Art Gallery

Welcome to The Ruth Bauer Neustadter Gallery at HACPAC, a captivating space where both local and professional artists converge to showcase their remarkable talent. Our gallery is a dynamic hub that celebrates the diverse artistic expressions from within our community and beyond.

All are invited to attend the gallery reception for artist Bong Jung Kim on Thursday, September 10.

Bong Jung Kim (b. 1962, Seoul, Korea) is a New York- and New Jersey-based painter and mixed-media artist. He received his B.F.A. from Seoul National University and has lived and worked in New York since 1990.

Kim’s practice explores transformation, memory, identity, and the evolving relationship between humans and technology. Working with discarded electronic components, circuit boards, mechanical fragments, and other found materials, he reconstructs objects that have lost their original function into new visual forms. These materials retain traces of human use, communication, and technological history while taking on new meanings through assemblage and transformation.

Recurring facial forms and fragmented structures in his work question the boundaries between the human and the machine, and between the organic and the artificial. Rather than presenting technology as separate from human existence, Kim explores the increasingly ambiguous space where identity, consciousness, and material presence intersect.

Kim has presented solo exhibitions in New York, New Jersey, Greece, and internationally, including at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Crete, John Jay College, Elga Wimmer-Hyun Contemporary, One Art Space, Kate Oh Gallery, and the Belskie Museum. His recent and upcoming solo exhibitions include Imperfect Sublime (2025), Between Pulse and Horizon (2026), and The Other Gaze (2026).

Through reconstruction, Kim views what has been discarded not as an ending, but as the beginning of another form of existence.

Upcoming Gallery Events

Illumination 250

Join us for Illumination 250 on October 3 in the heart of downtown Hackensack. The event will feature five major interactive public art installations, 15 live performances, and more. You can also participate in a giant puppet-making workshop and join a puppet parade. It’s sure to be a celebration you won’t want to miss!

Towards the Future – Gallery Reception

All are invited to attend the opening reception of Towards the Future, a colorful and mesmerizing solo exhibition of works by artist, Gustavo Rojas, on Thursday October 8th, 6-9pm in the gallery. Gustavo Rojas is an American artist born in Bogotá, Colombia and currently living and working in Teaneck, New Jersey. He studied art […]

Meet the Curator

Kim Schmitt Thomas

Art Gallery Curator

Kim’s mission for the Gallery at HACPAC is twofold. By bringing compelling and lively exhibitions to the community, Kim hopes to encourage a deeper appreciation for art, as it holds the power to greatly enrich our lives, especially in today’s fast paced, high-tech world. Additionally, while exhibiting the works of more established artists, Kim also seeks out new motivated artists who have built cohesive and intriguing bodies of work. As a full-time working artist herself, Kim is aware of how challenging it can be for emerging artists to be granted gallery exhibitions and believes in offering opportunities for new creatives to show their work. In addition to her work as Gallery Director and Curator for the Gallery at HACPAC, Kim works as the in-house artist at hOMe Store, an interior design and furnishing store in Hawthorne, NJ. There, she paints original pieces in her studio and also creates commissioned works specifically for clients’ spaces. Kim is also represented by Barsky Gallery of Hoboken, NJ, CINQ Gallery in Dallas, TX, The Art Collective Gallery in Rogers, AR, and also exhibits at Glen Hansen Studios in Southold, NY, as well as the Gallery at HACPAC. Kim’s work hangs in both private and corporate collections across the country, and has been featured in (201) Magazine, The Bergen Record, The New York Times, Furniture Today, Dallas Style & Design Magazine.