Harry Matti Hukkinen Is JerseyArts.com's July 2011 Featured Artist

NEW JERSEY: Harri Matti Hukkinen of Neptune, NJ, is JerseyArts.com's Featured Artist for July, 2011. This summer, Hukkinen's work may be seen as part of The Shore Institute of Contemporary Art's urban sculpture park, Sculptoure '11 at Wesley Lake Green in Asbury Park, NJ, and a display of his work is available for viewing online at http://jerseyarts.com/ArtistGallery.aspx.

Hukkinen emigrated from Finland to the U.S. at a young age and grew up in New Jersey. Today, he works as a multimedia artist utilizing a variety of materials, including sculpture, painting, installations, and video. Currently pursuing a Masters of Fine Art at The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA, he has a vast array of experience and recently traveled to Dubai for the opening of the 29th Annual Exhibition of the Emirates Fine Arts Society, Sharjah, UAE, where his Styrofoam Series photography was on display from January to May, 2011.

"I appreciate Harry's intent to use artwork as a 'universal language,' transcending cultural barriers by way of technique and visual communication," said Emily Ambash, curator of JerseyArts.com's Virtual Gallery. "His styrofoam installations and marble sculptures, in particular, demonstrate his unique ability to represent cultural and artistic diversity in multimedia settings."

"My work reflects my physical, spiritual, and emotional relationship with the world," said Hukkinen. "My vision is to weave a global community of networked artists, aided by new media technology, utilizing Location Based Sculpture as a symbolic platform for cross-cultural exchange and dialogue."

The JerseyArts.com Virtual Gallery features artwork from an array of New Jersey artists. Artists are selected by JerseyArts.com based on a variety of different criteria including but not limited to whether: the artist is working and living in New Jersey, has an event taking place in a New Jersey venue, and/or has earned special recognition from a New Jersey organization/program during month they are featured.

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ABOUT DISCOVER JERSEY ARTS

Discover Jersey Arts (DJA) is a cosponsored project of the ArtPride New Jersey Foundation and New Jersey State Council on the Arts working in partnership with other cultural service organizations statewide including the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, South Jersey Cultural Alliance, and New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism. The project's mission is to increase the awareness of and participation in the arts in New Jersey. JerseyArts.com supports this mission by providing a central clearinghouse of information on New Jersey's cultural scene.

Since its launch in the summer of 2000 following more than two years of research and development into assessing the needs of its constituents, DJA has developed a wide variety of programs and initiatives to support our state's cultural community and arts-going public. For more information visit DJA on the web at http://www.jerseyarts.com.