the Buzz
BY DEBORAH SCHAPIRO
Last year, when Penelope Kernen was turning 50, her husband Joe, the co-anchor
of CNBC’s Squawk Box, asked her what she wanted for her birthday. “An art gallery,”
Penelope said. A longtime Short Hills resident and graduate of Millburn High
School, Penelope had worked in TV and was an avid art collector who had also
been buying art privately for friends and clients. When she and Joe bought her
childhood home from her mother in Short Hills, they renovated it and filled it with
art. In January, she received her birthday wish and opened PEANUT GALLERY on
Springfield Avenue in Summit. The gallery specializes in mid-century modern and
contemporary art: “I love abstract expressionism and all those pops of color,”
Penelope says. She carries art from all over the country, as well as local artists, and
sometimes develops crushes on the paintings, particularly that Peter Keil painting,
“Girls from Berlin,” hanging near the entrance. About the Keil, she says: “I do fall in
love with things, and I picture it in my house but once it’s gone, it’s gone and I’m
okay with it.” In addition to Keil, she’s currently showing paintings by Rolph Scarlett,
Karel Appel, Rex Ashlock, Larry Zox and Ben Georgia, among others. Georgia, who is
in his eighties, lives in West Orange and at the end of October, the gallery launched
a show of his colorful work that runs through after Thanksgiving.
PEANUT
Penelope urges prospective buyers to take paintings home and try them
GALLERY
out. “Everyone needs to see art in their house before they buy it, “she says,
338 Springfield Ave.,
“so I will schlep over eight pieces of art and they can live with it a few days.”
Summit
She works with decorators and architects and is happy to keep a “wishing
(973) 570-3991
wall,” i.e. a wish list of paintings people hope to give or receive as gifts for
peanutgallerynj.com
holidays, birthdays and special occasions.
In addition to selling art, the gallery is available at night for parties, charity
events, and book signings, at no charge. As for the name of the gallery, it’s not a
reference to Snoopy, Charlie Brown or the Charles Schulz Peanuts gang. Peanut is
the nickname Penelope’s husband Joe gave her 20 years ago. That said, because
the gallery is in a space that used to house a pet food and accessories store, “Dogs
come by and sniff because they know this space used to be Faux Paws,” Penelope
says, laughing. “I have to get some biscuits.”
SUNLIGHT
OF THE SPIRIT
YOGA STUDIO
685 Morris Turnpike,
Springfield, 973-467-1516
sunlightyogastudio.com
12
YOGA FOR EVERY BODY
Diane Davey has a message for anyone who thinks he or she can’t do yoga: You
absolutely can. Davey, the owner of SUNLIGHT OF THE SPIRIT YOGA STUDIO,
has taught yoga to people who suffer from arthritis or other ailments, as well as
those who are older or larger than the stereotypical practitioner. Sunlight classes
are as much a therapeutic modality as a form of exercise, she says: “We offer yoga as
an antidote to stress, depression, and the general scattered nature of today’s living.”
Davey describes her studio as traditional: “We offer both Hatha and Vinyasa, as
well as different beginner classes. This is not the place for trends like hot yoga.”
It is the place, however, to purchase beautiful yoga-related items. Sunlight, open
since October 2013, celebrated a grand re-opening this past Labor Day weekend
with the debut of its new boutique. The shop naturally offers yoga mats and props
such as blocks and blankets. In addition, though, there are glass incense holders,
essential oil blends, beautiful mat bags made from up-cycled saris, and Buddha
statues and Himalayan singing bowls, both best-sellers.
MILLBURN • SHORT HILLS MAGAZINE HOLIDAY 2016
PEANUT GALLERY PAINTINGS & EXTERIOR: COURTESY OF PEANUT GALLERY; PENELOPE KERNEN: LAURA ZINN FROMM;
YOGA: COURTESY OF SUNLIGHT YOGA STUDIO
PEANUT GALLERY: SELLING ART, NOT SNOOPY