Donna O’Grady – “Light at Play in Hoboken”

August 1, 2021 - September 12, 2021.

Perhaps because she has traveled so much, Donna O’Grady sees the warm glow of community everywhere she looks in Hoboken. As she walks with her dog Asher from her apartment in uptown Hoboken to her studio at the Neumann Leathers complex, she says, “I find it refreshing to take different routes. I always discover something that inspires me to paint: like the way light is reflected on the brownstones, on gardens, stairs, through the gates and fire escapes.”

Born and raised in Jersey City, O’Grady later lived in North Haledon and Ringwood, New Jersey, then she put down roots in Hoboken nearly two decades ago. “I like the feeling of community as an artist with a studio in the Neumann Leather Building. I thrive off of the energy of other artists around me and find inspiration through their works. Although my studio mate and I work quietly on our own, I enjoy being able to share thoughts and ideas with another artist. There is a comfort in working in the presence of another artist’s creativity.”

A prolific painter, O’Grady has enjoyed many exhibitions of her oil paintings — on canvas as well as on repurposed tin ceiling tiles — in Hoboken, Jersey City and other galleries, in addition to an exhibition at the Hoboken Museum in 2016. 

Her love of living in Hoboken inspired her latest series of about a dozen paintings, including some nocturnal scenes. She explains, “I love the warm and inviting feeling I get from the glow of strung lights outdoors at restaurants, that soft, intimate spotlight cast on tables where friends gather at the end of the day at the local ‘streeteries’ to share a meal.” 

She adds, “When dusk approaches, I like to catch the glimmer of street lights darting through the leaves of trees as they flick on. Later, when voices and patrons drift homeward, a serenity washes over Hoboken revealing another side, a different light that spills out from windows. This is what inspires me to paint a series of nocturnal scenes of Hoboken.”

“The scenes I paint are urban, but on a deeper level they are a captured moment of community that makes Hoboken so special to those of us who call this city our home.”

“Light at Play in Hoboken: New Paintings by Donna O’Grady” will be on view in the Upper Gallery of the Hoboken Historical Museum from August 1 – September 12. Click here to learn more about the artist in a recent interview on the Museum’s YouTube channel. View more examples of her work at www.donnaogrady.com.

The 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.