The NJCU Visual Arts Gallery in Jersey City is hosting an exhibition called Found and Reclaimed, featuring the work of sculptor Jerome China.
The exhibition runs from February 12, 2025, to March 20, 2025, giving visitors over a month to explore his unique collection.
Found and Reclaimed focuses on rediscovery, transformation, and reclaiming what has been lost or overlooked.
China’s work takes abandoned or forgotten objects and gives them a new purpose.
His work reminds us that things we think are lost can still be found and appreciated in a new way.
- Jerome China’s Found and Reclaimed exhibition at NJCU (Feb 12 – Mar 20, 2025) turns discarded metal into meaningful sculptures.
- The exhibition explores how lost objects, memories, and traditions can be found and given new life.
- China’s work shows that nothing is truly gone—everything can be reclaimed and transformed.
Giving New Life to Forgotten Objects
China creates his sculptures using found metal objects, materials that might have been thrown away or left unused for years.
Rather than letting them stay discarded, he reshapes and repurposes them into meaningful works of art, changing the appearance of metal and showing how objects, like ideas, can evolve over time.
For example, there are sculptures that use carefully reshaped rusted metal, and others combine different materials to create something new.
The process shows that things do not lose their value simply because they are old or broken; they can, amazingly, be reclaimed and given a new purpose.
Reclaiming Objects, History, and Identity
The idea of reclaiming goes beyond physical objects, as China’s work also explores reclaiming identity, history, and culture.
Many things, such as traditions, personal experiences, or entire cultural histories, are forgotten over time.
His sculptures act as a way to bring these things back into focus and make people think about what has been lost.
Through his art, China encourages people to reflect on what they may have left behind in their own lives.
Have they forgotten important parts of their past?
Have they ignored something meaningful without realizing it?
His work suggests that by looking back, people can find value in what they thought was gone.
Seeing the World in a New Way
As visitors walk through the exhibition, they will see sculptures that challenge their ideas about value and meaning.
China’s work asks an important question: Are things truly lost, or have we just stopped noticing them?
He also challenges the idea that things stay the same forever.
Something that was once discarded can be changed and used in a new way.
This applies not only to objects but also to memories, ideas, and personal experiences.
Through Found and Reclaimed, Jerome China shows that nothing is ever truly gone.
A piece of metal, a forgotten tradition, or a personal history can all be rediscovered and given a new meaning.
By the end of the exhibition, visitors may start thinking differently about what they keep, what they throw away, and what still holds value in their lives.
