The Alternative Press

 

PATERSON, NJ – Mayor Jeffrey Jones was walking through the Center City Mall recently when something caught his eye. It was a painting of the Great Falls on display at Center City Galleries. One thing led to another and soon arrangements were made to hang the painting in City Hall, near the main entrance.

No one is happier about that than the artist, 1^st Ward resident Joseph Morello. “Actually, this is one of my dreams,’’ said Morello. “I always wanted to have one of my paintings hanging there. This way, a lot of people are going to see my work.’’

The folks at the gallery are pretty excited, too. “Having this Center City painting/artist on exhibit in City Hall cements our place in and our commitment to this community,’’ said David Buckbinder, one of the gallery’s operators. “It establishes CCG as an integral part of Paterson's culture and its arts.’’

Morello didn’t know about the gallery when it first opened in 2010. An immigrant from Sicily, he was taking an English as a Second Language course at a program on Church Street when one of the coordinators there who was familiar with his interest in art mentioned it to him. Now Morello, a retired pipefitter, spends at least three days a week painting at the galley and on weekends he gives art lessons there to city youths.

Morello works in ink, watercolors, oils and airbrush. Many of his works have science fiction themes. But he also loves painting landscapes of Garrett Mountain and the area around the Great Falls. The work being exhibited in City Hall was painted more than a month ago, Morello said.

For many years, he lived in the 6^th Ward, near the corner of 21^st Avenue and 20^th Street. Morello came to the United States in December 1971. “I had $1.50 in my pocket,’’ he recalled. “Now I have much more than that.’’