Brookdale Community College issued the following news release:
Brookdale Community College invites the public to view a moving pre and post 9/11 photograph tribute by award winning local photographers Gary Gellman, Howell, and Veronica L. Yankowski, Bloomfield. The special exhibit will be on display at the Western Monmouth Branch Campus, 3680 Route 9 South, Freehold, September 6 - 20. Monday through Thursday viewing hours will be 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. and Fridays from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
The exhibit is free and the public is invited to a Meet the Artist reception in the gallery Tuesday, September 19 from 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. A special invitation is extended to middle and high school students to attend the reception and ask the photographers about their work.
Gellman's World Trade Center photographs celebrate the years prior to September 11, 2001 and the majesty of the Twin Towers structures. In stark contrast, Yankowski's photographs chronicle the tragic aftermath of the Towers' destruction.
Gellman began his video production career at the age of 16, working at a Monmouth County public access television cable station. He produced programming for Cable Television of New Jersey from 1985 - 1989, advancing to the newsroom at WWOR-TV in 1988. He completed his broadcasting and journalism work at The College of New Jersey. He founded Gellman Images, Adelphia, in 1989 and, to better guide the firm through its early years, took business development classes at Brookdale.
Gellman has covered events for Fortune 500 companies, professional sports figures, former Governors and Presidents. His production, 'A Presidential Visit to Our Hometown,' was included in the United States Senate Gallery in Washington, D.C. He has been featured nationally on the CBS 'Early Show' and on network television affiliates in major cities. Gellman Images is a member of the New York Professional Videographers Association and the Professional Photographers Association of New Jersey.
In recognition of his achievements at the age of 38, Gellman was recently included in NJBiz Magazine's 40 Under 40 business achievers class. The honor is given only to 40 entrepreneurs and/or corporate executives a year who are willing to take risks and assume major responsibility at an early age. Yankowski has been a professional photographer for 11 years, devoting most of her time to photojournalism. She has worked with top news organizations in the area including The Associated Press, The Star Ledger and The New York Times. Her talents have been recognized with over 20 awards from organizations including the New Jersey Press Photographers Association, the New Jersey Press Association and the Suburban Newspapers of America. Her most heralded works include her pictorial essay on the aftermath of September 11th and her collection of environmental portraiture.
Yankowski was given the first ever solo exhibit at Rider University, following her 1996 cum laude graduation from the University. Highlighting the exhibit was her photo essay on the Million Man March in Washington, D.C. She began working part-time for The Trentonian and by 1998, began freelancing, and advanced to a staff position with Greater Media Newspapers, Freehold. There she distinguished herself through several award-winning photo essays, one of the most noteworthy featuring a high school wrestler with amputated legs.
Following the tragedy of September 11, 2001, Yankowski went to New York City to photograph the aftermath of the disaster. Accompanied by two Port Authority officers, she was escorted to Ground Zero to photograph what was left of the World Trade Center and to document the work of police officers and firefighters working 24 hours a day in search of survivors. This essay, along with her other more artistic works found her a publishing contract with Muse Productions which published Dialogue 3 in 2002. The book led to exhibitions of her work across New Jersey including, locally, the Strand Theater, Lakewood and the Monmouth Beach Cultural Center.Since 2003, Yankowski has devoted her talents to Chiarascuro Photography, her fine art portraiture photography business.
Her style blends a dramatic journalistic style approach with a softer, more humanistic view of maternity, babies, childhood and related moments of life. She continues to freelance for several newspapers throughout the state while enjoying her one year old daughter, Anastasia, and husband, Gregory.'We are excited to provide a venue to local emerging arts, especially former Brookdale student artists interested in showing their works. Our gallery provides them the opportunity to share their talents with students and the community,' said Helen Z. Antholis, Director of the Western Monmouth Branch Campus.The Western Monmouth Branch Campus is located behind the Bank of America. The photographs will be on display in room 101. For more information regarding the reception and exhibit, call 732-625-7005.
