts, poetry, and other artistic expressions.

After Summer by Diana Hsu Kung

Diana Hsu Kung, After Summer, 2019
Oil on canvas, 40 x 30 inches.

Universe Series D-2 by Diana Hsu Kung

Diana Hsu Kung, Universe Series D-2, 2020-22
Oil on canvas 48 x 52 inches.

Diana Hsu Kung

Artist Statement
“My painting is always the sum of my whole experience—from the rich traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy training background in my younger days, to the Western abstract painting which I have been working on for many years. This is a long journey of process, with constant learning, observing, thinking, imaging, and discovering as well as creating. It reflects an honest shift through a change of space and time in my life. Vast, mysterious nature, the ever-changing world, and millions of things surrounding us serve as endless sources of inspiration and evolution. Abstract painting has allowed me to expand my subject matter and notion of what is beautiful. Viewers will find not only the emotional elements of the subject matter but also something like the wonder of nature in my paintings.

Artist Bio
Diana taught Chinese painting and calligraphy at St. John’s University in New York City for 10 years. She is currently teaching Chinese painting at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey in Summit, NJ, and at the Contemporary Art Center in Bedminster, NJ. She is an award-winning artist with many solo and group shows. Her work is in the collection of the Taiwan Provincial Museum and many private and public collections. Diana graduated from the National Taiwan University of Arts, majoring in Chinese Painting. She obtained a Master of Arts degree from both Montclair State University in NJ and New Rochelle College in NY. She is a resident of Warren, NJ.

Waterline by Matthew Langley

Matthew Langley, Waterline, 2021,
Acrylic on canvas, 40 x 40 inches.

Fading Light by Matthew Langley

Matthew Langley, Fading Light, 2021,
Acrylic on canvas, 40 x 40 inches.

Matthew Langley

Artist Statement
The exploration of color has, over time, become a primary focus of my work. This approach to color is instinctual, leaning heavily on my acquired knowledge as opposed to strict adherence to color theory. The outcome of the work carries with it a transparency of the process of its creation. I want the viewer to see the decisions made as well as to see the final artwork. The work is not pre-planned; almost all of it is improvisation. This improvisation is handled the way that a musician might work; that is, the experimentation is handled inside of the structure of the overall work, playing off initial ideas and extrapolating new ideas that emerge during the work. This gives way to new ideas in developing future work. It also illustrates my decision-making process in making new artworks. The resulting body of work consists of multiple markers that observe, comment, and reflect the decisions I’ve made in the studio.

Artist Bio
Matthew Langley studied at Virginia Commonwealth University and The Corcoran School of Art. While earning his BFA at Corcoran, he studied under luminaries such as Gene Davis, Robert Stackhouse, Tom Green, and other members of the Washington Color School and the D.C. artistic community. Now based in Manhattan, Langley’s work continues to garner local and national attention, recently appearing in publications including Art in America, New York Magazine, Southern Living, The Washington Post, The Washington City Paper, Elan Magazine, DCist, and The Bowie Star. He is also part of major national collections including Ernst and Young, D.C. Commission for the Arts and Humanities, MacAndrews & Forbes, The Doris Patz Collection (University of Maryland), and Saks Fifth Avenue.