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MAIN GALLERY EXHIBITION: 

SANGITA PHADKE
THE UNDERSTORY

SOFT PASTEL PAINTINGS

June 15th, 2025 - July 31st, 2025​​

Opening Reception

Sunday, June 22nd, 2025 

4:00pm - 6:00pm

Main Gallery Hours:

Tuesdays - Sundays: 10am-4pm

Mondays Closed

EXHIBIT STATEMENT

Deep in the understory of the forest, there is a world of life filled with shadows that curl around tree trunks and disappear into the darkness. Every once in a while, sunlight finds its way through all the overlapping branches and leaves. The light that reaches the forest floor feels lighter when held up to all this darkness, almost like it’s glowing.

 

“The series of paintings in The Understory are my attempt to capture this powerful relationship between light and dark.”

ARTIST STATEMENT

Sangita Phadke is a self-taught artist from Colts Neck, NJ.  Her award winning paintings have hung in some of the most prominent museums, galleries, and private collections across America and abroad, including The United States Embassy, the San Diego Art Institute, the Butler Institute of American Art, The National Arts Center in Taipei Taiwan, and The Art Gallery of Hamilton Ontario. Phadke grew up in the Chicago suburbs and graduated with a degree in finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  She soon realized that her true calling was to tell stories through art. In a short period of time, she received the designation of “Master Pastelist” by the Pastel Society of America and the International Association of Pastel Societies. Her work has been featured in Fine Art Connoisseur, American Art Collector, The Artist’s Magazine, Pratique des Arts (France), The Pastel Journal, Les Maitres du Pastel (France), International Artist Magazine, and Southwest Art Magazine.

In her pastel paintings, her subjects sit in the dark illuminated by a strong spotlight, as if they are on stage.  She focuses on a piece of fruit, a flower, or a figure. Phadke arranges her compositions to create dramatic contrasts between the subject and the dark backgrounds.  She also adds curiosities, a scratch in the surface of a fruit or an unexpected color in a strand of fabric that can only be seen at close distances. While her subjects are unique in color, form, and shape, they all have a connection to nature and above all they have life.

For further information on Sangita Phadke, check out her Instagram @sangitaphadkefineart

or visit her website: https://www.sangitaphadke.com/!

Contact Us

Thanks for submitting!

Or call us at (732) 747-2266

HOURS OF OPERATION:

(Hours of operation for each wing subject to change due to private tours & exhibit changes, check homepage for most accurate hours)

Wonder Wing & Galleries:

Tuesdays - Fridays: 10am to 4pm

Saturdays & Sundays: 10am to 4pm


Becker STEAM Wing &
Garrett Reisman Center for Air & Space:

Tuesdays & Wednesdays: CLOSED

Thursdays & Fridays: 10am to 2pm

Saturdays & Sundays: 10am to 4pm

Monmouth Museum is closed on Mondays

Located at 765 Newman Springs Rd., Lincroft, NJ 07738 on Brookdale Community College campus

Follow signs to Parking Lot 1

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The Monmouth Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Tax ID 22-1739205.

©2025 Monmouth Museum

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