Category Archives: Da Vinci Art Alliance

Exits & Entrances – David Foss @ LGTripp Gallery

Exits & Entrances - David Foss @ LGTripp Gallery

David Foss has a resume as long as your arm, participating in art shows all across the country and leading the venerable Da Vinci Art Alliance with grace and calm.  But, Foss’ current one-person show at LGTripp Gallery in Old City, Philly is a tour de force incorporating his recognizable style and exciting new direction in his paintings and sculpture.  The gallery is enormous and Foss activates every corner with exciting, bold abstractions from teetering constructions to heroically scaled fluid, drippy paintings to small, introspective pieces.  Louella Tripp told DoN, “I’m really excited about presenting Dave’s new work, representing a transition period.  He has been developing new work over the past two or three years in an exciting new direction with more structure including elements of formal work in terms of process; mixing solvents, chemicals and paint included in a measured way, the merging is brilliant!”

Exits & Entrances - David Foss @ LGTripp Gallery

Throughout the gallery are a series of mono-chromatic sculptures made from found objects resembling alien habitats.  DoN can imagine climbing the ladders to find hidden technology or stored food of the gods.

Exits & Entrances - David Foss @ LGTripp Gallery

David Foss @ LGTripp Gallery in Old City.

Exits & Entrances - David Foss @ LGTripp Gallery

This sculpture occupies the far end of the main gallery like a hybrid house/ship/helicopter ready to start lumbering through the room.

Exits & Entrances - David Foss @ LGTripp Gallery

Detail of the above sculpture – organic, anatomical, gross and beautiful, the large sculpture attracts attention like a fire alarm.

Exits & Entrances - David Foss @ LGTripp Gallery

In the back room gallery space this sculpture is reminiscent of Howl’s Moving Castle with the hanging ladder to safety swiftly moving just out of reach as it lurches to take off.

Exits & Entrances - David Foss @ LGTripp Gallery

Exits & Entrances is an appropriate title for the show as David Foss gradually moves into a stylistic new realm that is more translucent, poetic and free.  Now instead of his work being dense and compact, his paintings are loose, watery and transcendent.  As Foss exits his past, he enters a future as entrancing as a dream; this painting marks a point in the exhibit where Dave begins a new exploration sure to inspire, illuminate and elucidate.

 

 

Photos by DoN.

Haus of DoN, Summer 2010

Hello my little DoNsters, the Haus of DoN, DoNBrewerMultimedia, is slowly rising from the muck of the economic melt-down of 2010 like a lotus with petals opening onto a new season of art and culture.  DoN is so grateful to the Center for Emerging Visual Artists and the Coffee Bar for the extended exhibition of his photo series titled “light beings” through the end of August, 2010. 

As reiki energy would have it, the Photographic Society of Philadelphia‘s long running series of solo member exhibitions @ Bonte’s Café, 17th & Sansom Streets is hosting DoN Brewer‘s “Dark Matter” a collection of images gleaned from the on-going 16 x 20″ show @ the other PSoP venue @ 9th & Walnut Streets and photographs from the “light beings” series.  The exhibition is being installed Thursday, September 9th, 2010 @ 4:00 PM, it is so cool to continue to show DoN‘s art in the heart of Center City.  Thank You so much to PSoP for their confidence end enthusiasm.

light being (Dennis), digital photograph, 2010, DoN Brewer @ Bonte’s Cafe, 17th & Samsom Sts.

From Downtown Center City to Bartram’s Garden in West Philly, Friday, September 10th, 2010 @ 6:00 pm at the Bartram’s Garden Gallery, the Da Vinci Art Alliance is hosting, “What’s the Buzz?”, a DVAA Members Event based on bees; Bartram’s Garden is now cultivating bees and it’s the Honey Festival, too.  Mmmm.  DoN will be gallery-sitting Saturday, September 11th, 2010, 10:00 AM – 2:00PM in the delightful art space in the oldest barn in Philly, stop in for a curated tour by artists participating in the weekend-long show.

Pemberton Street Garden, digital photograph, 2010, DoN Brewer @ Bartram’s Garden Gallery, September 10th – 12th, 2010.

Later that evening DoN will be at the opening of “Through My Window“, a Da Vinci Art Alliance event at The Perkins Art Center in Collingswood, NJ.  The group show’s only caveat was include an old window, each artist visualizing their own view of reality into a work of art – the show has been exhibited at Smile Gallery in Center City Philly and the Renaissance Riverfront Center for the Arts in Millville, NJ. 

 

DoN Brewer & “Vue de la 22 Rue Rambuteau“. colored pencil drawing.

Sunday, September 12th, 2010 @ 2:00 PM DoN will join the party for the Absolutely Abstract 2010 juried exhibition at The Philadelphia Sketch Club, it is such an honor to have abstract landscape photograph from the “light beings” series included in the exclusive art collection for the third year in a row.  Read more about the exhibit @ DoNArTNeWs.

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light beings (Sid & Nancy), digital photograph, DoN Brewer @ The Philadephia Sketch Club’s Absolutely Abstract 2010.

DoN‘s blog, DoNArTNeWs, continues to grow in popularity with a DoN‘s eye view of the gallery scene in Philly.  Thank you to all the artists who share their work, their stories and their passions with DoN; creating a narrative of the warren of alleys in the Philly art world is fun and frustrating with so many exciting and inspiring events to participate in and attend. 

This Fall, DoN is included in the Art Ability art show at Bryn Mawr Rehab Center in Paoli, the huge exhibit of hundreds from artists from all over the world is a juried exhibition of art by works by people living with disabilities.  DoN is also helping to brand Vision for Equality, Inc , designing custom SEO code, resulting in the non-profit organization, which advocates for and monitors people with intellectual disabilities, a page one ranking in Google!  DoN is also writing blog posts for NUVISIONS for Disabled Artists and Diversified Art blog is featuring DoN‘s “light being (Mary)” on their gallery page.  DoN also posts stories on PhillySideArts , QBN and is the Reporting Secretary for the Vitruvian Quarterly art newsletter for the Da Vinci Art Alliance.

light being (Walt), digital photograph, DoN Brewer @ Art Ability this fall.

For now, my lovely DoNsters – the Haus of DoN has withstood the attack of the latest distortion wave in the time space continuum, with super-friends at CFEVA, Da Vinci Art Alliance, The Plastic Club, the Philadelphia Sketch Club, PANMA and The Philadelphia Council for Community Advancement helping DoN survive the money bomb of the Great Recession.  With the LoVe and support DoN feels from comrades & cohorts, making art, communicating visions, telling stories and realizing dreams is now back in fine focus.

Thank you President Obama and Mayor Nutter, without your programs and plans for the people, the Haus of DoN would have collapsed like a house of cards; DoN has been dealt an exciting second hand and has big plans for the future in Philly.

LoVe

DoN

Apocalypse Soon: 2012 @ Da Vinci Art Alliance

David Foss - Apocalypse Soon: 2012 @ Da Vinci Art Alliance

David Foss‘ sculpture made of found materials is like a futuristic robot/humanoid perched in the center of the gallery, the 2012 theme resonates throughout the room with visions of rapture, hell-fire, nothingness and hopefulness.  Foss’s sculpture reminds DoN of a futuristic boy transformed by a post-apocalyptic storm into a cyborg forced to find his way through the scorched land with feelers and antennas extended in all directions, the central brain stem in the middle of the body instead of stupidly plopped up on top where any fool could knock it off.  David Foss is the director of the Da Vinci Art Alliance and will be having a major show at LGTripp Gallery in Old City in September.

Photos by DoNBrewerPhotography.

Bangkok & Black Light @ Smile Gallery

Bangkok & Black Light @ Smile Gallery

Bangkok & Black Light @ Smile Gallery

Photo by Timothy J. Moersh.

Bangkok & Black Light @ Smile Gallery

Model Meredith Battite of ExploreTalent embodied the spirit of International Superstar Leon Rainbow‘s genius black light art show in the dark back room of Smile Gallery.  The intense blue light is projected across the room with two big projectors and a Dan Flavin-like florescent mounted on the wall – the paintings vibrate with day glo color and bikini girl Meredith time tripping right out of Laugh In like a Goldie Hawn for the modern age.  The similarities between then & now are nostalgic yet with a grok of how the futuristic 60’s was like while we fought the American War in Viet Nam compared to the exit this morning from Iraq – it’s a party @ ground zero, baby.

Bangkok & Black Light @ Smile Gallery

Jim Hancocks, Untitled, mixed media & black light in the back room @ Smile Gallery.  Artists in the show include Leon Rainbow, Mike Ciccotello, Joe Iurato, Josi Luv 1, Aja Washington, Jim Hancocks, Papermonster, Dave Orantes, Demer, Kortez, Jon Connor & Will Kasso.   Super-Kawaii!!

Bangkok & Black Light @ Smile Gallery

Bangkok & Black Light @ Smile not only stirred memories of the 60’s, in the trippy vibrant glow, dreams of absinthe drinkers and green fairies emerged from the purple haze.

Bangkok & Black Light @ Smile Gallery

 Vichoke Mujdamanee

is using light in a completely different way, reflecting the ambient light off metal, embelleshed, hammered, painted and polished into ethereal worlds all unto themselves, each one gives a different feedback experience as you move about the gallery.  The collision of hard edge metal reflections and the zany black light art creates a dynamic inversion of perception & reality like a Star Trek holo-lab.

Bangkok & Black Light @ Smile Gallery

 Vichoke Mujdamanee, Philadelphia, mixed media @ Smile Gallery on 22nd Street near Chestnut.

 

Photos by DoNBrewerPhotography.

Diane Keller @ Dumpster Divers on South Street

Diane Keller @ Dumpster Divers on South Street

Diane Keller @ The Dumpster Divers Gallery on South Street near 7th; the gallery is temporary contemporary like some pop-up shop for art.   Keller’s paintings of little girl outfits is sweet yet disconcerting, looking back to a time when kids weren’t covered in logos.

Diane Keller @ Dumpster Divers on South Street

Diane Keller @ Dumpster Divers on South Street

Diane Keller created these pillows by combining digitally printed fabric she designed at Philadelphia University as the result of an award she won at Da Vinci Art Alliance.  The artist combined vintage fabrics she’s been saving with her own painterly pattern with a lush cushion meeting the demand of the art being created with recycled materials.  Diane told DoN she recently re-created her mural of The Rizz @ The Italian Market as the result of a building rehab, the muralist says with the new paint and techniques ol’ Frank looks better than ever.

 

Photos by DoNBrewerPhotography