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The Skylands Museum of Art has a unique and eclectic collection of sculptures and paintings, each telling a story about some aspect of humanity, and collectively immersing the visitor in a fabulous world of rare imagination brought into being by national and international artists. From the graceful forms of creatures, both real and mythical, to introspective human figures, and imaginary places, the exhibits echo the intricate dance between life's mutability and artistic expression.
Join us for an engaging look at some of the museum's collections with sculptor and founder, Ailene Fields and Lisa Burghart, Director of Marketing & Outreach.
The Skylands Museum of Art opened in October 2023 and has been gaining recognition as an important venue for American and international 20th and 21st century art focusing on realism and modern surrealism. Complete with a sculpture garden, the museum is a delightful sanctuary where art, nature, mythology and humanity harmonize. The Skylands Museum of Art is home to a permanent collection of over 300 works of sculpture, paintings, illustrations and more. The collection depicts characters both real and imagined from fairy tales, literature, myth and from the artists’ deep personal connections with the world around them. The gallery rooms are filled with thoughtfully curated examples of approachable surreal and realistic works exploring Fairy Tales, Dragons, Sacred Spaces, the Human Psyche, Faces and Flowers, Baba Yaga (a Ukrainian fairy tale), Eastern vs. Western Animals and Mythology. The museum’s three floors are home to works by noted artists including Anne Bachelier, Brian Branch, Salvador Dali, Ailene Fields, Brian Froud, Leonor Fini, Pablo Picasso, Massimo Rao and many more.
The Museum was conceived by two collectors of this fine art. Sculptor Ailene Fields and her husband Dr. David Fields are enthusiasts of thought-provoking art work centered around characters, animals and portraits in all forms. Gallerist Neil Zukerman founded CFM Gallery in Manhattan’s Chelsea area, which represented art he was drawn to including imaginative works in surrealism and fantasy. Zukerman represented many well known and emerging artists like Leonor Fini, Anne Bachelier, Michael Parkes, Frederick Hart and Ailene Fields. The artists’ visions focus often on creatures of the imagination - sphinxes, dragons, unicorns, and angels with an enchanting elegance and grace. Together Fields and Zukerman decided to combine their collections and open a museum to share this engaging, yet unusual, art with the world. Shortly after Zukerman’s death the first steps to opening the doors of Skylands Museum of Art began.
The Skylands Museum of Art is a 501(c)(3) organization, a proud member of ArtPride New Jersey, New Jersey Association of Museums, Institute of Museum and Library Services, Sussex County Arts & Heritage Council and the Sussex County Chamber of Commerce. The museum is supported in part through the generosity of members and visitors whose donations have contributed to our expanded hours and programming. Skylands Museum is a first-time grant recipient, meriting funding made available in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, through the State/County Partnership Block Grant Program, as administered by Sussex County Arts and Heritage Council. The Skylands Museum of Art is open to the public each Friday and Saturday from 12 - 4 PM and is located at 15 Route 15, Lafayette, NJ 07848, USA. A $10 per person donation to support the museum is suggested. To learn more about The Skylands Museum of Art, visit www.skylandsmuseum.org.
Ailene Fields: Each project that Neil and I have committed to, including the Skylands Museum of Art, has a personal, spiritual, and communal value that is meant to connect us further to the best parts of ourselves. To reconnect with nature, our inner dreamer, and kindness towards ourselves and others. We all sometimes struggle in the day to day, and their hope is that the museum will give you a moment to breathe and enjoy the beautiful gift of our lives. “I love seeing the smiles on visitors’ faces as they complete their visit and are just so happy to spend time with this magical art! It’s a delight to share it with the world.”
Lisa Burghart: Since opening the doors in October of 2023, the Museum has been opening the eyes, hearts and minds of visitors. They consistently comment on how shocked they are to see this level of fine art here in northern New Jersey. They expect it to be in a major metropolitan city, not in a rural setting. They are charmed by the curation, how each piece seems to speak to the one nearby, adding to the visual connections of the pieces, subjects and artists. Some of our bigger name artists, like Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali, are displayed with artists less well known, but the response to each is equal.
We enjoy shining a light on these artists and their work with exhibitions and special events. Our recent The Phantom of the Opera exhibition by French surreal artist Anne Bachelier was punctuated with an opera performance and book signing. We like to say our inaugural exhibition “ended on a high note.” We invite you to visit and sign up for our eNewsletter on our website to learn about our current exhibition on Italian artist Massimo Rao.
The Italian artist Massimo Rao is now in our Spotlight, with what may be the largest collection on public view outside of his home town in Italy. See it from now through October 31.
This exciting series brings you new topics on the arts from local and regional organizations, museums and galleries. Each session features presentations from various experts, online with Zoom.
Our art talks Lunchtime Gallery Series is free to WWA Members (any level) and $10 to all others. Everyone must register. Zoom link will be in your event registration confrimation email.
Our art talks with the Lunchtime Gallery Series hope to inform and engage audiences with a range of topics in the arts. We bring in local organizations, providing a platform for them to reach new people with shared interests in learning and becoming informed in cultural topics, all presented in central New Jersey with Zoom.
Featured Art: Cast bronze sculpture at the top - Anima Heart by Bruce Lindsay. Pegasus by David Klass.
Established in 2010, West Windsor Arts is known for its exceptional education, innovative arts exhibitions and community service. West Windsor Arts cultivates the artist within us all, while inspiring a creative community that is engaged, inclusive and equitable.
