After the lecture DoN and artist Aida Berzins zipped over to the Philadelphia Society of Free Letts’ Celebrating Latvian Arts show.  Berzins was represented with five works but was joined by an impressive array of fine art from paintings, photography, digital design and sculpture all by Latvian artists. 

Latvia (historically Lettonia, or Lettland), officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in Northern Europe. Latvia shares land borders with Estonia to the north, Lithuania to the south – and both Russia and Belarus to the east. It is separated from Sweden in the west by the Baltic Sea. The capital of Latvia is Riga (Latvian: Riga). Latvia has been a member state of the European Union since May 1, 2004 and a member of NATO since March 29, 2004.  Read the Wikipedia article to see why so many Letts emigrated to America, Aida spent many years in a German refugee camp as a child before moving to the U.S.  

Berzins’ artwork is a result of faithfully pursuing her passion and is quite prolific and well respected in the Philadelphia arts community. 

Drawings and paintings by Aida Berzins and Ugis Nigals @ the Latvian Society.

Acylic painting by Ilmars Rumpeters @ the Latvian Society.

 

Digital art by Ugis Nigals @ the Latvian Society.Sunday, DoN and art enthusiast/couturier Shoshana Aron attended the opening of the Philadelphia Sketch Club’s prestigious 145th Annual Small Oil Paintings Show.  The show is an eclectic mix of landscapes, still life, abstraction, atmospheric naturalism, impressionism, portraits and more – a fine example of the work by Philadelphia’s best painters.  DoN is honored to be included in such good company. 

DoN Brewer’s Odalisque and Richard Harrington’s ’62 Falcon @ PSC. 

Artist Kyle Margiotta with his entry (top center) @ PSC’s 145th Small Oil Paintings Show. 

 Arthur Ostroff with Pearl Garper (Arthur’s entry is upper left) @ PSC opening. 

First Prize Winner, Allison Miller @ PSC Small Oil Paintings Show.

The First Prize winner, Allison Miller’s, The Domino Effect is a moving, expressive minimalist piece with the pentimenti of the drawing clearly visible causing an emotional reaction to the viewer especially in this modern age with so much violence in our culture.  This show is a must see art event through April 27th.

DoN and Shoshana left the party early to attend the Artek and Piffaro, the Renaissance Wind Band’s A Musical Pastiche from Early 17th Century Germany concert at the Lutheran Church, 2110 Chestnut Street.  Artek and Piffaro are both early music ensembles and the combination of voices, early instruments such as recorders, shawms, sackbuts, dulcians and even a hurdy-gurdy was exquisite and transcendent.  From dark pieces such as Alma Afflitta (a diddy about aflicted souls) to Mirtillo hat ein Schafelein ( a song about a sheep who needs a spoon of potion so she could calm down to be sheared) the afternoon concert was deeply affecting and rewarded by a standing ovation.  

Piffaro’s wind instruments on display at intermission.

DoN would like to make a correction to an earlier post regarding the work of Leslie Pontz and Ruth Borgenicht recently on view at the Crane Arts Center; the collaborators are represented by Snyderman-Works Gallery, 303 Cherry Street, Philadelphia.

Ruth Borgenicht with the installation at The Crane Arts Center,

LoVeDoN

All photos by DoNBrewerMultimedia Photography except where noted, all rights reserved. 

 

 

 

Paradise City Arts Festival Founder, Linda H. Post with artist Vitek Kruta from Massachusetts.

 

Quilt artist, Carol Lee Heisler, Lorac Designs of East Norriton, PA.  Paradise City Arts Festival.

 

Mark Jeremy Gleberzon’s acrylic paintings on canvas are real eye-grabbers; yeah, Mark’

 s Canadian. Paradise City Arts Festival. 

Album Cover Art recycled into handbags by Bethlehem PA’s AlbumCoverHandbags.  Paradise City Arts Festival

DoN thinks the handbags recycled from old album covers are divine, especially the B52s; DoN reminded ACH that Frank Sinatra is dead. 

High energy art by Don & Cheryl Olney of Louise’s Daughter of Rochester, NY.  Paradise City Arts Festival.

DoN was drawn into Louise’s Daughter’s dreamy world of good karma, peace and joy; Don & Cheryl are a delightful couple, married 20 years and doing work they both enjoy – does it get better than that?

Dennis Guzenski of J.P. Design’s Lightweight Paper Sculpture.  Paradise City Arts Festival.

Jeanne Petrosky of Pottstown, PA’s J.P. Designs creates wall art that looks like stone but is light as a feather; perfect for creating a dramatic interior design without the worry of wrecking your walls.

Natalie Blake develops tile multiples of ceramic which can be arranged and rearranged at your whim.  Paradise City Arts Festival.

Natalie Blake’s art allows the collector to mix and match to their heart’s content and Natalie Blake Studio’s website is pretty cool, too.  Natalie is from Brattleboro, VT – the town that passed an ordinance proclaiming they would arrest President Bush or Dick Cheney if they set foot in their town?  DoN LoVes Brattleboro.

 

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Scott Ruesswick of Turned Wood Art from Canterbury, NH where beards are essential.  Paradise City Arts Festival.

 

Scott E. Matyjaszek, photographer from Rochester NY @ Paradise City Arts Festival.

Scott Matyjaszek and DoN had a fascinating conversation about photography and the inherent idea of the unlimited potential of spreading art around the world.  Scott prices his work very reasonably so they are accessible but we both agreed if you want to own a limited edition photograph expect it’s going to be in the four figure and up range.  Matyjaszek creates photographic images with 3D techniques that are intriguing, inspiring and affordable.

Saturday DoN and about fifty others attended a lecture by Philadelphia’s finest artist, Paul DuSold at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art’s Cecelia Beaux exhibit.  DuSold is a favorite teacher of many local painters and brought his depth of knowledge of painting to the work by the pioneering woman artist.  Recognized by her peers as “the greatest woman painter that ever lived,” Cecilia Beaux (1855-1942) was a trailblazing artist who achieved international acclaim painting portraits of prominent figures of her day. 100 oil paintings, works on paper, decorative objects, and archival documents (PAFA website).  Paul DuSold explained how warm and cool temperature tones, dark and light color choices, ambiguous edges compared to crisp line, even brush size choices helped make Beaux one of the most successful female artists of her time and a favorite portrait artist of many aristocrats.  DuSold brought some lucidity to what may have seemed to be a conventional portrait exhibit.  Paul DuSold is represented by Gross McCleaf Gallery and teaches painting and drawing at Fleisher Art Memorial and Woodmere Art Museum.

Artist and teacher Paul DuSold @ PAFA’s Cecelia Beaux exhibit.

 

 

 

 

Photo West Gallery @ 3625 West Lancaster Ave currently is exhibiting “Photography – Out of the Blue“, works by 25 Philadelphia photographers and artists.  With works including multimedia, assemblage and conceptual art, Out of the Blue includes a broad range of art using photographs as their basis; the show runs through April 20th.  DoN has discovered that West Philly is totally cool; it’s not just the Science Center, the Bridge and the ICA anymore.

 

Untitled by John Schlesinger @ Photo West Gallery

 

Trippy Indian Snapshots by Nancy Lisagor @ Photo West Gallery

DoN then zoomed back to Center City’s Plastic Club, 247 South Camac Street, to view works by Eleanor J. Hall.  Previously Ms. Hall has participated in group shows at Art Around Gallery, the October Gallery in Old City and ArtJaz Gallery but this was her first solo show and she took full advantage of the historic space.  The walls were covered with lovely florals, still lifes done in acrylics, sensual nudes in pastels, crisp pencil studies and smart shaped canvases of abstracts, figures and animals.  Even though Hall has returned to painting after a long career in business, she’s surely making up for lost time with exuberance and style.

 

Eleanor J. Hall (right) with her granddaughter at The Plastic Club.

Shaped canvas by Eleanor J. Hall.

Back in West Philly, DoN visited the extraordinary ViX Emporium @ 5009 Baltimore Ave; the place was packed with guests munching on snacks while gleaning the array of pottery, prints, clothing, jewelry and art.  Everything was priced right, especially the fine pottery by Steven J. Hoke and the darling Starling fabric prints by Rebecca Westcott (with all the proceeds from sale of the prints going to Morris Animal Shelter – cool.) 

 

Prints and pottery at Vix Emporium.

 

Fabric prints and jewelry @ Vix.

DoN continued on to the opening night gala @ Studio 34, a stunning space located on the second floor of 4522 Baltimore Avenue.  The space boasts a lounge area with a stage for entertainment, a huge gallery space with an excellent show by the Midwives Collective called “Finding Blue“, reiki healing and wellness rooms and a pilates studio.  Friend of DoN, Fran Staret is the resident reiki master.  The art show is exceptional with paintings, photography and sculpture by 14 artists; blue is a recurring theme, artists riff on the luminosity of the color which plays nicely off the theme at Photo West and the ongoing Democraticpresidential race.  Philly is truly blue right now.

Guitarist Walt Bibinger, and jazz singer Jessi Teich, entertaining the crowd at Studio 34.

The art gallery/dance room @ Studio 34: Yoga | Healing | Arts.

Shining Chance by Christiana Kugel @ Studio 34.

DoN has art on display at First Impressions Gallery in Salem, NJ including a cityscape of West Broadway; curator Mary Wolfe is preparing for 2nd Friday, April 11th.  Her last exhibition made front page news and is helping revitalize this historic South Jersey town.

Oil paintings by DoN Brewer and Jeff Samuels @ First Impressions in Salem, NJ.

Drawing by DoN and paintings by Mary Wolfe @ First Impressions Gallery.

DoN is pleased and honored to announce that one of his paintings is included in the 145th Annual Exhibition of Small Oil Paintings at the Philadelphia Sketch Club, 235 South Camac Street, Philadelphia, reception Sunday, April 6th 2-5PM. The exhibit is on through April 27th.

 

Friends of DoN, Reta Sweeney, painter and Lucartha Kohler, glass sculptor have a show called Light & Color at Gallery 50, 50 East Commerce Street, Bridgeton, NJ, April 2 – 25th, reception Friday April 4th, 6 – 9 PM.

 

Friend of DoN, Aida Berzins is included in Izstade, Celebration of Latvian Art at the Philadelphia Society of Free Letts, 531 North 7th Street across from the Edgar Allan Poe House.  Aida is a fine painter who sold out her last show, DoN will review the exhibit for the next DoNArTNeWs.

 

LoVe

DoN

All photographs by DoNBrewerMultimedia Photography except where noted. 

 

  

 

 

 DoNArTNeWs 3/23/08 Alden Cole’s is a luminarist which means he creates unusual light sculptures; not really lamps but fantastical constructs of lamp parts, glass globes and LEDs.  Cole has an exhibit of about 20 pieces at Home and Planet  at 25 East 3rd Street, Bethlehem, PA.  Home and Planet’s motto is “High Style, Earth Friendly” and Cole’s stylized constructs fit right in with the bottle cap tramp art, recycled street signs turned into tables and chairs and South American folk art.  Gallery owner Jon M. Clark is currently the cover model for Lehigh Valley Style Magazine, now that is stylin’ to the max.  Clark is a Philadelphia native (a member of the Dumpster Divers art collective) and has established his gallery as the hub of the burgeoning art scene revitalizing downtown Bethlehem. The rear gallery space of Home and Planet is dedicated to outsider artist Jim Bloom.                        Bloom’s art is hyperactive, bold, scary and inspiring; DoN could tell that Bloom paints to relieve the pain of life as an artist.  Bloom paints wildly on whatever material is at hand whether it’s canvas, cardboard boxes or even paper plates; each piece tells a bit of his personal history from family trauma, school bullying, personal relationships…it’s all out there, often with words scrawled across the image provoking inappropriate church laughter.  Some of the paintings are signed August since Bloom’s Dad thought artists would ruin the family name – DoN totally identifies.  Jim Bloom‘s art is featured in the Winter edition of Gaydar Magazine.                                     DoN promised coffee shop art and Darlings Coffee House satisfies the craving with a superlative show by David Katz at Darlings Coffee located at 20th and Pine Streets in Philadelphia.  The shop walls are covered in a variety of canvas’ all based on the theme of stylized ducks against a canary yellow sky.  Darling’s has a history of promoting area artists and this show demonstrates their willingness to let the artist really express themselves.  DoN had the first art installation at Darlings when they first staked out 404 South 20th Street several years ago – Darlings also produce Philly’s Best Cheescake and have the awards to prove it. Gallery 339 has a new show of photographs by Amanda Means of light bulbs and glasses of water.  This superb space promotes the best in contemporary photography, probably the premier art photo gallery in the region with a wonderful collection of prints.  339 is located at 330 South 21st Street, in DoN‘s neighborhood.Artist, Ben Cohen has a show called Changing the Planet opening April 2 – 27 @ Home Fine Art Gallery, 2 Church St., Mt. Holly, reception Friday April 11, 6 – 8PM.Artist  Burnel Yow! exhibits mandala art at Balance Gallery 112 South 20th Street, Philadelphia through the end of March.
Photography Out of the Blue opens Friday March 28th @ Photo West Gallery, 3625 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia PA, featuring a large group of Philly photographers including friends of DoN, Randy Dalton & Amy Potsic and 23 more.  The party starts at 5-8PM, Don will see you there.                          LoVeDoN