light being (Anne D’Harnoncourt), DoN Brewer, art card @ The Coffee Bar, 17th & Locust Streets - A Center for Emerging Visual Artists Event. This image did not make the show because of soot damage to the original photo - a tip: frame your photos under glass, glare-free if possible. DoN’s art cards are printed locally by Media Copyin Center City - thanks to Debbie and the crew for their great work.
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010 @ 5:30 PM, CFEVA will host a closing party and artist talk for DoN Brewer at The Radisson Warwick Plaza Hotel, The Coffee Bar, 17th & Locust Sts. DoN is raffling off one of the photographs by selling limited edition greeting cards, signed and numbered, $5. each or 3 for $10.00 - 25% of sales is dedicated to a well deserved commission for CFEVA. If all 200 cards sell, two pieces will be raffled off. The exhibit is on display through the end of July.
Carol Wisker with her award winning mixed media creation, Machine: War Games Series, when the show first opened at Smile Gallery, Carol won Best in Show. The huge gallery space at RRCA is a wonderful opportunity to see most of the original show hanging together again. 3rd Friday in Millville was really fun with live entertainment tucked into every park, alley and plaza including a glee club performance!!! The creative vibe of the monthly event with art shows, restaurants and shops welcome visitors warmly with small town ambiance and upscale art.
Ted Warchal @ Riverfront Renaissance Center for the Arts special exhibit, Through My Window, A Da Vinci Art Alliance Members Exhibit. Ted, Ona & DoN are members of the Board of Directors of Da Vinci, thanks to all the artists & volunteers who arranged for the art to show up on time and to Dr. Debra Miller & David Foss for the expert installation, the RRCA is a wonderful exhibition space.
David Foss & Nicole Koenitzer.
Betsy Alexander’s Sci-Fi homage drew some teenage geeks into the gallery who seemed mesmerized at the depth of knowledge in the obscure references. Burnell Yow! told DoN he was hesitant when Betsy voiced her encyclopedic idea - but beam me up!
DoN Brewer’s drawing of Paris rooftops is paired perfectly with Lilliana Didovic’s Boathouse Row painting.
The concept pf Through My Window is that more than 20 artists were offered a window to do whatever they wanted with, the result is a uniquely Philadelphian art perspective: Bobbie Adams, Betsy Alexander, Jesse Best, DoN Brewer, Rachel Citrino. Alden Cole. Lilliana Didovic, Jerry di Falco, David Foss, Carl Johnson, Ona Kalstein, Nicole Koenitzer, Gail Kotel, Rikard Larma, Lee Muslin, Liz Nicklus, Kathryn Pannepacker, Michael Shane Simmons, Mike Sweeney, Ted Warchal, Carol Wisker & Burnell Yow!
The Annual Members Exhibition of the Philadelphia Sketch Club at Newman Galleries on Walnut Street is a wonderful introduction to the many fine artists who belong to America’s oldest art club. The swirly mix of styles, techniques and ideas is evocative of the Philly art community in microcosm; the mezzanine and third floor gallery holds a heady mix of contemporary art by masters, newbies, wannabes of all ages celebrating the first decade of the 21st Century.
Edna Santiago, Museum Stroll, acrylic on plexiglass.
Garth Herrick, Red Barn, 11:00 AM at Beaver Farm and Donald Meyer, Study (Structure) Hosta Series, egg tempera.
Linda Townshend, Holstein, oil on canvas.
Idaherma Williams, No Masks, archival pigment print.
Karen McDonnell, Wisdom, mixed media. Karen e-mails DoN phone pics of stickers of this little guy in public spaces, her contribution to the Philly art scene by introducing graffiti style into the mix of traditional media is like when photography put it’s foot in the door. The silver spray paint gives a glamorous luster to the surface of the canvas as if dressed up for the special day when all the artists show their best work.
The 2010 Members Exhibition of The Philadelphia Sketch Club @ Newman Galleries with 156 works by as many Philadelphia area fine artists runs through 6/9/2010.
While you’re visiting Center City this weekend to celebrate Memorial Day consider dropping in the Coffee Bar @ 17th & Locust to see DoN’s show of photographs titled “light beings” presented by The Center for Emerging Visual Artists - their gallery @ 15th & Locust is uber-cool. And Bonte’s Waffle Cafe’ @ 17th & Sansom is hosting Photographic Society of Philadelphia’s solo artist show of Alan Richter photos. The Photo Society & CFEVA both tirelessly promote photography as an art form and Philly photographers as artists with on-going shows and promotion; without organizations like these the Philly art scene is a much tougher field to navigate. And somehow photography and coffee just go great together.
light being (JRR Tolkien), digital photograph by DoN Brewer @ The Coffee Bar, 17th & Locust in The Radisson Warwick Hotel through the end of July 2010.
Scott Kip’s installation of sculptures represents the past, present & future; the center sculpture with s a step stool has the shadow of clockworks rotating and when you look through the hole someone at a sculpture at the other end of the room can see your eye. Each piece is a meticulously constructed models create wonderful optical illusions of abstract art reminiscent to Albers, Indiana and Grooms. The left side of the gallery is the future and the right is the past - from the future the view is confusing, the past you may find another eye looking back at you.
Scott Kip’s center sculpture projects the shadow of time in the center of a frail super-structure. Scott told DoN it took more than a year to complete the project of hard woods and that he was inspired by the writing of T.S. Eliot. The result is ineffable.
“I make model scale structures out of wood, each lit directly from above. The structures are designed around the path light takes through them, both the light from above and the possible sight lines of the viewer. The work is a meditation on how perspective affects our understanding of the relationships between things and the idea that life (the space between birth and death) is a place.”
“…Picked his bones in whispers. As he rose and fell he passed the stages of his age and youth entering the whirlpool.”
The image above is a digital photo of a projected “Magic Lantern” glass slide that was digitally scanned which DoN compressed for viewing on the web, a long way for a photo to travel. April 14th, 2010 The Geographic Society Of Philadelphia invited members of The Photographic Society of Philadelphia to view glass slides of a travelogue through Japan by Charles R. Pancoast, an early member of PSoP, from the beginning of the 20th Century in Franklin Hall @ The Franklin Institute.
The invitation only viewing of the slides, not seen since the 1960s, was hosted by Senior Curator of Collections, John V. Alvin, who explained the origins of glass slide projections with the “Magic Lantern” and guided our tour of absolutely exquisite, engrossing, detailed, immediate, gloriously colorful photographs of life, architecture, landscape and fashion in early 1900s Japan.
Example of a “Magic Lantern” projector which allowed glass slides with hand-colored positive photographs to be projected on a wall in the dark with light from a candle. Magic Lantern shows became a popular form of public entertainment before the advent of electricity and entrepreneurs could purchase a lantern with a set of slides and booklets which allowed them to present guided travelogues, traveling town to town putting on shows like the tour GSoP & PSoP members viewed at The Franklin Institute.
This beautiful image is of a dancer performing in a pagoda displays the beauty, grace, architecture, aesthetics, and quality of life in pre-war Japan as well as exhibiting the high quality of Pancoast’s photography loaded with immediacy, gorgeous composition and technical virtuosity. Charles Pancoast operated a successful glass slide development business, producing his own slides as well as other photographers, he became a member of the Photographic Society of Philadelphia in 1877, serving as secretary and participating in the photography section of the Franklin Institute.
This slide is of “The Polar Stars”, Captain Roald Amundsen, Sir Ernest H. Shackleton and Rear Admiral Robert E. Peary in a historic meeting of the famous polar explorers at The Franklin Institute. The Photographic Society has a long relationship with The Franklin Institute, DoN picked up an invitation to a PSoP meeting at 1305 Arch St, June 20th, 1888 - the conversation was about “the reproduction of negatives” and ” a new developer - Hydroxylamine and Pyro” - PSoP, the 2nd oldest photography club in the world, still holds monthly meetings at The Plastic Club on Camac Street, continuing the long conversation about photography which has been going on in Philly since the beginning of the development of this “magical” technology.
DoN Brewer @ his artist reception. All event photos by Peter Prusinowski.
The Center for Emerging Visual Artists hosted an artist reception for DoN Brewer and the Philadelphia Art-erati turned out in full force - friends & colleagues from the past, present & future converged on the Coffee Bar @ 17th & Locust to support DoN’s explorations into photography. Amie Potsic of CFEVA (& fellow photographer) and Ann Koivunen worked with the Coffee Bar to have a POST (Philadelphia Open Studio Tours) artist show in their recently remodeled cafe - the buttery walls and excellent lighting is so satisfying and easy on the eyes the photos have never looked better - and out of 30 artists the team presented, they picked DoN. What an incredible honor & pleasure to represent Philadelphia Artists in the venerable Warwick Hotel, a landmark & planetary crossroad; DoN overheard languages from all over the world, it is so gratifying to have the work stand on it’s own, this being the largest collection of DoN’s “light being” series to date.
Muralist David Guinn, his Dad & Plastic Club former President Mike Guinn, the back of Ted Warschal’s head, Cynthia Arkin (manager of The Plastic Club website), UArts’ Regina Barthmeier, DoN, Ona Kalstein and Rob Stauffer (Rob mounted, matted and framed most of the show, his outstanding presentation skills enhances the work immeasurably) @ the Artist Reception for “light beings“.
Enhabitues of the Philly art scene, Regina & Lisa lounge below light being (Thelma) @ the artist reception for DoN Brewer’s light beings show @ The Coffee Bar - these intrepid art crawlers have been extremely supportive of DoN’s career and have been present at almost every art event important to his reputation. Having friends be there when you need them is so important to an artists ego - Merci!
Ann Koivunen of The Center for Emerging Visual Artists manages the Philadelphia Open Studio Tours submissions (going on now) and took DoN’s feeble attempt at image size accuracy and created the terrific transparent labels, a beautiful bio book and documentation - Thank you Ann for your patience!
light being (Leo Seeger), DoN Brewer @ The Coffee Bar, The Radisson Warwick Hotel through July 2010. This image has appeared in several art shows from the Philadelphia Sketch Club’s Absolutely Abstract Show to The University of Princeton Medical Center’s ArtFirst show to The Beauty Shop Cafe @ 20th & Fitzwater - DoN LoVeS it when people start seeing “light beings” in the wild.
Thanks to Shoshana Aron, Alden Cole & Les Howard for helping hang the show, Rob Stauffer for framing and the Center for Emerging Visual Artists for their tireless support of artists in Philadelphia. DoN will be announcing an artist talk date soon.
Special thanks to Peter Prusinowski for photographing the event and his support and friendship, it’s such a good feeling to be recognized as an artist by peers - Philadelphia XOXO.
light beings (May & Andy), DoN Brewer, digital photograph.
The Coffee Bar at The Radisson Warwick Hotel @ 17th & Locust Streets in Philly is spotlighting fourteen photographs from DoN’s series titled “light beings“, February 26th through July 30th, 2010. Strictly landscape, the images of reflections on urban surfaces seem mysterious or manipulated, the photographs evoke thoughts of what we may become - beings of light traveling at unimaginable speeds in all directions of the universe at once.
DoN was contacted by Amy Potsic of the Center for Emerging Visual Artists inquiring if he could mount a one person show with only two weeks notice? Duh? Amy and Ann Koivunen selected 14 images out of twenty-two, Rob Stauffer helped DoN with framing, custom mats & non-glare glass, Shoshka, Aldy & Les helped install the show - art is hard work, man! You have to know math!?! The Coffee Bar space is fabu, good light, great Einstein coffee, yummy food and it’s a bar at night! How cool is that?
Author and art-marketing consultant Alyson B. Stanfield, of ArtBizCoach.com, focuses on sharing the artwork directly with potential buyers through electronic and traditional communication outlets—in a manner that is comfortable, not artificial. Artists match Internet marketing strategies with sincere personal skills to take charge of their art careers.
The book includes online worksheets and downloads.
