Monthly Archives: January 2014

Franklin Commons

Art Gallery at Franklin Commons

Art Gallery at Franklin Commons, 400 Franklin Avenue, Phoenixville, PA, “New Perspectives” Exhibition, Saturday, January 25, 2014, 1:00 – 4:00pm.

“Join us for the Grand Opening of the Art Gallery at Franklin Commons in Phoenixville, PA! Located just ½ mile from downtown Phoenixville. The “New Perspectives” exhibition will be held on January 25, 2014 from 1:00 – 4:00pm. Take on a new perspective of photographs, sculptures and paintings by talented local artists! Don’t miss our first exhibition in support of the local arts!” – Katie Naber

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Robert Straight

Robert Straight: Strategy and Structure

P-509, 2013, 60″ x 56″  acrylic, fabric, paper, wood panel

Strategy and Structure: The Work of Robert StraightOld College Gallery, University of Delaware18 East Main St. Newark, DE 19716. February 12- June 29, 2014, Opening Reception, Thursday February 20, 5:00-7:00 PM. Gallery Hours Wednesday -Sunday 12:00 – 5:00 pm, Thursday – 12:00 – 8:00 pm

“This exhibition, offers the opportunity to experience the evolution of the artist’s increasingly complex architecture of abstract forms, in works from the early 1970s to the present. Robert Straight will offer a brief talk and walk-through of the exhibition on Saturday, June 7, 2- 2:45 pm. http://robertstraight.com

Robert StraightProfessor, University of Delaware

painter@udel.edu

www.robertstraight.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNFbeL5VRvE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz4X4p40S4k

http://geoform.net/interviews/an-interview-with-artist-robert-straight/

DoNArTNeWs: Robert Straight at Schmidt/Dean Gallery

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Plastic Club

Sam Park, Plastic Club New Members

Sam Park, August Moon Hwatu Card, oil, $2200.00, Plastic Club New Members 2014

Hwa-tu is the Korean version of the Japanese playing card game Hanafuda (花札?) are playing cards of Japanese origin that are used to play a number of games. The name literally translates as “flower cards.”[1][2] The name also refers to games played with those cards. There are twelve suits, representing months. Each is designated a flower, and each suit has four cards. Typically, each suit will have two normal cards and two special cards. The point values could be considered unnecessary and arbitrary, as the most popular games only concern themselves with certain combinations of taken cards.” – wikipedia

Sam Park‘s painting is large, the limited palette and geometric composition richly layered with oil paint and symbolism. The artist uses the symbolism of the card game to reflect on the idea of being a new player in an established group. Sam created this painting for the Plastic Club New Members 2014 show, he explained to me a few weeks ago how he was looking forward to adding the final symbol after developing the surface of the painting. The cosmological composition is more than geometry, it speaks about light and the combination of clues toward realization. Park is also a realist painter, his self portrait in oils in the Tea Room is sensual and sensitive.

Elke H. Muller, Plastic Club New Members

Elke H. Muller, Bicycle, photograph, $85.00, Plastic Club New Members 2014

To become a member of the Plastic Club the artist has to be known by several members and present three artworks to be reviewed by the membership committee. At the Plastic Club the art of photography is held in high regard with a contemporary esthetic towards image making. Bicycle by Elke H. Muller is a complex composition with information rich shapes and planes. The vivid cyan blue print is artisanal and thought provoking, the composition is a deceptively simple descriptive urban landscape. This photo was made with tungsten film in daylight, hence the blue color.

Lauren Reed, Plastic Club New Members 2014

Lauren Reed, Colors of the Sky, watercolor & ink, $60.00, Plastic Club New Members 2014

Colors of the Sky seems influenced by photography with the repeated patterns but the mix of watercolor and ink uses the natural fractals of the media to create a cosmic landscape. Like watching the night sky fade through the trees, the paintings have an animated relationship as they each speak about precious moments of nature.

Janice Balson, Plastic Club New Members 2014

Janice Balson, Rising Tide, oil, $485.00,  Plastic Club New Members 2014

Janice Balson, Plastic Club New Members 2014

Janice Balson, River Walk, oil, $485.00, Plastic Club New Members 2014

Janice Balson’sRiver Walk is a meditative and atmospheric landscape that looks a lot like Forbidden Drive along the Wissahickon River to me. The sense of solitude in nature and the solid painting style creates a grounded perspective with a subtle depth of field and informative liquid-y paint strokes. The hues of color offer so much data towards the narrative of the scene, there is a sense of temperature, the sun on your face, creating a familiar sensation of being outdoors in Winter, walking the path.

Plastic Club New Members 2014

Roberta Gross, Vessels of Light, pastel, $1000.00, Glenn Benge, March on 6th Street, July 4, 2012, digital pigment print, $250.00, Louise Vinueza, Sun Sets, oil, $450.00,  Plastic Club New Members 2014 through January 24th, 2014 at 247 South Camac Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107

The Plastic Club New Members 2014 includes twenty-two new member artists with 71 works of art spread throughout the galleries of the Plastic Club. New member committer chair Michael Guinn has introduced the Philadelphia arts community to wonderful artistic talents and terrific personalities, the more the merrier.

I personally am so grateful for the acceptance, camaraderie and inspiration the Plastic Club provides to me and the arts community. The outstanding art shows, informative salons, artist’s workshops, eclectic movie nights, delightful dinners, parties, barbeques and cocktail parties all make for an inclusive and supportive yet expressive environment for an aspiring artist.

Thank you so much to Cythia Arkin, Susan Stromquist, Bob Jackson, Alan Klawans, Mike Guinn, the board of the  Plastic Club and the many enthusiastic volunteers for keeping the organization strong, resilient and relevant to the contemporary art scene. There may be an artistic renaissance happening in Philadelphia now, but the Plastic Club is the third oldest art club in the USA (established in 1897) and has been exhibiting contemporary art by Philadelphia regional artists all along.

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ECO + FASHION

ECO + FASHION, Art in City Hall

Philadelphia, January 6, 2014 – The City of Philadelphia’s Art in City Hall program introduces its latest juried group exhibition, ECO + FASHION, featuring the works of 18 local artists and an installation by local boutique, United by Blue.  The exhibit is located in the Art Gallery at City Hall, Room 116. A reception is scheduled for Wednesday, January 8th, from 5:00 -7:00 pm.

The 18 participating artists are:
 Ellen Benson & Paulette Heilbrun, Lucy Bigham, Katie Coble, Mary DeMarco, Georgina Gozum, Lesley Haas, Melissa Madonni Haims, Donnetta Irvis, Marilyn Lavins, Joanne Litz, Lauren Marsella, Sienna Martz, Maria Nevelson, Bernice Paul, Eva Preston, Katya Roelse, Kendal Wilkins and Natalie Zuk.

Artists and designers today are finding innovative and surprising ways to combine the fields of fashion, environmentalism, ecology, and art. For this exhibition, creatives were invited to submit works that address the issues of sustainability and eco-consciousness in the context of fashion and wearable art. Artists and designers responded by submitting works created from sustainable materials, addressing sustainability as a practice; some challenging our definition of fashion itself, while others presented wearable eco-friendly works.

The exhibit features a number of works created from found objects, including Kendal WilkinsCycle Crinoline, made from bicycle parts, wires and window screen. The piece transforms dozens of bicycle cranks, rims, chain wheels, and streams of chains into an elegant, sculptural evening gown.

Wilkins explains: “I drew my inspiration for Cycle Crinoline from Victorian and modern day fashion, and the desire to transform utilitarian objects into something feminine and elegant.”

Wilkins draws her love of repurposing materials from her fellow artists at Sweet Mable Folk Art & Fine Craft, where they regularly transform tired, unused, and orphaned materials.

Lauren Marsella’s sets of earrings Tarzhay Old Glory and Mastercard Ammo are statements about our contemporary consumer culture. They are made from cut-up credit cards and bullet shells.

“Although the roles these items often play trouble me, it is possible to transform them into something beautiful and functional, to assign new meaning to their power.

An exhibit that welcomes the usage of found objects wouldn’t be complete without representation from Philadelphia’s own Dumpster Divers. Eva Preston reclaims discarded shoes and leather bags, and uses these found materials to elevate her love of comics as in her Ode to Gene Autry. Artist Ellen Benson & Paulette Heilbrun piece together vintage jeans and t-shirts to create Super Girl.

Benson views her wearable art as an extension of herself: “One of the great things about being an artist is that you can dress outrageously, colorfully, outlandishly, crazily—and it’s encouraged or even expected, especially because I am a Dumpster diva/member of the Philadelphia Dumpster Divers!”

Some of the wearable eco-friendly pieces in the exhibit can be imagined on a fashion runway, such as Georgina Gozum’s Mod Sack Dress and Pina Strap Dress, made from organic pineapple fiber; Katie Coble’s hand-painted and sewn fabric series: Raindrop, Knit and Gown; Joanne Litz’s Scrap Dress and Vest Poncho, made from repurposed sweaters and cottons as part of the artist’s Steel Pony Project; Katya Roelse’s Long Dress made from silk voile and silk linen blends; Natalie Zuk’s Moss Dress, made from live moss wrapping itself around the body of her African fabric; and Melissa Madonni HaimsPlarn Dress, a product of 40 plastic shopping bags crafted into yarn.

Haims explains the eco-consciousness behind her dress, “I am doing two things: reducing the amount of waste going into landfills and giving something with a semi-finite lifespan another chance.”

The exhibit also includes fashion accessories: a plarn bag designed by Lucy Bigham, co-owner of Tosheka Textiles, a Nigerian company in West Philadelphia; various organic silk scarves hand-dyed by Marilyn Lavins, Donnetta Irvis, Mary DeMarco, and Bernice Paul; shoes made from Paper Artist, Lesley Haas; wooden brooches that can be pinned on or worn on a string by artist Maria Nevelson; and Sienna Martz’s wearable plant-like sculpture, Collar, which is made from silk organza and wool.  

Martz sees her work as a process to form an interaction between the body and non-native recycled materials. “The materials I use are mainly found, recycled, and repurposed.  Using traditional fiber techniques in a contemporary method, the interaction between materials becomes an essential element in the concepts of my work.”

The exhibit extends to the hallway just outside the gallery in one of the large display cases where United by Blue takes eco-conscious fashion to another level.  United By Blue is a sustainable brand of apparel that was started in May of 2010 in Philadelphia. They recently opened a store in Old City where they double as a coffee house.  For each item the brand sells, they remove a pound of trash from oceans and waterways through company organized and hosted cleanups.

ECO + FASHION was juried by Joan K. Smith, a local independent curator and member of the Art in City Hall Advisory Committee.  The committee is made of local arts professionals and is currently chaired by Amie Potsic, Executive Director for the Main Line Art Center.

The exhibit runs thru February 28th

Art in City Hall presents exhibitions that showcase contemporary artwork by emerging and professional visual artists from the Philadelphia region. Encompassing a variety of mediums, techniques, and subjects, this municipal program is committed to presenting a diversity of ideas and artistic explorations.  The program strives to link visual artists with the larger community by providing the public with a greater knowledge and appreciation of their artistic achievements.  For more information on Art In City Hall, visit: www.facebook.com/artincityhall.

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