DoNArTNeWs

Leslie Friedman, CFEVA Introduction 2012, Galleries at Moore, Cargo for Port Derby, 2010, serigraph on paper, 10 color print, edition of ten, Nasty Button, 2010, serigraph on paper, 9 color print, edition of eight, 3-2-1 Blast Off!, 2010, serigraph on paper, 7 color print, edition of twenty-eight.

DoN asked Leslie Friedman how she felt about being in the CFEVA Introduction 2012 exhibition in the Galleries at Moore?  “I feel really great!  I was really honored to get the fellowship.  When I was sitting in the room at the orientation they were saying that three hundred and fifty people applied.  And a lot of the people that applied, some of them are here tonight, have applied multiple times.  And, I just feel really great to be here.  The work looks amazing, especially Kay’s piece, I don’t know, it’s really exciting.  I had seen her work at the To Scale show and I’ve been a fan but I never met her.”

Dada? DoN asked.  “I think it does, I mean, there’s definitely any kind of work that’s on paper with the ephemera of paper is definitely going to make you think of Dada-ism.  Also, the fact that it’s collage.  The way that I collage is a 21st Century way of collage-ing.  It’s using the internet to get all my imagery, finding things and altering them.  So, I’m not cutting up magazines or photographs, my collage is all done on line…I feel like this young generation, whatever you want to call it, uses the internet so fluidly.  I think art is about the interchange of ideas, so none of what I’m doing with this is never making fun of, or debasing any of anyone else’s work.  I take something that may be forgotten and turn it into something memorable.”

The Center for Emerging Visual Artists (CFEVA), in cooperation with Moore College of Art & Design, presents an exhibition by the new Career Development Program Fellows. A highly selective fellowship with only a 2% acceptance rate, these six artists represent some of the most promising talent among emerging artists in the region:  Leslie Friedman, Daniel Gerwin, Rebecca Gilbert, Kay Healy, Heechan Kim, and Johanna Inman.

Introduction 2012

February 1 – February 25, 2012

Widener Memorial Foundation Gallery

Johanna Inman

Daniel Gerwin

Rebecca Gilbert

Kay Healy

Heechan Kim

Circumstantial Assembly / CFEVA at Moore 

DoNArTNeWs Philadelphia Art News Blog

Introduction 2011

Photographs by DoN
Blick Art Materials

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Theodore J. Amick, The Plastic Club, Downstairs Gallery

Theodore J. Amick, The Plastic Club, Downstairs Gallery

Theodore J. Amick, The Plastic Club, Downstairs Gallery

DoN talked with Erica Amick, artist Ted Amick’s daughter about her Dad’s memorial art show in the Downstairs Gallery of the Plastic Club.  “The memorial show for my dad, Ted Amick, is full of his life’s work.  He was always creative.  He was always happy.  He always had a good story to tell you and loved to be around people.  And loved a good time.  So, he would enjoy the show in the gallery, filled with people drinking and laughing and talking.”  So, what’s your favorite piece?  “I don’t have a favorite, it’s all different parts of his life and you can see the progression of his scientific alien stage to a more impressionist stage to just happy picture stage.  He did a portrait of me and my sister and I think that’s one of our favorites.”

DoN mentioned Ted in a blog he wrote back in 2009, the Red, White and Green show and Ted instantly became a buddy with lots of compliments and questions about photography at every Plastic Club reception.  At the awards ceremony February 5th for the current exhibition, Urban Observations, past president Mike Guinn said it best, “He was my brother.”

Ted Amick’s on-line Guestbook

Plastic Club on Facebook

DoNArTNeWs Philadelphia Art News Blog

Rebecca Gilbert, CFEVA Introduction 2012, The Galleries at Moore

Lucky, reduction and multiple block woodcut and gold leaf, Rock Pile Fortune Vessel, reduction and multiple block woodcut Rebecca Gilbert.

Rebecca Gilbert, Building the Perfect Worm House, CFEVA Introduction 2012, The Galleries at Moore

Amie Potsic, Director of Career Development at The Center for Emerging Visual Artists says, “I love openings, it’s the only time artists get any feedback.  Because you’re never there except for receptions, usually.  Some people are shy and find it a little bit hard but I think that they’re really so key for not only exposing work but having artists get good at talking about their work and building relationships.  Most of the time we have artist’s talks at CFEVA and part of that is that if the artist has the experience of doing them more often they get better every time they do them.  If your not a teacher, there’s very few instances where you actually have the opportunity to have an artist talk.”

DoN listened in while artist Rebecca Gilbert talked to a mom and her young daughter about her print, Safe Keeping Place, “Well, there’s one story.  I have this bracelet that had a family heirloom heart locket on it and I had this opening in Old City years ago, and I was having this conversation and this little charm fell off of my bracelet and it was this freakish thing because it fell off and instead of just rolling, it fell, I swear, in a hole in the corner of the room that was just that big.  Exactly the size.  I went back the next day and the gallery owner said the hole led to the street and so my charm was unattainable.  It was like, oh no, my family heirloom!  It’s gone forever.  And my best friend said, ‘Don’t worry, it’s safe in that hole.  It’ll be there forever.”

DoN introduced himself.  Is that a Jackalope?  “That is a Jackalope…I’m trying to bring a positive energy to my work and to keep a positive outlook in life.  And I’m also very superstitious.  Some superstitions I I follow and some I make up on my own.  I included a lot of symbolism from that so I can add that positive energy.  Lucky, is the name of the Jackalope, but it’s up to the viewer to decide if he is actually lucky or not.  So you have all these good luck charms but for them, it’s subtle, but there’s extra feet and of course they chop off rabbit’s feet.  So, it you have extra, you’re lucky.  Another thing is I knew I wanted to do a Jackalope because I did an artist’s residency in Wyoming and I started researching Jackalopes and I knew that to me in my head that they’re mythical creatures who like to drink whiskey and sing songs.”

“But, in my research I saw that there actually have been rabbits found as early as the 17th Century, I found illustrations of rabbits with these knobs coming out of the top of their heads.  Not horns but knobs.  But, it’s actually a cancer.  In my research there are all of these rabbits with these things hanging off of them.  And, you know, one hypothesis is that that’s where it came from.  They were interpreted as horns, so, that questions ‘what is lucky?’. ‘Oh, you’re lucky you’re an imagined creature with horns on your head?’.  So, the whole reason I made the print was not to compare myself to other people because you never know the whole story.”

The Center for Emerging Visual Artists (CFEVA), in cooperation with Moore College of Art & Design, presents an exhibition by the new Career Development Program Fellows. A highly selective fellowship with only a 2% acceptance rate, these six artists represent some of the most promising talent among emerging artists in the region:  Leslie Friedman, Daniel Gerwin, Rebecca Gilbert, Kay Healy, Heechan Kim, and Johanna Inman.

Introduction 2012

February 1 – February 25, 2012

Widener Memorial Foundation Gallery

Johanna Inman

Daniel Gerwin

Leslie Friedman

Kay Healy

Heechan Kim

Circumstantial Assembly / CFEVA at Moore 

Introduction 2011

DoNArTNeWs Philadelphia Art News Blog

Photographs by DoN
Blick Art Materials

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Kay Healy, Center for Emerging Visual Artists, The Galleries at Moore

Kay Healy, Center for Emerging Visual Artists, The Galleries at Moore

How does it feel to be showing your artwork in the Galleries at Moore?  “Oh, it’s wonderful!  There’s a lot of really good work here right now, so, it’s exciting to be in such a professional space.  I was laughing because on Monday I had four people all helping me hang.  I’m used to, you know, doing it all by myself.”  Oh, yeah, DoN knows.  “I’ve been dragging my boyfriend around, making him hold things for me.  It’s really nice to have someone else with good opinions about how it should be hung.  I’m hoping to really get my work out there and be in more exhibitions and that I’ll be able to spend more time making work instead of applying for exhibitions.”  Holla!

DoN reminded Kay Healy about seeing her work at Art in City Hall.  “This is great because it was in the Window on Broad at UArts and from that I was able to get into the Dysfunctional Furniture show at City Hall.  And Leah Douglas from the Philadelphia International Airport saw it and she said, ‘Can I do a studio visit?’, I said, ‘Yeah!’, like, Oh Great!, real artists get studio visits!  So, she dropped by and said, ‘OK, well, I have a forty foot case that I would like you to do for Summer 2012.’  That was about a year ago, so now, that’s my major project doing a forty foot version of this featuring a bathroom, a kitchen, dining room and a living room.”

The Center for Emerging Visual Artists (CFEVA), in cooperation with Moore College of Art & Design, presents an exhibition by the new Career Development Program Fellows. A highly selective fellowship with only a 2% acceptance rate, these six artists represent some of the most promising talent among emerging artists in the region:  Leslie Friedman, Daniel Gerwin, Rebecca Gilbert, Kay Healy, Heechan Kim, and Johanna Inman.

Introduction 2012

February 1 – February 25, 2012

Widener Memorial Foundation Gallery

Johanna Inman

Daniel Gerwin

Leslie Friedman 

Rebecca Gilbert

Heechan Kim

Circumstantial Assembly / CFEVA at Moore

Side Arts- POST 2011

Introduction 2011

DoNArTNeWs Philadelphia Art News Blog

Photographs by DoN
Blick Art Materials

[disclosure page]

Heechan Kim, Introduction 2012 Center for Emerging Visual Artists, The Galleries at Moore.

Heechan Kim, Introduction 2012 Center for Emerging Visual Artists, The Galleries at Moore.

Amie Potsic, Director of Career Development of Center for Emerging Visual Artists talked with DoN about the 2012 Fellows introduced at the The Galleries at Moore at a V.I.P cocktail reception 2/1/2012, “This is Heechan Kim, who is originally from Korea but lives in Brooklyn, his work is so elegant and beautiful and strong at the same time.  He’s not here this evening because he’s at an artist residency on the West Coast.  But, what is so striking about his work is that it’s so light and delicate yet so strong and powerful at the same time.  I think the metal stitching on the thin strips of wood is, um, you can feel it.  It’s palpable, it feels almost like skin being stitched in a really interesting way.  Yet, they’re also completely floating and sort of weightless at the same time.  I just think they’re beautiful.”

DoN agree’s with Amie, the bent wood has so many memes attached that the pieces literally sing little stories about tennis, weaving baskets or squeezing shut a suitcase with all your might.

The Center for Emerging Visual Artists (CFEVA), in cooperation with Moore College of Art & Design, presents an exhibition by the new Career Development Program Fellows. A highly selective fellowship with only a 2% acceptance rate, these six artists represent some of the most promising talent among emerging artists in the region:  Leslie Friedman, Daniel Gerwin, Rebecca Gilbert, Kay Healy, Heechan Kim, and Johanna Inman.

Introduction 2012

February 1 – February 25, 2012

Widener Memorial Foundation Gallery

Daniel Gerwin

Leslie Friedman

Rebecca Gilbert

Kay Healy

Johanna Inman

Circumstantial Assembly / CFEVA at Moore 

DoNArTNeWs Philadelphia Art News Blog

Photographs by DoN

KODAK EASYSHARE Camera / Z5010

Blick Art Materials’ Current Promo Code

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Al Gury, Long Evening, oil, F.A.N. Gallery, Old City, Philadelphia. Al Gury: New Paintings, February First Friday.

Al Gury,  F.A.N. Gallery

Al Gury, Pennsylvania Hills II, oil,  F.A.N. Gallery

Al Gury, F.A.N. Gallery

DoN heard through the Art Educators of South Jersey that Al Gury was teaching a painting workshop for teachers and asked the master about the upcoming seminar.  “That is for educators in the South Jersey School systems and I will be there presenting a workshop on color, the history of color, how to use color, for educators.  That will hopefully help them not only with their work but they can use it in the classroom as well.”  Just South Jersey teachers?  “The advertising goes all over but the focus is lower half of NJ public school teachers.”

DoN gets starstruck around Al Gury, he’s a really cool guy, very approachable, but, the show at F.A.N. Gallery feels like an historical moment. The art show is a big collection of impressionist landscapes by a painting master.  DoN overheard collectors boasting to each other how many Al Gury’s they own and DoN could tell they were really, truly happy with themselves.  Another conversation eves-dropped on was students comparing the juicy brushwork and scratched away paint in the luminous canvasses, trying out the art terms and lingo PAFA is famous for teaching it’s students to speak.  DoN racked his brain for a salient question to ask the painter who teaches painting teachers how to teach - Tell me about the sky holes in the paintings?

“Well, I look at many different times of day because I like to travel around and look at the landscape at different times of day; mornings, daytime, early dawn, evening, afternoon to see the different kind of atmospheric stages and color changes.  And I particularly like the type of atmosphere where the silhouettes, the shapes and the colors all fit together, I enjoy that very much.”

F.A.N. Gallery

221 Arch Street
Philadelphia PA 19106

HOURS
Wednesday - Sunday (12pm - 6pm)

CONTACT US
phone: 215.922.5155
email: fangallery@verizon.net

More Al Gury at Side Arts Philadelphia Art Blog

DoNArTNeWs Philadelphia Art News Blog

Photos by DoN

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Kyle Fisher at studio:christensen

Kyle Fisher at studio:christensen (detail)

Kyle Fisher at studio:christensen

The intersection of Delancey Place and 20th Street is arguably the best address in town.  Down the block is the Rosenbach Museum and Library, up the street towards Rittenhouse Square are hip restaurants and at the center of it all is Jt Christensen’s studio: christensen.  The designer has transformed the storefront into a decorator’s delight, the window constantly changing with aspirational furniture, decor, objet and art.  Jt Christensen makes a big deal out of art, the Kyle Fisher show of astounding wood panels transcribing nature into abstract art with extraordinary detail and level of craft mashed with a futuristic vibe of the design the artist extracts from the wood is just beautiful.

studio: christensen participates in the Center City Second Friday art crawl and has a Third Thursday fashion photography night, it’s so fun to watch from the street and see the photographers working with the models and a reminder of the natural sophistication of Philadelphia.

studio: christensen
333 south twentieth st
philadelphia pa 19103
Tuesday-Saturday 12-7
or by appointment
2673866036
jtdesigns2@mac.com

DoNArTNeWs Philadelphia Art News Blog

Photos by DoN

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Missing a super short video clip on Anthony C and Karen M YouTube channel is sublime, a word DoN doesn’t get to use often.  Anthony C and Karen M take their work to the street and see beyond the visual chatter interjecting their own thoughtful tags to the narrative of public art in Philadelphia.  Read more about the artists at Side Arts Philadelphia art blog.

Video clip and photo courtesy of Anthony C and Karen M

DoNArTNeWs Philadelphia Art News Blog

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Urban Jungle, DoN Brewer at The Plastic Club, Urban Observations, February 2012.

DoN shoots all his photographs for DoNArTNeWs art blog and Side Arts art blog with a Kodak Easyshare Z981 14 MP Digital Camera with Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon 26xWide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Lens and 3.0-Inch LCD Sreen, the third digital camera DoN has used since 2000.  DoN’s first digital camera was four megapixel resolution with a postage stamp sized screen, the current iteration with 14-megapixel resolution for stunning prints up to 30 x 40 inches.  In January, DoNArTNeWs changed advertising strategy to affiliate marketing through Commission Junction and Amazon in order to provide links to products and resources little DoNsters would benefit from most.  DoNArTNeWs now has improved ads on the side bar including an exciting advertising widget with DoN’s favorite Amazon picks for Philadelphia artists and authors including DoN’s new book Her Philadelphia Tales, The Art of Lilliana S. Didovic (Volume 1).

The reason DoN is promoting Kodak is because they are an American manufacturing company in Rochester, NY, USA, Planet Earth, Milky Way, they invented digital photography and they recently declared bankruptcy.  Kodak has a long history, “Kodak has made it easy to enjoy your pictures. The expression ‘You Press the Button, We do the rest’ was a common advertising slogan in the 1890s. This familiar expression was also set to music. Visit our interactive history of Kodak products to listen and see some of today’s latest digital products and our early film and cameras from the 1880s.” Kodak website.  DoN used a Kodak Brownie camera growing up and still relies on the reliable quality and customer support of Kodak for his Kodak Easyshare Z981 14 MP Digital Camera with Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon 26xWide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Lens and 3.0-Inch LCD Sreen to create images for DoNArTNeWs Philadelphia art blog and Side Arts Philadelphia art blog.  So, did DoN pick a loser in Kodak as an advertising affiliate?  Coffee did shoot out DoN’s nose as the news of Kodak’s bankruptcy crawled across the bottom of Morning Joe brought to you by Starbucks.

DoNArTNeWs is using affiliate marketing, peppering the text with hyperlinks and ads, to generate revenue to move to an improved WordPress platform; clicking links and ads may take you to website for companies like Kodak which DoN personally uses in his art or blogging or to related resources like artist’s websites.  If you buy a product as a result of clicking a link in the art blog or the DoNArTNeWs sidebar a commission is generated for DoNArTNeWs.

Help DoNArTNeWs grow and support Kodak.

DoNArTNeWs Philadelphia Art News Blog

Kodak

Update 2/9/2012 Kodak will discontinue manufacturing digital cameras.

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Hayley Tomlinson, One Accolade I Must Achieve To Become A Successfully Working Artist, digital print featuring a hand made ribbon at Prelude Gallery, January 13th, 2nd Friday in Center City.

DoN asked Hayley Tomlinson about the eclectic collection of art objects she’s showing at Prelude Gallery including photography, prints, fiber and needle-work.  “I‘m interested in everything.  I do some blogging on Tumblr and what I really like is looking at the images on Tumblr and seeing what is trending?  What are people interested in?”  Giggles. “What I think about is, how can I capitalize on that and how can I gain popularity and become more well known.  But, also I kind of just think when I make things wouldn’t it be funny if I just made this.  Like I made a drawing of a toilet in a forest of birch trees.”  Giggles.  “I thought it was funny because I hate the thought of having to go to the bathroom in the woods but I guess if there are toilets in there but then I guess I‘d be OK.”

“I think about things I desire and things I fear like how can I be a better artist?  And how can I be a more successful well known artist which is what the photographs are about.”  DoN noted the portraiture with ribbons and how they stand out.  “There are four ribbons First, Second, Third and Honorable Mention.  These two are Third Place and Honorable Mention, I think they’re the two photographs that have been most successful and most successfully represented my Adobe Photoshop skills.  I was thinking, I‘m in Philadelphia and what do I need to do in Philadelphia to be more well known.  And one is being featured on the art blog.  And that ended up happening.  I had an article on the art blog and they showed that photograph.  The other photograph is about the blog Tumblr which I think is very important for contemporary art, especially young people in art.  People see my work on Tumblr and really respond to it, then that will really help me get my name out.”

Hayley Tomlinson, 627 Reblogs on Tumblr, handmade ribbon with photograph at Prelude Gallery.

Read more about Hayley Tomlinson and Prelude Gallery at Side Arts.

DoNArTNeWs Philadelphia Art Blog

Photographs by DoN
Kodak Easyshare Z981

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