history with beautiful artwork

BY JENNIFER AMATO

The Freehold Raceway is the oldest half-mile horse racing track in the country. To honor Freehold Borough’s equine heritage, artists were invited to showcase that history through a public art installation, where horse sculptures were painted in designs highlighting the borough’s culture. Creating an outdoor, walkable art gallery, there are 12 locations along West and East Main Streets in the bustling downtown area for Freehold lovers, art lovers and horse lovers to indulge in the beauty and culture of Freehold.

What makes this Half Mile of Horses Art Walk even more special is that visitors can vote for their favorite horses. There is a QR code on every pedestal that brings you to the voting site.

Some of the horses chronicle the history of important locations in the borough.

Better Odds was designed by Lynne Fata to celebrate the Freehold Library, which was built in 1903 in a Georgian Revival-style architecture and is still beloved by residents today for “inviting us to wander inside to explore its bookshelves, maybe finding a book on local history, a novel by a favorite author or a calendar of local events.

please see HORSES, page 15

HORSES continued from page

14 The benches outside offer a perfect spot to read, dream and escape for a bit, as time and the world goes by.

“With the advances of technology, libraries are staying current in offering new ways to find what we need. A beautiful blue sky, a proud flag, a bench, a town clock, flowers in bloom and a library. Life in a small town,” she said in her artist statement.

Another borough staple is The Karagheusian Rug Mill, the manufacturing heart of Freehold for 60 years starting in the 1930s. The mill was owned and operated by two Armenian brothers who fled Turkey and immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s. Their showroom was in New York City, but the manufacturing was in Freehold.

“The design on this horse is from a vintage Karagheusian carpet. The rug’s background color is black, and the floral pattern is intricate and very colorful. I thought it would work well on one of Freehold’s half mile of horses,” Mary Caruso-Albert said of her horse, King Karagheusian.

Born in Freehold, USA pays tribute to hometown hero Bruce Springsteen: Eileen Petruch pays homage to the local celebrity by painting aspects of Freehold, American pride and freedom. She attached a 3D miniature Fender guitar, saxophone and sunglasses. She also built up the collar of the leather jacket and red bandana with clay.

The Painted Lady is based on the beautifully colorful Victorian homes in Freehold Borough – a Victorian home painted in three or more colors is actually called – of course - a painted lady, according to artist Brianne Van Vorst.

“Horses are like flowers – you need one in every color,” she said in her artist statement. Also based on geography and inspired by her family’s move from Nevada to New Jersey about six years ago, Toni Field from Its All About Art decided to mark that momentous occasion through her artwork.

“We took a giant leap of faith and we have been happy ever since. We love our community and our transition from Las Vegas to Freehold and what inspired me to design this

07728 horse in the way that I did,” she said in her artist statement.

“The inspiration for this design comes from our hometown and the beautiful Garden State,” artist Paige E. Reed said of Let It Grow. “This design includes fast facts about New Jersey, our hometown and good vibe quotes/inspirational sayings. Being an educator and lifelong resident of Freehold has provided me with a life of love, laughter, family and memories. With that, my No. 1 goal and inspiration for this design is to ‘let it grow.’ Let the love I have for this town/state breaks through space and time. “She trains daily in zero gravity, causing her to run over 770 mph! Her incredible speed causes her to break the sound barrier and expose her true intergalactic form,” according to her description of her project. grow and inspire others to live a life full of all beautiful things. I hope my horse brings you happy thoughts and comfort knowing there’s no place like home,” she said.

Artist Judith Mazzucco’s love of horses goes “WAAYYY Back” according to her design. Cave drawings are emblematic of mankind’s earliest connection to horses, according to her description.

“The horse has a hold on man, an inseverable bond. Now, as in the past, humans relate to horses in a myriad of ways, by drawing, photographing, sculpting, loving, owning and simply absorbing their presence.

I have created my interpretation of ancient cave paintings of horses on the horse sculpture. The present-day horse reflects the embodiment of its ancestors,” she said in her statement.

Some of the sculptures were based on pure beauty.

Melissa Hood created Growing Change with a collage of overlapping butterfly wings with each one arranged to create a rainbow.

Other artwork celebrates the beauty and mystique of the animal.

The farming industry in the Garden State was the impetus for Karen Martin to join the project. She decided to depict spring planting followed by fall harvesting.

“The horse provided the muscle to plow, harrow and harvest various crops,” she said of her creation, Harrow and Harvest.

A horse is measured by hands, or 4-inch increments. Knowing that a horse is proportionally measured at 6 hands wide by 7 hands high, Adam Reich created “6x7 Hands,” with the hands colored in blue and gold, the colors of the Freehold High School Colonials, in a way to “represent that these horses are to be embraced by our residents and those that enjoy the borough,” he said in his artist statement.

Intergalatic Galloper, by Tasheda Dutches, wonders if a horse could run so fast that it

“This horse represents change, kindness, growth, acceptance and peace,” she said.

Artist Marguerite Hemberger created her own take on Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” with a glittery black horse adorned with a silver mane, tail and hooves, and white muzzle.

The Half Mile of Horses Art Walk project is a collaboration between the Borough of Freehold, the Freehold Borough Historic Preservation Commission, DowntownFreehold.com and the Neighborhood Preservation Program.

View and vote for your favorite horse through Oct. 15. On Oct. 15 there will be a ribbon ceremony for Win, Place, Show (first-, second- and third-place, respectively) in front of the Hall of Records on East Main Street.

For more information, follow the Half Mile of Horses Art Walk on Facebook.