A new watercolor exhibition opened Tuesday at the Summit Free Public Library, bringing two months of art to the heart of downtown.
"Where Light Lingers," a solo show by Bridgewater, New Jersey-based artist Aprajita Lal, fills The Gallery at the library through Saturday, Oct. 31. The show is open to the public during regular library hours with no registration required.
Lal's paintings focus on fleeting moments in the natural world. In her artist statement on the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey's website, she described the work as exploring the qualities of sunlight between seasons and how a landscape shifts when viewed in motion. She works primarily in transparent watercolor, a medium she has called unforgiving. Each wash must be laid down with intention, and the white of the paper, left unpainted, serves as the brightest light in each piece.
Lal has coined a term for her approach: LUMINEMOTIVE. Light, in her view, is something a painting feels, not merely depicts.
The featured work in the exhibition listing is "First Light 2," a 2026 watercolor measuring 24 by 18 inches.
From corporate VP to full-time artist
Lal was born and raised in India. According to Park West Gallery, which represents her, she left a corporate career in 2020 during a planned sabbatical and never went back.
She never went back.
On LinkedIn in July 2026, she reflected on the decision: "Six years ago this July, I stepped out of a secure corporate world—leaving behind the role of VP at J.P. Morgan Chase—to step into the silence of a full-time art studio."
Her work has since appeared at ArtExpo New York, Affordable Art Fair New York and Art Basel Miami. She has received the Silvia Maria Glesman Award from the Salmagundi Club and was named Best Contemporary Nature Artist of 2025 by LuxLife magazine. Her paintings are held in private collections across the United States and abroad.
Visiting the show
The Gallery at the Summit Free Public Library is a public-private partnership between the library and the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, funded by a grant from the Summit Area Foundation. The Visual Arts Center, at 68 Elm St. in Summit, also runs a year-long Artist-in-Residence Program at the library. Applications for the 2027 residency cohort are due Monday, Sept. 28.
The library is at 75 Maple St. in Summit. Hours are Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m.
Upcoming in Summit
- Through Oct. 31 — "Where Light Lingers" watercolor exhibition, The Gallery at Summit Free Public Library, 75 Maple St.
- Sept. 2 — Ginger Winn closes the Reeves-Reed Arboretum summer concert series.
- Monday, Sept. 28 — Applications due for the 2027 Summit Free Public Library Artist-in-Residence Program.
