Category Archives: Fabric Art

Art primarily using fabric as its basis.

Philadelphia Open Studio Tours West & East

DoN opened his studio to the public again this year with hundreds of other Philly artists participating in Philadelphia Open Studio Tours. Visitors signed the giant “Hello My Name Is…” sign that he received as part of Newstoday Print Exchange 4. DoN‘s MoM, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and friends stopped by to view recent drawings, paintings and prints. POST is a great way to meet other artists and make new friends as well as sell some art. Thanks so much to good friends Shoshana and Alden with their help and support; it’s a lot of work. KaTy the ArT DoG and her pal Doofie, the St. Bernard/Chihuahua mix greeted visitors with wagging tails and lots of slobber. This year the tour started West of Broad Street so DoN didn’t get to visit friends such as Paul DuSold or Betsy and Burnell but DoN‘s MoM did and is still talking about how Nora the Piano Playing Cat plinked out a tune for her – thanks Nora! Panoramic shot of DoN‘s Nude Room.

East of Broad Street was super-exciting with dumpster diver Alden Cole’s spectacular display of drawings, paintings, luminaries and found object constructions. Alden has returned to his painting roots and is producing interesting compositions packed with metaphors, narrative and deeply personal spiritual art works. Obviously it’s too much to see all the studios in one wekend but I’m sure if you contact Alden he would be more than happy to allow you to explore four floors of art.Panoramic shot of Alden Cole‘s kitchen gallery. Cole is having an exhibition at Smile Gallery in November.

Robert Stauffer in his quirky alley gallery @ 7th & Federal. Stauffer’s mixed media, paintings and photos were super-fun especially viewed in one of Philly’s famous narrow alleyways.

Dr. Doris Peltzman with friend Reta Sweeney at Morris Street Studios deep in South Philly. Peltzman is having a one woman show at the prestigious Carspecken Scott Gallery in Wilmington as well as a group show at Artist’s House. You go girl!!! Doris is truly gifted and dedicated to producing work that stretches her limits with brilliant coloration, bold brushwork and subtle compositions.

Painting master, Francis Tucker, also at Morris Street Studio displayed just a few of his masterworks and demonstrated his proficiency at framing. Tucker was DoN‘s first painting mentor back in the day when UArts was still PCA and still teaches emerging artists skills involving materials and technique.

Artist Arthur Ostroff, also of Morris Street Studios, explained to DoN his plans for a one man show which has turned into a retrospective of his lifes work. The exhibit, Arthur Ostroff Then and Now, will be at Montgomery County Community College West Campus Art Gallery, November 1 through December 19, 2008.

Mixed media collage by Art Ostroff.

Painting by Charles Cushing and sculpture by Carol Cole @ 915 Spring Garden art studios.

Frances Galante‘s studio was humming with activity and filled with masterful landscapes and still iife paintings. DoN asked Galante about including architecture in her works, “I like to include architecture because it shows the human element and gives scale to painting.” This past summer Frances painted at Monhegan Island off the coast of Maine at an artist’s colony.

Frances Galante’s Sailboat on the Delaware.

Ana B. Hernandez’ flamenco inspired hanging sculpture. Ana tells DoN her work, “… attempts to capture the movement and energy as a visual vocabulary of the skirt of the dancer.”

Ana B. Hernande z @ 915 Spring Garden.

Wendy Wolf has a system of layering paint and then scraping away bits to reveal the layers, she then saves the bits in little boxes as a separate art object. Wolf is also a jeweler producing beautiful necklaces and bracelets, she says, “…life is charmed.” An MFA graduate of Tyler Art School, Wolf has been at 915 Spring Garden for more than two years.

The left over bits from a Wendy Wolf painting displayed in clear plastic boxes.

Peter Cunicelli’s studio @ 915 Spring Garden. Each piece is handmade from slabs of clay allowing Peter to create space-age style ceramics perfect for contemporary interiors; Peter is working on producing multiples so he can offer table wares in his unique style. Cunicelli was included in this summer’s Art of the State exhibit in Harrisburg. Congrats!

Brooke Hine’s studio displayed her ubiquitous organic ceramics; always interesting, delicate and absorbing sculptures in a style all her own. Hine recently curated a fabulous show at the Center for Emerging Visual Artists and was also included in the Art of the State show in Harrisburg. DoN LoVeS Brooke!!!

LoVe

DoN All photos by DoNBrewerMultimedia.

CFEVA Introduction 2012
Blick Art Materials

Bobbie Diamond Adams, Mark Donahue, Melissa Quinter and Ted Warchal @ Hopkins House

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The Hopkins House Art Gallery is hosting a facinating exhibit of contemporary art by established and emerging Philadelphia area artists curated by Bruce Garrity of Rutgers University featuringBobbie Diamond Adams, Mark Donahue, Melissa Quinter and Ted Warschal. The gallery is located on the banks of the Cooper River in Camden NJ in an historic old stone house with sculptures on the lawn (shark fins swim through the grass) and sailboats glide on the river. The art assembled by Garrity in the warmly sun-lit space includes mixed media sculpture, experimental papers and innovative printing techniques on fabrics.

Bobbie Diamond Adams creates collographs on pigmented handmade paper, beautifully presented in hardwood frames, the creativity and craft of fine art prints is evident in each unique piece. Adams also has a “gaggle” of ceramics which the artist refers to as “organized chaos”.

“Ancestral Sands“, pigmented pulp with lithograph and xerox printing by Bobbie Diamond Adams @ The Hopkins House.

Bobbie Diamond Adams “gaggle of pottery @ Hopkins House.

Artists, Mark Donahue and Bobbie Diamond Adams @ Hopkins House Gallery.

Mark Donahue’s sculpture installation is composed of fiber and hydrocal without any armitures; Triffid-like the constructions seem infused with energy as if at night they creep about in the dark. Donahue includes ready-made plaster objects in the installation insinuating wit and satire into the mysterious fabrications. Paired with Melissa Quinter’s enormous orange panel on the wall, the room is like an alien landscape. More about Donahue later.

Melissa Quinter created each of the fabric patterns in her psychedelic quilt by various methods including scanning images, patterns and batiks then changing the colors and saturation in Photoshop and finally printing and quiltmaking. Boldly, the artist splashed day-glo green plasticized paint over the delicate handwork, obscuring and illuminating the pulsating patterns.

Melissa Quinter @ Hopkins House Art Gallery.

Mellisa also has several mixed media pieces in the show; working with fabric, collage and other media, she brings craft and fine art together in vibrantly luminous objects of desire. Working towards her Senior Thesis at Rutgers, this artist has pulled out all the stops mixing materials, techniques and media with abandon and enthusiam. Alden & DoN LoVeD the trippy, drippy paintings, Shoshka was eyeing up the wacky quilts – all of us were inspired by the inventiveness and clear sense of direction found in the art.

Ted Warchal’s wall-hung open boxes filled the first floor gallery space with dark, spooky combinations of images, objects and symbols. Dada-like and surrealistic, the found art constructs are each packed with synthetic narrative, poetic streams of consciousness and dream-like combinations of thought patterns. DoN has viewed several of Warchal’s art works at Da Vinci Art Alliance shows but this collection of variations on a theme is wildly unexpected in it’s intensity and drama. Warshal is expert at combining materials to create the elusive objet trouve.

“Fetish I“, mixed media, Ted Warshal @ Hopkins House.

Hopkins House is only 15 minutes from Center City; DoN suggests you scoot on over to Camden and check out some very cool art by established and emerging local talent.

Cultural Collisions, Turtulia, BARE

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DoNArTNeWs

Ola! The Philadelphia Sketch Club is hosting Cultural Collisions: Latino Artists in Philadelphiawith an art exhibition of paintings, drawings and photography, the Turtulia included poetry, music, perforformance and dance and the upcoming extravaganza, Gala Milonga, with Tango lessons, dance performance and live entertainment. Shoshka and DoN attended the opening reception for the art exhibit last Sunday and literally participated in an historic event. Charles Cushing is the curator of the exhibit incorporating Latin American art, poetry, music, performance and more; he has been practicing Tango for weeks preparing to take the floor of the Sketch Club (perfect for dancing by the way) . The art show originated with Cushing curating a smaller exhibit of Latin artists at Two Penn Center and through a series of acquaintances and meetings he was able to coordinate with the Sketch Club’s exhibition committee a show in the historic gallery during Latin American History Month.

Produced mostly by Philadelphia Latin artists, the show includes traditional Latin art but also contemporary, abstract, photo-realist, expressionist paintings and fine art photography.For example, a group of four 8×10 silver gelatin print photographs in the far corner of the gallery by Jorge Figueroa represent more than just the emerging artist’s first art show, the images document a way of life since the artist began taking photographs as a teenager and is now 65. Monica Rodrigo, President of the Board of Raices Culturales Latino Americans, explained to DoN how Figueroa’s family oftened questioned his perchant for taking pictures but now there’s talk of an exhibit at the Center for Emerging Visual Artists, a catalog raisonne and more. Here’s this guy in Guatamala clicking pictures, taking flack from his kids, working hard yet documenting American life, capturing history through glimpses into true humanity. The artist was present forTurlulia, the poetry reading last Friday evening – more about that later on.

Artist/Curator Charles Cushing at the opening of Cultural Collisions @ The Philadelphia Sketch Club.

Silver gelatin prints by Jorge Figueroa @ PSC Cultural Collisions. The lower image is called, “The Junkyard Worker“, absolutely stunning – the clarity, narrative, execution, presentation are all first rate; Figueroa’s work is a treasure trove of fine art photography.

Silver gelatin print by Jorge Figueroa. Monica explained to DoN that this image represents this young girls world, her job as a maid means she is responsible for the space you see in the picture – a corner of the world.

Dante Sanchez‘, “The Time Has Come“, portraying “the moment Judas felt sorry and hung himself”. Sanchez’ bold strokes, inspired by the writing of Juan Bosch‘s “Judas Escariate El Calumniado“, have a plein air quality, as if quickly painted in the moment; Dante captures the instant when the sky darkens as Judas dies.

Dante Sanchez with his, “Dancing on 5th Street.” During Friday nights, Turtulia, the climax of the evening was a performance of La Bomba in authentic costume with live music! DoN captured the event on tape and will post video clips soon on DoNArTNeWs. Dante was the MC and kept the evening on course with poetry, music, song and dancing long into the evening until everyone spilled out onto Camac street to be greeted by warm summer rain. The Sketch Club should install a DJ booth – what a terrific room for dancing – everyone was moving to the infectious beat, inspired by the creativity, color and culture.

Dante Sanchez‘, “Mental Vacation in Santo Domingo“. Dante told DoN, “Dominicans are always dreaming of their country, sending money home to their families but always dreaming of the beach.”

Sylvia Castellanos with, “First Communion“, oil on canvas. The subject of the work, the artist’s niece now all but grown up into a beautiful young woman, was present at the show; the sense of family, love and pride was overflowing and passionate.

Diana Ovieda‘s, “Cherry“, a large painting evocative of the spirit of the historic event at The Philadelphia Sketch Club. Diana was not present but her mother sure was! Dr. Nimi Ovieda was not pleased when her daughter veered towards a career in art while away on a high school class trip. Now Dr. Ovieda recognizes the passion and drive Diana possessed in order to attend PAFA and now U Penn. “Cherry” could be a painting from any modern culture, anywhere in the world; the scale, color sense and composition are cosmopolitan, vibrant and timeless.

“Surprise“, graphite on paper by artist Juan Gomez. A super-strong piece; DoN overheard Steve Iwanczuk advising Gomez to enter the piece in an upcoming exhibition. There are prospectus’ available online at the Sketch Club’s website.

Jose Sebourne with his watercolor, “Staci Jiggitts“. Sebourne’s technique is so precise, so refined that at first glance the image appears to be a photograph then magically melts into a nuanced painting, the folds of the jacket abstract, the light glinting on an earring really a scrape of paint, the subject a young woman lost deep in thought – a great painting.

Cultural Collision‘s Art Stars: Diana Larisgoitia, Pedro Fuller, Jose Sebourne, Dora Becerra, Carlos Pascual, LuzSelenia Salas, Albert Becerra, Sylvia Castellanos and Juan Gomez.

Friday, 9/5, the Turtulia at the Sketch Club with poety and performances by Mirelle Palmansa, Alfierus Bonilla, Gladis Montolio, Dante Sanchez, Irsa Garcia, Isida M. Brache, Iris Violete Colon-Torres, Adolfo Suarez and Carmen Torres with singer Juan Bonilla, guitarist Jose Bonilla and the Impacto Vallenato group performing between readings was theatrically spectacular. DoN does not speak Spanish – at all – but the crowd made Shoshka, DoN and new friend Charleen feel welcome, the poetry was passionate and emotional, the songs sweet and soulful, the readings by accomplished academics, writers and performers transformative. America is not just the USA; America extends from Canada to Chile with artists, writers, musicians and performers inhabiting each state, country, island, city, town, farm…world’s collide at Cultural Collisions.

The exhibition continues through September 24th, this Friday, September 19th, is Gala Malanga with Tango lessons, performances and an evening of dancing. DoN apologizes to all his new latin friends for miss-spelling “Turtulia” in the last newsletter.BARE

Downstairs in the pool room @ PSC is a photo exhibition entitled BARE natural light nude, photographs by Stephen M. Kane. Like, WOW!!! Kane’s images are in a word – sexy. The show brings to mind Thomas Eakin’s challenge to present the nude in a beautiful, natural manner; Kane surely is pushing the same envelop to present the human form in an intimate, artistic form; each sample of his work activates the space with energy.

Coming Soon

Next DoNArTNeWs will review Ted Warchal at the Hopkins House in Camden, NJ, Rikard Larma at Smile, Second Thursday at Crane and more.

LoVe

DoN

All photographs by DoNBrewerMultimedia.

K. Pannepacker Homework/Research @ Smile Gallery

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Friday night, Shoshana, Alden and DoN attended the opening of Homework/Research at Smile Gallery. Kathryn Pannepacker has already completed one enormous mural at the intersection of Belmont and Girard Avenues but it “only” represents the carpets and rugs of 43 countries. So, Jane Golden of the Mural Arts Program has found her another site at Broad and Lehigh to add to her collection of world textile design; Pannepacker will begin production of the mural in early September, her show at Smile Gallery on 22nd Street represents the research into styles and textures to be incorporated into the painting. Kathryn is primarily known as a weaver and fiber artist, who better to develop an educational mural commemorating the ethnic styles of such commonplace yet essential household art? The texture paintings, wax and felt medallions and design examples represent research Pannepacker has gleaned in her world travels, filling the space with color, light, imagination and history. A tour de force!