Category Archives: Art History

Art history.

2019

2019 AUTUMN INVITATIONAL, Off the Wall Gallery at Dirty Frank’s

2019 Annual Autumn Invitational at Off the Wall Gallery at Dirty Frank’s

The annual AUTUMN INVITATIONAL, which officially opens THIS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 7-10 PM, is one of our favorite shows. For good reason.

By showcasing the artists who have achieved notable success over the past year, measured by sales and jury awards, it welcomes back artists who are truly fan favorites. And with this year’s edition in particular, it gives us a more in-depth look at the work of three exceptional artists:

* This marks the fourth time CAROL TASHJIAN has shown her work in our space. Across different media and subject matters, a common thread has emerged: a disciplined approach to her craft, which strips away the extraneous in favor of essence. When Carol has shown one or two works, viewers sometimes have to seek out the quiet refuge of her art. This time, with 19 works, we are happily immersed in her approach, with the litho crayon rubbings of trees on the right side of the Wall practically creating a meditative arboretum of sorts (to the extent that’s possible at Dirty Frank’s!).

* For WILD TYPE, aka, ORI ROE, the Invitational marks a third turn at OFF THE WALL and this time is indeed the charm, with 13 works that, as with Carol, finally create a critical mass and enable us to enter her unique worlds at the intersection of science and art. Wild Type takes her nom d’artiste from a wild-type strain — there are ori sequences in the mitochondrial DNA of such a mutated strain; similarly, Wild Type’s art-making practice applies fundamentals of organic chemistry to create “worlds with X, Y and Z coordinate space,” and to begin answering such deep questions as “What does it mean to exist in space?”

* As we count down, RUSTY EVELAND is returning for just the second time, after a tour de force debut in BREAKTHROUGHS FOR SHEILA. His art runs a wide gamut. Across eight pieces, spanning figure studies, an animated short projected in our 3D space, and mixed-media and found-object assemblages, Rusty never aspires to Carol’s introspection or Wild Type’s exploration but rather embraces an energy and enthusiasm that naturally draws audiences into his work.

* And it’s worth noting that while this show’s headliner is usually the winner of the Mary-Rowe Memorial Jury Prize, last year’s honoree, LINDSEY WAVREK, will next be on the Wall this coming March and April as a MARY LIZ FELLOW, the highest honor we bestow on any artist in our community.

We look forward to seeing you THURSDAY EVENING, and for those of you who would like to transcend mere attendance and become a PARTICIPATING ARTIST at our next Opening Reception, on November 17, please make sure to pick up an entry form for UNDER $100, our upcoming JURIED EXHIBITION.

We are accepting entries for the show — which invites any and all media and subject matters, priced at $95 or less — now through October 17. Take the top prize and you’ll not only be in that show; per the above note about Lindsey Wavrek, you’ll automatically be part of the 2020 AUTUMN INVITATIONAL!

UNDER 100 Entry Guidelines Poster, OTWGallery, September 2019
15th Annual Juried Exhibition, Off the Wall Gallery at Dirty Frank’s

Thank you to Togo Travalia, Manager, OFF THE WALL GALLERY at Dirty Frank’s for the content of this post. (He’s a really good writer!)

NE Corner, 13th & Pine Streets, Philadelphia, PA, 19107

offthewallgallery@gmail.com

facebook.com/OTWDirtyFranks

@OTWDirtyFranks

(215) 732-5010 (bar)(484) 357-6440 (cell)

Celebrating 40 years of revolutionary art

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POST20

POSTPHL | #POST20 @PhilaCFEVA

Syd Carpenter in studio, Photo by Matthew Bender.

The Center for Emerging Visual Artists
www.philaopenstudios.org

POST20: Open Studios Coming this Fall
October 12: South | October 13: Northeast | October 19: Northwest | October 20: West

The Center for Emerging Visual Artists celebrates the 20th Anniversary of Philadelphia Open Studio Tours (POST) this October. We are proud to be a part of a community that has empowered artists through this program for the past two decades and we look forward to many more ahead of us.
Fostering meaningful interaction between artists and the public, POST promotes a greater awareness and appreciation for the creative minds that make Philadelphia a vibrant place to live, work, and visit.

Philadelphia Open Studio Tours is the largest open studio tour in the region featuring hundreds of artists and community spaces—workshops, galleries, etc.—each year. A behind-the-scenes look into a day in the life of an artist, POST is an approachable and easy to navigate, self-guided tour taking place over two weekends. Each day offers the public an opportunity to explore creative spaces (free of charge) in a unique portion of the city. Participating studios and workspaces will be open from NOON to 6PM on assigned tour days.

Activities include: studio visits, hands-on demonstrations, workshops, artist talks, discussions, receptions, guided tours, featured exhibitions and more. No other open studio event in the area provides such a rich and diverse cultural experience for the public.

Get involved with POST20 today! Registration, advertising sales and sponsorship options are available at philaopenstudios.org. To learn more about POST contact Michael Mergen at michael@cfeva.org or (215) 546-7775 ext. 13

Tweet: We Made It! Philadelphia Open Studio Tours celebrates 20 years this October.
Learn how you can get involved at philaopenstudios.org #POST20 #POSTPHL
Image: Syd Carpenter in studio, Photo by Matthew Bender
www.PhilaOpenStudios.org

Featured Events
POST20 Kickoff Party @ Sonesta, Sonesta Hotel – 1800 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA, Thursday, September 26, 2019: 6 to 9pm. Join the Center for Emerging Visual Artists (CFEVA) at the Sonesta Hotel to kick off the 20th year of Philadelphia Open Studio Tours. Mix and mingle with POST artists, partners, and collectors. Learn more about who you should visit during the open studio tours!
www.sonesta.com


25th Anniversary Philadelphia Furniture Show

23rd Street Armory – 22 S 23rd Street, Philadelphia, PA
Preview Party: Friday, October 4: 6 to 9pm, Saturday, October 5: 10am to 6pm Sunday, October 6: 10am to 5pm

CFEVA is partnering with the Philadelphia Furniture Show (PFS) which showcases exceptional artisan quality furniture and is the longest running exhibition of its kind. For 24 years PFS has cultivated an amazing array of handmade furniture and furnishings. From handcrafted tables for your home or office to rugs to fine furnishings, they showcase the finest artisan heirlooms.

CFEVA, POST20
2018 Philadelphia Furniture Show, Photographed by
Matthew Bender Studios


www.PhilaOpenStudios.org
www.philadelphiafurnitureshow.com

John Schlesinger, 2018 Peter Benoliel Fellow

The Center for Emerging Visual Artists – 237 South 18th Street, Suite 3A, Philadelphia, PA October 7 to November 15

Artist Talk: Saturday, October 12: Noon to 1pm
Closing Reception: Thursday, November 14: 5 to 7pm.


John Schlesinger is a veteran photographer turned sculptor. He has won a Rome Prize, a Louis Comfort Tiffany Award, a Peter S. Reed Foundation Award and two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships. His work has been reviewed in Art in America, the Village Voice, Aperture, Bomb Magazine, Art News, and the New York Times. Collected broadly, Schlesinger’s output can be found at the Walker Art Center, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Houston Museum of Art, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Hamburg Kunsthalle, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Brooklyn Museum, and the MOMA.
www.johnschlesinger.net

Thank you to Michael Mergen, Community Program Manager,The Center for Emerging Visual Artists, michael@cfeva.org for the content of this post.

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Identity

The Delaware Art Museum Presents Exhibitions Focused on Beauty, Gender, and Identity

Frédérick Douglass, 2015. Omar Victor Diop (born 1980). Inkjet pigment print on Hahnemuhle paper, 35 1/2 x 35 1/2 inches. © Omar Victor Diop, Courtesy Galerie MAGNIN-A, Paris.
Opening in October: Posing Beauty in African American Culture and Angela Fraleigh: Sound the Deep Waters

WILMINGTON, DE (September 20, 2019) — For as long as the concept of beauty has existed, it has been championed and idealized, as well as challenged and questioned. Beauty as a concept, in art as in culture and society, is ever-changing. It is also increasingly complex, as viewers and artists alike drive for deeper discussion around traditional standards and reconsidered interpretations, while eagerly seeking fresh insights and new voices.

Building off this momentum, and continuing its vision of presenting a range of voices to viewers, the Delaware Art Museum presents two provocative exhibitions this fall exploring beauty, gender, and identity: Posing Beauty in African American Culture, on view October 19, 2019, through January 26, 2020, and Angela Fraleigh: Sound the Deep Waters, on view October 5, 2019, through April 12, 2020.

Posing Beauty in African American Culture will look at the contested ways in which African American beauty has been represented in culture, while Sound the Deep Waters, a commission inspired by the Museum’s Pre-Raphaelite and illustration collections, will present a contemporary look at gender and identity through the lens of historical narrative art.

“We’re excited to present these exhibitions at the same time–in dialogue. Both create visually lush experiences for visitors,” says Heather Campbell Coyle, Chief Curator and Curator of American Art at the Delaware Art Museum. “In Posing Beauty, you see a range of artists working in different styles from glamorous portraiture to documentary photography to video art. The works represent over a century of ongoing conversation around beauty and how we see ourselves and others. Then, in the Angela Fraleigh show, you discover a unique, immersive experience inspired by works of art in the Museum’s collection, but there are unexpected elements and themes that cross over between the two projects.”

Together, the two exhibitions and their related programming will invite viewers into the galleries to see works of art with meaningful connections to both the collection and community. At the same time, the overlapping themes of the exhibitions and complementary works of art will continue the Museum’s vision of increasing representation within its own galleries for women artists and artists of color.

“As the Delaware Art Museum looks to provide a platform for all artists and share works of art that tell a range of stories in many different ways, these exhibitions will extend that vision and invite viewers to be part of the discussion,” says Sam Sweet, Executive Director and CEO of the Delaware Art Museum. “We expect the two exhibitions will inspire our community to think deeper on their own notions of beauty and question how those notions were shaped, and perhaps return to look again at favorite works with fresh eyes.”
About the Exhibitions

Posing Beauty in African American Culture examines the contested ways in which African and African American beauty have been represented in historical and contemporary contexts through a diverse range of media, including photography, film, video, fashion, advertising, and other forms of popular culture, such as music and the Internet. Organized by artist and scholar Deborah Willis, the exhibition features 104 works of art, dating from the 1890s to the present.

As author and historian Barbara Summers notes, “Beauty is power. And the struggle to have the entire range of Black beauty recognized and respected is a serious one.” Posing Beauty invites viewers to think seriously about gorgeous photographs–to admire the self-fashioned glamour of models and beauty contestants, as well as the carefully crafted images of celebrities such as Michelle Obama, Isaac Hayes, and Marvin Hagler.

Featuring both black-and-white and color photography, celebrities, and everyday people, the vast array of photos will encourage viewers to think about beauty in political, cultural, and complex terms. Artists in the exhibition include, among others, Sheila Pree Bright, Renee Cox, Omar Victor Diop, Lola Flash, Charles “Teenie” Harris, John W. Mosley, Gordon Parks, Jamel Shabazz, Mickalene Thomas, Carrie Mae Weems, Ernest C. Withers, and lauren woods.

“There is, appropriately, a great range to this exhibition,” says, Heather Campbell Coyle, Chief Curator and Curator of American Art at the Delaware Art Museum. “The historical examples highlight the ideals of beauty and strength promoted by professional portrait photographers, beauty contests, and popular magazines. Seeing these alongside the work of contemporary artists, especially those who actively critique the ongoing presentation of race and gender in American culture, will encourage viewers to consider the complex relationship between beauty and art, as well as the conversation between contemporary art and popular culture.”

Angela Fraleigh: Sound the Deep Waters was directly inspired by the Delaware Art Museum’s Pre-Raphaelite and American illustration collections. This commissioned display presents a contemporary look at gender and identity through the lens of historic narrative art. Fraleigh’s large-scale paintings and ceramics examine notions of storytelling, role-playing, fantasy, and power dynamics in the work of Katharine Pyle, Hannah Barlow, and Marie Spartali Stillman, among others.

Fraleigh’s opulent paintings are populated by female figures freed from the social constructs of their time. No longer the despised witches of popular fairy tales or shunned agitators, these women are empowered to occupy their own utopian landscape. Fusing meticulous realism with gestural abstraction, Fraleigh constructs an immersive space in which reality merges with dreams and hallucinations.

“I uncovered so many incredible stories associated with the women in the Museum’s Pre-Raphaelite and illustration collections,” Angela Fraleigh explains. “This commissioned piece is part of a longtime project that asks: What if the female characters we’ve come to know from art history–the lounging odalisques, the chorus that whispers in the background–present more than a voyeuristic visual feast? What if these characters embody a flickering of female power at work? Can we see these ‘passive’ characters as subversive and powerful? And if we do, how might it affect women today and of the future?”

Sound the Deep Waters is a dynamic response to pieces from the Museum’s own Pre-Raphaelite and American illustration collections. These new works of art–presented in an immersive installation–will spark the curiosity of viewers already familiar with the Museum’s collection, as well as draw others in to see how historic art can impact contemporary creativity.

“Fraleigh’s work often considers how meanings are made and questions how traditional and familiar cultural narratives shape our experiences in the world. Sound the Deep Waters, encourages us to look anew at images from our own collection,” says Margaret Winslow, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Delaware Art Museum. “Viewers will have the opportunity to reconsider the pictures they thought they knew or the stories they thought they understood.”

Public Programs and Events

David Driskell Living Legacy Talk
Saturday, October 20 | 2:00 p.m.
This speaking tour, envisioned as a series of conversations between Professor David C. Driskell and Professor Curlee R. Holton, will provide an opportunity for audiences and communities around the country to learn about the contributions of Professor Driskell, and of African American artists, to the country’s artistic history.

Picturing Beauty: Celebrating Real Women
Sunday, November 17
Picturing Beauty: Celebrating Real Women will be a free, intergenerational event featuring successful female leaders in the arts. The day will be developed in partnership with Girls, Inc., One Village Alliance, and the YWCA. The event will include a keynote address with Deborah Willis and Angela Fraleigh at 2:00 p.m.

Inside Look: Posing Beauty
Friday, November 22 and Sunday, November 24
Led by a University of Delaware art history graduate student, this program includes an in-depth dialogue about a single work of art.

Black Iris Project: “A Mother’s Rite”
Thursday, January 23 | 8:00 p.m.
Founded in 2016 by choreographer Jeremy McQueen, The Black Iris Project is a ballet collaborative and education vehicle that creates new, relevant classical ballet works that celebrate diversity and Black history. “A Mother’s Rite” is a new ballet about how a mother copes with the loss of her child to a racially-motivated murder.

Guide-Led Public Tours
Saturdays and Sundays throughout the run of Posing Beauty | 2:00 p.m.

Sponsors

Posing Beauty in African American Culture is curated by Deborah Willis and organized by Curatorial Assistance Traveling Exhibitions, Pasadena, California. This exhibition is sponsored by M&T Bank and made possible in Delaware by Mary G. Heiser in memory of her son, Scott T. Heiser, the Johannes R. and Betty P. Krahmer American Art Exhibition Fund, WSFS, and Delmarva. Both Posing Beauty and Angela Fraleigh: Sound the Deep Waters are made possible, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division promotes Delaware arts events on www.DelawareScene.com.

About the Delaware Art Museum

For over 100 years, the Museum has served as a primary arts and cultural institution in Delaware. It is alive with experiences, discoveries, and activities to connect people with art and with each other. Originally created in 1912 to honor the renowned illustrator and Wilmington-native, Howard Pyle, the Museum’s collection has grown to over 12,000 works of art in our building and sculpture garden. Also recognized for British Pre-Raphaelite art, the Museum is home to the largest and most important Pre-Raphaelite collection outside of the United Kingdom and a growing collection of significant contemporary art.

Under the leadership of our Board of Trustees, the Delaware Art Museum is implementing a comprehensive approach to community and civic engagement. This exciting new strategic direction requires that we increase our value and relevance to all audiences. Visit delart.org to for the latest exhibitions, programs, and performances or connect with us via social media.
Delaware Art Museum, 2301 Kentmere Parkway,
Wilmington, DE 19806
302.571.9590 | 866.232.3714 (toll free) | delart.org

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Daughters

Nature’s Daughters: Solo Art Exhibition and Networking,

Jessica Libor, Da Vinci Art Alliance

Nature's Daughters: Solo Art Exhibition and Networking, Jessica Libor, Da Vinci Art Alliance
Jessica Libor, Da Vinci Art Alliance

Enjoy original artwork and creative networking at this unique event.
See Jessica Libor’s new pieces in her solo exhibition “Nature’s Daughters,” on view for one night only at the Da Vinci Art Alliance on Wednesday, September 4th from 5-8pm. Celebrate women with Jessica’s art and also with networking expert Jennifer Lynn Robinson. Men are also welcome to attend!


“I want to show the glamour of nature. Whenever I am outdoors in the wild, I feel the most beautiful and free. I don’t think I am alone in this experience. What I wanted to do was show this feeling visually. I want people to be swept away in a gorgeous fantasy of the absolute magic that nature weaves sometimes. I painted women because it felt like a natural expression of nature—like the earth, the feminine can have many sides to it, can bring forth new life, and often express their beauty by decorating themselves…something I am interested in drawing a correlation with.”


Jessica Libor graduated from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 2014 and has been painting, curating and writing since. Find out more at www.jessicalibor.com.


At 7 PM, Jessica will say a few words about the artwork, and Jennifer Lynn Robinson, Esquire of Purposeful Networking will provide her 5 best tips for women to network more strategically. You will also be able to ask Jennifer your networking questions one on one. Find out more at https://www.purposefulnetworking.com/.

There will be light bites and drinks provided. This event is free for all and open to the public! Registration is encouraged.

Wed, September 4, 2019, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM EDTA

Location: Da Vinci Art Alliance, 704 Catharine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147

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Young

YOUNG AT ART 3, Off the Wall Gallery at Dirty Frank’s

YOUNG AT ART 3, Off the Wall Gallery at Dirty Franks

Looking for an art show that’s a breath of fresh air? Perhaps one where the artists’ love of creativity shines through — no agenda, just passion? LOOK NO FARTHER.

THIS SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 1 to 4 PM, we will gather to welcome 22 very young artists to OFF THE WALL. They are the forces behind YOUNG AT ART 3, the newest edition of the occasional juried show we inaugurated in 2013.


Our Opening Reception will put a kid-centric twist on our normal light hors d’oeuvres — pizza, fruit salad and juice boxes, plus mini-cupcakes from our friends and neighbors at SWEET BOX — and you’ll have the chance to meet more than half the artists.


Our creatives run the gamut in age from 3-4 years old — AUGUST KILLESTEFAN NAU and ORLA VECCHIO — up to 11 and 12 — including JAYDEN O’HALLORANMARY MINEI and YOUNG AT ART veterans KYLIE GROVEMO HINCHEY-MODGLINSKYLAR WILLENBORG and EMI and NOA TRAVALIA.

The Travalia girls also remind us that this time around we’re showcasing sibling synergy with five such sets: EMI and NOAISE and SAJ EVANS MCNALLANDARIUS and STEFAN NAUA.J. and SADIE PENNINGTON and CORMAC and ORLA VECCHIO.


Across their work — ranging from paintings and drawings in oil, acrylic, watercolor, colored pencil, charcoal and oil stick, to photography and collage to August’s whimsical sculpture, which takes flight in our 3D case — you witness SHEER JOY.


It buoys our firm belief that each and every person is BORN TO CREATE. The love of art and art-making is genuinely innate. Life erodes this instinct rather than reinforce it — unless we lift up an artist as early as possible.

 
So come join us as much to elevate as to celebrate. And if your party includes other kids, more power. Yes, normally you would be carded — but not for these three hours and a little bit more (unless you order alcohol). Let’s take in great art and have fun!
See you Sunday,
Togo

Togo Travalia
Manager OFF THE WALL GALLERY at Dirty Frank’s, NE Corner, 13th & Pine Streets, Philadelphia, PA, 19107

offthewallgallery@gmail.com

facebook.com/OTWDirtyFranks

@OTWDirtyFranks

(215) 732-5010 (bar)

(484) 357-6440 (cell)

Celebrating 40 years of revolutionary art

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