Issa Sow – “Hoboken, from Old to New”

January 27 - March 10, 2019.

Issa Sow is a Hoboken artist in the truest sense of the word. Before moving to Hoboken from France about 7 years ago, he had never created art. He had always been an avid collector of traditional and contemporary art from his native Senegal and other countries. But he had never tried making art on his own until, he says, he was “reborn” here in Hoboken. He has learned from experience that moving to a new culture is an opportunity to change your perspective and undergo a transformation.

Sow is an autodidact — a self-taught artist who discovered his talent for creating artwork in acrylic paint, drawings and mixed media. Inspired by real life, each piece has a different personality and its own fingerprint. His artwork is constantly evolving, as he experiments with new concepts. He signs his art “Issa=2,” which represents the binary aspect of all things in life.

Issa Sow’s latest series will be on display in the Hoboken Historical Museum’s Upper Gallery, from Jan. 27 through Mar. 10, 2019. Titled “Hoboken: Old to New,” the exhibit consists of about two dozen works created from found objects from around Hoboken. Old objects like a cupboard door is repurposed as a canvas, decorated in bright colors with Sharpie oil pens.

A motif that appears throughout much of his work is the cowrie shell, which represents good fortune and the connection between animals and humans. The shells have served as currency in the distant past, and as a protection against the evil eye. To Sow, the shells also represent the harmony between earth and humanity. The shell symbolizes our connection with the earth.

He hopes the exhibit inspires visitors to think twice about the life cycle of manmade creations and our tendency to discard items after a single use. The byproduct of mass production is that our accumulated waste threatens our habitat here on earth.

“Humankind has the power to create items that can cause both progress and also destruction,” he says. “We need to be mindful about finding a balance that enables growth and progress without destroying the world we live in simultaneously. If everyone in Hoboken reused one item they were going to throw out instead of purchasing something new the impact could be significant.”

Sow is also the founder and curator of Issyra Gallery, a unique addition to the Hoboken art scene, located in the former Neumann Leathers factory building. The gallery represents work from local and international artists, as well as handpicked traditional and contemporary artwork from Africa, creating a beautiful mélange of amazing pieces. Many of Sow’s own works are mixed in, too.

He credits Hurricane Sandy for his rebirth as an artist. The gallery had originally opened in the Jefferson Trust building, right before the storm’s record flooding displaced him. The storm gave him a chance to rethink how to operate the gallery. He likes the energy at Neumann Leathers: “You can feel the old souls there.” He collaborates with other artists, musicians and poets to host a variety of cultural events there.

This exhibit is supported by a block grant from the State/County Partnership program for the Arts, administered by the Hudson County Division of Cultural and Heritage Affairs.