Internationally renowned artist Mohamed Khalil’s remarkable talent for transforming seemingly mundane, everyday items into amazing objects of abstract artistic expression will be on display at the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission’s (NJMC) Flyway Gallery during the months of August and September.

The found-art exhibit, “Curbside Collections,” runs tomorrow (Tuesday, Aug. 2) through Friday, Sept. 30. A reception for Khalil is scheduled from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 6.

The show features close to 100 vivid acrylic, pencil and watercolor impressions with collage and mixed media,including a cocktail table top converted into a canvas for a dazzling piece depicting dawn in the city, a
discarded pallet from a Paterson mill with colorful memories of Khalil’s childhood, and a piece of wooden flooring found curbside transformed into the first of a series of pieces that can be displayed in a number of
different combinations.

  “I live and breathe art. That is what makes everything I touch change into a piece of art,” Khalil said. “I enjoy the wonder and happiness in the eyes of those who have seen my art, and that is what motivates me to produce art pieces almost every day.”

Khalil, a well-traveled Little Falls resident and Assistant Curator of the Paterson Museum, has been fascinated with found objects since his childhood in Egypt. He won his first art prize at age 6, an international competition between the Ministries of Cultures of Japan and Egypt. He has exhibited his work and won prizes at dozens of art shows over the past 20 years.

In 2008, Khalil was chosen to design an ornament for the White House Christmas Tree and met First Lady Laura Bush. His work has also been displayed at the Arab World Institute in Paris and in the private collection
of the Royal Family of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. To learn more about Mohamed Khalil, visit his website, www.metoart.com.

“The spectacular ingenuity and depth of detail on display in Mohamed Khalil’s work is truly outstanding,” said Marcia Karrow, Executive Director of the NJMC. “Mohamed’s multi-layered art invites multiple viewings.
Visitors are sure to discover new aspects each time they view his work.”

The Flyway Gallery is located in the Meadowlands Environment Center, in DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst. The gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday,
excluding holidays.

DeKorte Park encompasses one square mile of wetlands, nature trails and water views – framed by the New York City skyline – and is a great place for bird watching and enjoying nature in general.