Monthly Archives: March 2016

Moments

Moments, Eli Smith, 3rd Street GalleryEli Smith, TS sit StiLL, 3rd Street Gallery

Moments, Eli Smith at 3rd Street Gallery

“I want to capture the periods when we break down and lose control; when we become what we fear and even what we hate. In these moments when we become completely vulnerable, we close in on ourselves and wish those outside do not see. My intention is to evoke empathy with what I believe is a common struggle.” – Eli Smith

Eli Smith, Moments, 3rd Street GalleryEli Smith88, 3rd Street Gallery

3rd Street Gallery, 45 North 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (215) 625-0993 – Wednesday, March 30 – May 1, 2016, First Friday, April 1, 5-9pm, Artist Reception, Sunday, April 3, 1-4pm

Moments. Eli Smith, 3rd Street GalleryEli Smith, And Again,3rd Street Gallery

“I am a Philadelphia based artist, mostly working in oil paint, as well as gouache and charcoal. Much of my art is monolithic and epic in form and style, adhering to bold imagery. I want the viewer to be unable to ignore my work, I want it to grab them and not let them go until they have noticed it, even if they cannot fully appreciate it. My desire as a painter stems from my inadequacy as a social colleague.” – Eli Smith artist statement excerpt

Contact:

Eli Smith, Philadelphia, PA 19104
eli@elismithart.com
www.elismithart.com
Please contact artist for purchases, commissions, etc.

About 3rd Street Gallery

Since its inception in 1978, 3rd Street Gallery has been an artist-run cooperative in Philadelphia’s Old City neighborhood. The gallery brings together past and new generations of independent artists, who actively create new work for the gallery’s exhibitions. Splitting their time between their studios and the gallery, our member artists volunteer their efforts on the day-to-day business and logistical operations of the gallery that enables our cooperative to adapt to the ever-changing world of art.

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Pop

International Pop, Philadelphia Museum of ArtInternational Pop, Philadelphia Museum of Art

Through May 15, 2016

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is presenting a groundbreaking survey of an important movement that explores a global phenomenon that was shaped by artists working in many different countries throughout the world. International Pop features paintings, sculpture, assemblage, installation, printmaking, and film by eighty artists, drawn from public and private collections, and offers an intriguing new look at a subject that is familiar. Viewing Pop Art through a much wider lens, it is sure to delight audiences and broaden their understanding of one of the most significant chapters in the history of contemporary art. This is the first traveling exhibition in the United States to present a comprehensive account of the development of Pop Art during the 1960s and 1970s. The Philadelphia Museum of Art is the final venue and the only East Coast presentation.

International Pop, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Richard HamiltonHers is a Lush Situation, 1958, Richard Hamilton, (Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, UK, Wilson Gift through the Art Fund, 2006)

Timothy Rub, the George D. Widener Director and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, stated: “Pop was one of the most iconic art movements of the second half of the twentieth century. This exhibition is an ambitious effort to explore its emergence and impact far beyond the borders of the United States and Britain. We are delighted that in Philadelphia we are adding to the exhibition some important works from private collections and our own holdings of contemporary art.”

International Pop, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Ushio ShinoharaOiran, 1968, by Ushio Shinohara (Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo) © Ushio and Noriko Shinohara

Highlights of International Pop include works of major British and American artists presented in juxtaposition with works by artists from other countries that were centers for the development of Pop Art. Hers is a Lush Situation, a work painted in 1957 by one of the seminal figures of this movement, the British artist Richard Hamilton, offers a witty commentary on the advertising adage that sex sells. It treats the forms and shapes of a Buick as an evocation of the human body, punctuated by a cut-out of Sophia Loren’s lips.  Other artists would look at this issue in a different light. In O Beijo (The Kiss) of 1967, for example, the Brazilian Waldemar Cordeiro turns the lips of Bridget Bardot into a mechanized image of a kinetic sculpture, fusing pop culture and emerging computer technology. By contrast, in Ice Cream, the Belgian artist Evelyne Axell paints a woman licking an ice cream cone from a radically feminized perspective, at once quoting and challenging notions of sexual desire.

International Pop, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Dalila PuzzovioDalila doble plataforma, 1967, by Dalila Puzzovio (Mock Galeria, Buenos Aires)

International Pop, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Hélio OiticicaBe an Outlaw, Be a Hero (Seja Marginal, seja herói), 1967, by Hélio Oiticica (Philadelphia Museum of Art: Purchased with funds contributed by the Committee on Modern and Contemporary Art)

A key work shown only in Philadelphia is Jasper Johns‘s Flag, 1958, in which the artist represents the iconic image of the American flag in a literal way and at the same time utilizes it as a vehicle for exploring new possibilities for contemporary painting. Other works, such as Antônio Henrique Amarals Homenagem ao Século XX/XXI (20th/21stCentury Tribute), 1967, suggest that such an image could not be separated from the dominance of America as a cultural power in Brazil at this time. Ushio Shinohara‘s Coca-Cola Plan (After Rauschenberg) of 1964 reflects the complex relationship between Japanese artists and their American counterparts, whose work they largely experienced through print media. Also seen only in Philadelphia are Mimmo Rotella’s The Hot Marilyn, 1962—a decollage of an Italian movie poster shredded from wear on the street—and Ed Ruscha’s Felix, 1960, an early example of his work in the idiom of Pop Art, of which he was one of this country’s pioneering figures.

International Pop, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Gerhard RichterWoman Descending the Staircase (Frau die Treppe herabgehend), 1965, by Gerhard Richter (The Art Institute of Chicago; Roy J. and Frances R. Friedman Endowment: Gift of Lannan Foundation) © Gerhard Richter

International Pop, Philadelphia Museum of Art, ErróFoodscape, 1964, by Erró, Oil on canvas, (Moderna Museet, Stockholm)

International Pop, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Joe TilsonLOOK! 1964, by Joe Tilson (Walker Art Center, Minneapolis: Art Center Acquisition Fund, 1966) © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / DACS, London

Emerging first in the United Kingdom and the United States, Pop Art soon become an international phenomenon, finding expression in a bewildering variety of different forms and media. It was a product of a revolutionary social and political era as well as a response to the proliferation of consumer culture in the decades after World War II and the media—magazines, television, and motion pictures—that fueled its growth. The exhibition gives visitors a rare opportunity to see Pop Art in a new light. It examines the factors that shaped artistic activity in the social democracies of Europe, the military regimes of Latin America, and Japan in the aftermath of U.S. occupation. It includes sections closely examining vital hubs of Pop activity in Great Britain, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, the United States, and Japan. International Pop also brings together works from diverse geographic regions and different periods during the development of the movement to explore common themes and subjects.

International Pop, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Richard HamiltonEpiphany, 1964-1989, by Richard Hamilton (Collection of Rita Donagh), © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / DACS, London

International Pop, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Evelyne AxellIce Cream, 1964, by Evelyne Axell (Collection of Serge Goisse, Belgium)

International Pop, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Edward RuschaStandard Station, Amarillo, Texas, 1963, by Edward Ruscha (Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire: Gift of James Meeker, class of 1958, in memory of Lee English, Class of 1958, scholar, poet, athlete and friend to all) © Edward Ruscha, courtesy Gagosian Gallery

Among the other artists featured in International Pop are James Rosenquist, Claes Oldenburg, Jim Dine, Rosalyn Drexler, and Andy Warhol (United States); Peter Blake, and Pauline Boty (Great Britain); Konrad Lueg, Sigmar Polke, and Gerhard Richter (Germany); Keiichi Tanaami, and Genpei Akasegawa (Japan); Antônio Dias (Brazil); and Marta Minujín, Dalila Puzzovio, and Edgardo Costa (Argentina); Sergio Lombardo and Mario Schifano (Italy); and Yves Klein, Niki de Saint Phalle, and Martial Raysse (France).

International Pop, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Tom WesselmannStill Life #35, 1963, by Tom Wesselmann (Collection of Claire Wesselmann) © Visual Artists and Galleries Assoc., Inc. (VAGA), New York

International Pop, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Roy LichtensteinLook Mickey, 1961, by Roy Lichtenstein (National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Roy and Dorothy Lichtenstein in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art

International Pop, Philadelphia Museum of Art, James RosenquistZone, 1961, by James Rosenquist (Philadelphia Museum of Art: Purchased with the Edith H. Bell Fund, 1982-9-1) © Visual Artists and Galleries Assoc., Inc. (VAGA), New York

Curator: Erica F. Battle, The John Alchin and Hal Marryatt Associate Curator of Contemporary Art

Support: International Pop is organized by the Walker Art Center. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

Major support for the exhibition is provided by the Henry Luce Foundation, the Prospect Creek Foundation, the Terra Foundation for American Art, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and the Margaret and Angus Wurtele Family Foundation. Additional support is generously provided by Judy Dayton, Lyn De Logi, Marge and Irv Weiser, and Audrey and Zygi Wilf.

In Philadelphia, the exhibition is supported by the Estate of Phyllis T. Ballinger, the Women’s Committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Annenberg Foundation Fund for Major Exhibitions, The Laura and William C. Buck Endowment for Exhibitions, the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, and the Japan-United States Friendship Commission. Additional generous donors include John Alchin and Hal Marryatt, Mitchell L. and Hilarie L. Morgan, Isabel and Agustín Coppel, Jaimie and David Field, Marsha and Jeffrey Perelman, and Lyn M. Ross.

Corporate support generously provided by RBC Wealth Management.

The Museum gratefully recognizes exhibition media partner Time Out.

Publication: The exhibition is accompanied by a fully-illustrated catalogue. It is the first major survey to chronicle the emergence and development of Pop art from an international perspective, focusing on the period from the 1950s through the early 1970s. Including original texts from a diverse roster of contributors, the catalogue offers important new scholarship on the period. The volume includes some 320 illustrations, including full-color plates of each work in the exhibition, integrating many classics of Pop art with other rarely seen works.  Published by the Walker Art Center, the hardbound 368-page volume is distributed by Distributed Art Publishers.

“Passport to Pop” Public Programs: In Philadelphia, the exhibition will be accompanied by Passport to Pop, a series of public programs including artists’ talks, lectures, panel discussions, and special tours. In addition, the Philadelphia Museum of Art is collaborating with International House, in West Philadelphia, and Ed Halter of Light Industry, New York, to host eight nights of Pop art films from February to May.

Social Media:

Facebook and Twitter: philamuseum

Tumblr: philamuseum

YouTube: PhilaArtMuseum 

Instagram: @philamuseum

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is Philadelphia’s art museum. We are a landmark building. A world-renowned collection. A place that welcomes everyone. We bring the arts to life, inspiring visitors—through scholarly study and creative play—to discover the spirit of imagination that lies in everyone. We connect people with the arts in rich and varied ways, making the experience of the Museum surprising, lively, and always memorable. We are committed to inviting visitors to see the world—and themselves—anew through the beauty and expressive power of the arts.

Thank you to The Philadelphia Museum of Art for the content of this post. Search engine optimization and Photoshop by DoN Brewer.

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Syd

Syd Torchio at Jinxed West PhillySyd Torchio at Jinxed West Philly

Written and photographed by Laura Storck

On March 12th, I was fortunate to attend the opening reception of Syd Torchio’s exhibit sponsored by Sarah Theilke and Stephanie Slate of Gush Gallery at Jinxed West Philly. Luckily about 10 minutes early, I had a few private moments to speak to the artist himself about his work, artistic process, training, and to spend a few moments to get better acquainted. Syd was very affable and looked very charming as he wore dark attire with his signature black fedora. Besides practicing as a painter for the past 25 years, I learned that he initally began his artistic training in ceramics in the years prior. In addition, Syd is also a musician who plays French Horn for the West Philly-based band Taupe – a true Renaissance man!

Syd Torchio at Jinxed West Philly

Syd Torchio at Jinxed West Philly

Syd Torchio at Jinxed West Philly

Syd Torchio at Jinxed West Philly

Mr. Torchio’s gouache portraits are created with very deliberate and colorful strokes, almost as bold as the countenances they honor. Some individuals portrayed in his expressive paintings are family and friends, but several are the free-spirited, nonconformist, eccentric characters that exist on the fringes of humanity’s Venn diagram – in other words, my kind of people. These revealing images are a decisive dichotomy of the lachrymose and joyful. Although raw, edgy, and somewhat maudlin, these gorgeous and lush paintings translate well his choice of purposeful polarity as they also elevate and flaunt the essence of a human soul. The intimate gaze masterfully expressed initiates an irresistible narrative between the visage and the viewer.

Syd Torchio at Jinxed West Philly

Syd Torchio at Jinxed West Philly

Syd Torchio at Jinxed West Philly

Syd Torchio at Jinxed West Philly

Syd Torchio at Jinxed West Philly

Syd Torchio at Jinxed West Philly

Syd Torchio’s beautifully candid works can be found displayed in the far end of the store, with framed portraits gracefully adorning the walls, and several centrally-located prints available scattered amongst other store ephemera for sale. It’s definitely worth a trip — come see this amazing work on exhibit at Jinxed through the end of March.

Syd Torchio at Jinxed West Philly

Syd Torchio at Jinxed West Philly

Syd Torchio at Jinxed West PhillySyd Torchio at Jinxed West Philly

Syd Torchio’s website: http://hairylegs.com/sydtorchioart/

Jinxed West Philly, 4521 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia PA, 19143, (215) 921-3755, Open daily:11:00am – 7:00pm http://www.jinxedphiladelphia.com/

“Jinxed began in the 1990’s in Philadelphia as an art-based t-shirt company. After spreading around the country via tattoo conventions and retail stores, we decided to open our own retail location in the summer of 2004. Since then, we’ve expanded to five retail locations in downtown Philadelphia. Now, in addition to t-shirts, we are known for the best vintage furniture and housewares you can find at hassle-free prices. We are also committed to the local art and small business community to bring you variety that you can’t find anywhere else!

Thank you for supporting who we are and what we do!” – Jinxed West Philly

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Laura Storck Photography ARTIST. SCIENTIST. PHOTOGRAPHER. ROCK STAR.: https://laurastorck.wordpress.com/

Instagramhttp://instagram.com/laurastorck/

Facebook:  https://facebook.com/laura.h.storck

Twitter: @Laura_Storck

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Ancient

My Ancient Land, Jacqueline Unanue, 3rd Street GalleryJacqueline UnanueSextet III, Juan Orrego Salas

My Ancient Land, Jacqueline Unanue at 3rd Street Gallery

Jacqueline Unanue at 3rd Street Gallery, 45 N. 2nd Street, Old City, Philadelphia, PA 19106, 215-625-0993

March 30th thru May 1st, 2016, First Friday, April 1st, 5:00 – 9:00 pm, Artist Reception, Sunday April 3, 1:00 – 4:00 pm, Gallery Hours, Wednesday – Sunday, 12:00 – 5:00 pm

2015 – 2016 Traveling Exhibit | USA | CHILE | SPAIN – Sala de Arte, Embassy of Chile, Washington DC / Sala Viña del Mar, Viña del Mar, Chile / Casa Elizalde, Barcelona, Spain / 3rd Street Gallery, Philadelphia PA

Inspired by Chilean Classical Composers René Amengual (1911- 1954), Eulogio Dávalos (1945), Juan Orrego-Salas (1919), Enrique Soro (1884- 1954), Sylvia Soublette (1923) Jorge Urrutia (1905- 1981).

Curated by Gloria Garafulich-Grabois

Sponsored by Chilean Committee of Delaware Valley & Bloomfield Avenue Dental Associates

My Ancient Land, Jacqueline Unanue, 3rd Street Gallery

Artist Statement

“My Ancient Land, is related to my recent series of abstract paintings inspired by the music of Chilean classical composers: René Amengual: “Symphonic Prelude”; Eulogio Dávalos, “Cueca for Pablo Neruda” and “Siempre”; Juan Orrego-Salas: “Sextet for B flat clarinet”; Enrique Soro: “Danza Fantástica”; Sylvia Soublette, “Roman Mass”, and Jorge Urrutia: “Suggestions of Chile Op.1”.

Immersed in this music as I painted, I felt it flow through me physically and found myself expressing both the movement of the music and my own emotions in free and spontaneous brush strokes that are musical as well as gestural. The colors I have used suggest -in an abstract way-, my memories of the geography, the forest, the desert, the ocean, and the Chilean sky.

The resultant paintings serve as coded maps, leading the viewer to the Illo Tempore where, over time, our roots spread wider and wider until we are part of a universal root system without cultural, territorial, or continental distinctions. This origin intrigues me, and it spontaneously appears in my work.” – Jacqueline Unanue

My Ancient Land, Jacqueline Unanue, 3rd Street Gallery Jacqueline UnanueFantastic Dance III, Enrique Soro

Reviews

The series expresses Ms. Unanue’s visual inspiration of a selection of compositions of an outstanding group of Chilean composers, who represent the “classical musical voice” of Chile in dynamic, vibrant and expressive works of art that have been created using different techniques and mediums but that convey the deep love of the artists’s native land and her understanding of the magic of these compositions.

Gloria Garafulich-Grabois, Curator, Founder & International Director, Chapter in Chile, National Museum of Women in the Arts, WDC, Director, Gabriela Mistral Foundation, Inc. [US]

In the artwork of Jacqueline Unanue strongly emerges a variety of primary lines, as signs of writing, which can be identified as very early graphic symbols: a Greek gamma, one soad or Arabic kaf, or a Chinese idiogramic sign. The strokes are primitive, as a plunge into the primary substrate of the language, as if these vibrant strokes were to bring close the ancestral language through another path. It seems that through these pictorial landscapes Jacqueline tries to connect with an experience of the word beyond its cultural divisions: primordial strokes. As chromatic dots and dashes with which many people of Aboriginal cultures decorate their bodies to connect with the “sacred time” of their ancestors, the root of their myths. These paintings hide from the superficial eye–just used to look for tones and chromatic harmonies–that telluric strength of a creative time, the signs that emerge to become name, magical, incantation. The primordial creative vortex.

Francisco Martínez Dalmases, Writer, Madrid, Spain

When Kandinsky comes to abstraction in the visual arts in 1910, he does it from music because music has always been, by nature, the abstract language. In her works, Jacqueline Unanue establishes a bond from her paintings–her interpretation of the music of great composers is from the motions provoked by a world of sensations; with strokes of great freedom to capture the feeling of extension to the body with this one motion, and not to allow the fusion of these two abstract worlds to be hindered by reason, even for an instant. We could say that Unanue’s works reflect the informal attitude of the action paintings of the 40s and 50s–like Pollock and also about her forms more closely attributed to the Armenian artist Gorky. This attitude is visible in the magnificently collection of her traveling exhibit starting in Washington DC.

Daniel Santelices Plaza, President of Valparaiso Art Critics Association, Chile.

My Ancient Land, Jacqueline Unanue, 3rd Street Galleryclick for poster

Biography  Jacqueline Unanue, Visual artist

Jacqueline Unanue is a Chilean born visual artist of Spanish ancestry residing in Philadelphia PA since year 2000. She studied design at the Universidad de Chile de Valparaíso. At that time she became interested in the rock art done in her native country. She traveled extensively through Chile’s Atacama Desert, doing on-site rock art research in the mountains and cliff areas that contain art that was carved or painted thousands of years ago. She also traveled to Spain to study the pre-historic paintings of the Altamira caves in the Basque Country, which being the home of her paternal ancestors connected her to her roots.

In 1989, she won the Critic’s Award in Visual Arts from the Valparaíso Art Critics Association in Chile. In addition to numerous individual and group exhibitions in Chile since 1983, she has also been exhibited in Spain, Finland, Ecuador, Argentina, and the United States—in galleries in Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Chicago, and New York. In 2013 and 2015 she exhibited in Barcelona, ​​Spain. On two occasions she has obtained grants sponsored by DIRAC, the Directorate of Cultural Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile for her exhibits at Guayasamin Foundation, Quito, Ecuador, and at the Inter-American Development Bank, in Washington DC.

In 2015, she received the Latin American Women in Art and Cultural Tribute recognition in New York.  She currently lives in Philadelphia with her husband Ricardo Guajardo who is also an artist and designer. She is represented by the 3rd Street Gallery, Philadelphia.

My Ancient Land, Jacqueline Unanue, 3rd Street GalleryJacqueline UnanueSuggestions of Chile V, Urrutia

Artist contact: jacquelineunanue@yahoo.com 

Artist Jacqueline Unanue / Traveling Exhibition 2015, Philadelphia
Exposicion Jacqueline Unanue, Casa Elizalde, Barcelona, Spain

Recent Press:

Washington Post, Washington DC, March 2015: Homage to Chilean music, by by Celia Wren

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/globe-trotting-singer-dom-la-nena-will-touch-down-at-artisphere/2015/03/26/c8ca06aa-d18b-11e4-8b1e-274d670aa9c9_story.html

Heavy Bubble, Philadelphia: http://heavybubble.com/artlife/january/2016/junanue-philadelphia

Blog Corporación Cultura Viva, Viña del Mar, Chile: Jacqueline Unanue pinta desde la no conciencia: una abstracta lirica de sentimientos irrefrenables by Daniel Santelices Plaza, Doctor en Historia del Arte Universidad de Navarra, España, May 2015.

https://corporacionculturalvina.wordpress.com/2015/05/07/jacqueline-unanue-pinta-desde-la-no-conciencia-una-abstraccion-lirica-de-sentimientos-irrefrenables/

El Mercurio de Valparaíso, Chile, Valparaíso, Chile, Pintora chilena vuelve a sus origenes con “Mi Antigua Tierra”, Arte y Espectáculos, Thursday April 23, 2015

http://www.mercuriovalpo.cl/impresa/2015/04/23/full/cuerpo-principal/26

Impacto Latino, New York, March 2015: Mes Internacional De La Mujer en Nueva York: Homenaje a la Mujer Latinoamericana en las Artes y la Cultura, by Ximena Hidalgo-Ayala,

http://impactony.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/showlink.aspx?bookmarkid=D72JI46VU5G6

Thank you to Jacqueline Unanue for the content of this post.

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Transformations

Transformations, Main Line Art CenterTransformations At Main Line Art Center

 2016 Meyer Family Award for Contemporary Art Recipients: Matthew Courtney (Philadelphia), Sun Young Kang (Bryn Mawr), Zahra Nazari (New York)

Curated by: Amie Potsic, Executive Director of Main Line Art Center through April 17, 2016

Artist Workshops:

Throwing Forms, Building Sculpture | Matthew Courtney | Tues., April 5, 1-6 pm
Persian Reverse Glass Painting | Zahra Nazari | Sun., April 10, 1-4 pm
Book-Making: 1 Sheet of Paper, 5 Ways | Sun Young Kang | Sat. & Sun., April 16-17, 9:30 am- 12:30 pm

Main Line Art Center in Haverford is proud to announce Matthew Courtney (Philadelphia), Sun Young Kang (Bryn Mawr; 2015 Finalist), and Zahra Nazari (New York) as the 2016 recipients of the Meyer Family Award for Contemporary Art.  Selected by Members of Main Line Art Center’s Board of Artistic Advisors and Executive Director through a highly competitive application process, Courtney, Kang, and Nazari will be featured in Transformations, the 12th Annual Betsy Meyer Memorial Exhibition, on view at Main Line Art Center through April 17.

Masters of their primary mediums and inspired by cultural specificity, each artist expands their artistic practice to embrace installation with works that fully engage the audience in constructed objects, the spaces they inhabit, and the concepts they conjure. Through painting, ceramic sculpture, and paper arts, the artists transform, not only their own materials, but the galleries themselves into unexpected environments that dance between the evident and the ethereal.

Now in its twelfth year, Main Line Art Center is proud to present an annual exhibition in memory of Teaching Artist Betsy Meyer featuring the work of forward-thinking artists who are pushing boundaries within their artistic practice. As an artist, Betsy exemplified what is most exciting about engaging with the artwork of living artists: watching them experiment with their media and tackling complicated and tough subjects. As a teacher, she encouraged her students to follow her example and expand their practice into new frontiers. And finally, as a member of the board and exhibition committee, she assured that the Art Center was there for the artistic community of Philadelphia.

The Meyer Family Award for Contemporary Art, presented by Main Line Art Center in conjunction with the Betsy Meyer Memorial Exhibition, consists of an award of $1000 and a solo exhibition to each selected artist. This award and associated exhibition program is an effort to support the talented contemporary artists in the region, to honor deserving artists in the field, and to encourage excellence and experimentation in artistic practice, presentation, and community involvement.

Approximately three artists are awarded annually. The 2015 recipients of the Meyer Family Award for Contemporary Art were Seunghwui Koo (New York), Tasha Lewis (New York), and Kate Stewart (Philadelphia), whose work was featured in Tweak of Nature, presented at Main Line Art Center in Spring 2015. 2016 Recipient Sun Young Kang, was a finalist for the award in 2015. The 2016 finalists are as follows: Jennifer Crupi (New Jersey), Christina Day (Philadelphia), Tim Eads (Philadelphia), Michael Froio (New Jersey), Oki Fukunaga (New Jersey), Erica Loustau (Pennsylvania), and Adrienne Moumin (Maryland).

The Main Line Art Center gallery is open Monday through Thursday from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm, and Friday through Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm.  Each of the artists will also facilitate a workshop on their process during the course of Transformations. For more information about these programs, including registration, visit www.mainlinert.org or call 610.525.0272.

Transformations, Matthew Courtney

Matthew Courtney is a ceramic sculptor living and working in Philadelphia. He received his B.S. from the Philadelphia College of Art and his MFA at Kent State University. He teaches at The University of Pennsylvania, The University of the Arts, and Tyler School of Art. He has received an Ohio Arts Council Artist Fellowship and a Jerome Foundation Fellowship and was awarded a Challenge Exhibition at Fleisher Art Memorial in 2000.  Recent exhibitions include, “On the Precipice” Cerulean Gallery, Philadelphia PA 2014, “Artists Musings: An Installation”’ CCC Gallery, Plymouth NH 2014, and “2015 Reflections from the West,” Lanzhou City University, Lanzhou, China.  In 2015, he was selected by the Dunhuang Creative Center, DCC, to spend two months of the summer of 2015 to work as an artist in residence at Lanzhou City University Lanzhou China, “producing work inspired by the rich history and contemporary life of Gansu Province.”

Transformations, Sun Young Kang

Sun Young Kang is a book and installation artist, originally from South Korea, living in Bryn Mawr, PA.  From small intimate books to room size installations, she uses paper with its duality of strength and delicacy to create physical and conceptual space. Kang received her MFA in Book Arts/Printmaking from the University of the Arts in 2007, and was a fellow of the Center for the Emerging Visual Artists in Philadelphia from 2013 to 2015.  A participant in the 2013 Sofia International Paper Art Biennale and the Pittsburgh Biennial in 2008, Kang’s work has been included in numerous solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally at venues including the Susquehanna Art Museum, Queens Museum, Whatcom Museum, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, and the Ganser Gallery at Millersville University. Her work is also included in the PA State Museum Permanent collection, Museum of Modern Art Franklin Furnace Artist book collection, and in numerous libraries’ special collections.

Transformations, Zahra Nazari

Zahra Nazari is a painting and installation artist, originally from Iran, living in New York, NY.  Nazari received her BFA from the School of Art & Architecture in Tabriz, Iran, and her MFA in Painting/Drawing at State University of New York in New Paltz, NY. She is currently a recipient of The AIM Fellowship from the Bronx Museum, NY and received a Visiting Artist Fellowship from the Cooper Union School of Art in New York, NY and a Ruth Katzman Scholarship from the Art League Residency at Vyt, Sparkill, NY. She has exhibited worldwide at: Aljira, A Center for Contemporary Art, Newark, NJ ; China Millennium Monument, Beijing, China; Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, LA ; Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, New Paltz, NY; Saba Institution, Tehran, Iran; The Painting Center, New York, NY; Woman Made Gallery & Zhou B Art Center in Chicago, IL.  Forthcoming exhibitions will be presented by the Spartanburg Art Museum, Spartanburg, SC; Bronx Museum, Bronx, NY; Five Points Gallery, Torrington, CT; Penn College in Williamsport, PA; and Von Faunberg Art Gallery, Düsseldorf, Germany.

Amie Potsic, curator of Transformations, began her tenure as Executive Director of Main Line Art Center in July of 2012.  Prior to that, she served as Director of Gallery 339 and Director of the Career Development Program at the Center for Emerging Visual Artists (CFEVA) in Philadelphia where she curated exhibitions and planned professional development programming for emerging and professional artists. Potsic has curated over 70 exhibitions at venues including The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and Moore College of Art & Design. Potsic is also an established photographic artist who has exhibited her work nationally and internationally.  In addition, she is currently Chair of the Art In City Hall Artistic Advisory Board to the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture & the Creative Economy.

Main Line Art Center is our community’s home to discover, create, and experience visual art.  A frequent recipient ofBest of Awards for its beautiful galleries and high-quality art instruction, the Art Center’s visual art classes, Accessible Art Programs for artists with disabilities, and contemporary and innovative exhibitions stimulate creativity, conversation, and joy. The mission of Main Line Art Center is to inspire and engage people of all ages, abilities, and economic means in visual art through education, exhibitions, and experiences.  Last year we inspired 16,000 people at Main Line Art Center and touched the lives of over 80,000 through programs in the community.

Main Line Art Center is located at 746 Panmure Road in Haverford, behind the Wilkie Lexus dealership just off of Lancaster Avenue. The Main Line Art Center is easily accessible from public transportation and offers abundant free parking. For more information about Transformations, please visit www.mainlineart.org or call 610.525.0272.

Thank you to Amie Potsic for the content of this post.

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