13 and 30

Opening reception Sat., Aug. 9, 6-9 p.m., free, exhibit runs through Aug. 31, Artists' Gallery, 32 Coryell St., Lambertville, N.J., 609-397-4588, lambertvillearts.com.

by Annamarya Scaccia

visual arts

Tom Cochrane might have said it best back in 1991: Life is a highway. It's a statement that rings true for the many people living along U.S. Routes 13 and 30, the old "Lincoln Highway," where remnants of the past, like diners, neon business signs and dilapidated houses, stand amid corporate vitalization.

The two highways are also the inspiration behind "13 and 30," opening this Friday at Artists' Gallery in Lambertville, N.J. The exhibit is a collection of nearly 30 original watercolors by local artists Rich Harrington and Gail Bracegirdle that capture the many "relics of the past" found on the two routes.

For Harrington, Route 13 (the north-south road running from Philadelphia to North Carolina) and Route 30 (which runs east to west from New Jersey to California) symbolize the obsolete — like his painting of a '32 Ford settling into the ground behind a barn — which he views as survivors in a transitory world. "There is a certain corporate architecture and blandness taking over our landscapes, with Starbucks, Wal-Marts and Applebee's that are nearly identical being built all over," he says. "However, it does make an original shiny aluminum diner stand out ever more as a survivor. These survivors deserve to be preserved in paint."

In other words, don't take your local greasy spoon for granted.

Opening reception Sat., Aug. 9, 6-9 p.m., free, exhibit runs through Aug. 31, Artists' Gallery, 32 Coryell St., Lambertville, N.J., 609-397-4588, lambertvillearts.com.