Category Archives: Fine Art Philadelphia

Fine art created by Philadelphia area artists.

Dumpster Divers @ Noyes Art Museum, Hammonton, NJ

Hammonton NJ is the self proclaimed blueberry capital of the world with a wonderfully quaint downtown district which has truly suffered from Wal-Martization.  Art to the rescue with the Noyes Museum occupying a lovely space with bright windows and unbroken sight lines.  The mysterious Dumpster Divers have been on display with a lavish installation of mixed media works of art that excites the senses and stirs old memories.  Saturday is the last day at the Noyes but then a lot of the work will move to 734 South Street, Philadelphia where the Dumpster Divers have taken over a vacant store front on the hippest street in town.

dumpster divers carol cole 

Carol Cole, “New Beginnings“, mixed media.  DoN was drawn into the luster of the paper mache eggs with the opalescent knobs, spikes and arrow forms creating a frame of strangeness; very desirable, chic and modern.

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Ellen Sall, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds“, mixed media. 

dumpster divers Betsy Alexander 

Betsy Alexander’s crosses made from cds wonderfully mixes the magic of contemporary music distribution with ancient symbols.  Music was once held secret and sacred by the churches who recognized the power of aural input to influence behavior.  Betsy’s crosses sing a contemporary song with visual cues and signs, symbols and silence speak volumes. 

dumpster divers Aldy Cole

Alden Cole, “Eros Ex Machina”, mixed media @ The Noyes Museum gallery in Hammonton, NJ.   

 dumpster divers Aldy Cole 

Alden Cole’s, Divine Lorraine series is on display at various locales.  Cole’s use of wood is lavishly skillful, real love is applied to the surfaces of his creations. 

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Burnell Yow!,La, Va, Ra, Ya“, mixed media @ Noyes Museum in Hammonton, NJ. 

Mimesis – Neilson Carlin & Allen Carter @ Pierre S. DuPont Art Center

Mimesis ; ape-ish copying.  The technical definition is simple but Carter and Carlin exhibit considerable skill in creating atmospheric naturalism, magic realism and ecclesiatical ecstatic images designed to stir the soul and portray the mystery of life through painting.

Neilson Carlin

Neilson M. Carlin @ The Pierre S. DuPont Art Center, Wilmington, DE.

Neilson Carlin

Neilson M Carlin.  DoN overheard Neilson tell a gallery visitor, “you have to scare the kids; raw meat and naked men.”  Carlin has a really great website representing the artist effectively, his understanding of interface design on the web and what he calls “Memesis” in painting is powerful; Carlin has his own painting school in  Kennett Square with a dedicated following. 

Neilson Carlin

Panoramic shot of preparatory drawings for a major painting.

 Allan Sarter 

Allen G. Carter, Sr. @ The Pierre S. Dupont Art Center.  Carter wrote an article for International Artist’s magazine – visit the cool website with Allen’s article here.  Carter exhibited works in process including color palettes and diagrams of the design included in the magazine article, utilizing and energizing the space with knowledge and learning.  The school has a really excellent gallery space with the room to explain everything that goes into creating a classically modern masterpiece even displaying full-scale cartoons by Carlin used to create a large scale mural.

 Allan Carter

Allen G. Carter, Sr. @ Mimesis Exhibit in The Pierre S. DuPont Art Center. 

Allan Carter 

Artist and teacher – Allen G. Carter, Sr. with his painting teacher and mentor Neilson M. Carlin @ the opening reception for Memesis in The Pierre S. DuPont Center for the Arts in Tower Hill  School. 

Introductions ’09 @ The Galleries at Moore College of Art & Design, Widener Foundation Memorial Gallery

Introductions ’09 at The Galleries at Moore College of Art & Design, Widener Foundation Memorial Gallery, 20th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia is just so amazing – lot’s of wild mixed metaphors, deep narrative streams of consciousness and memes within memes within memes.  Brenna K Murphy’s “Roots #3” is a prime example of an artwork weaving multiple meanings of normal images, encountered daily, into an interesting story that plays in your mind like a movie.  Brenna’s “roots” are wrapped in human hair, completely encasing real tree roots, which are arranged lovingly on a large white wall.  DoN asked Murphy about the origins of the work, “Wrapping the roots is about home and the body  Growing up as a nomad, to Brenna the hair represents the body as home.  Donald Carter, who is rooted in Philadelphia, asked Brenna how she would sell the work.  Good question: the piece has already been exhibited at Eileen Tognini’s house but hanging from the ceiling, so the piece is growing and changing all the time.  Time, growth, security, luxury and fun all swirling together like twisted dreadlocks, representing culture and sub-culture, luxury and lunacy, safety and insanity all wrapped up in hair.  “Roots #3” is an adventurous idea, realized with meticulous craft, enthusiasm and industriousness – what more can we ask of art?  

Brooke Hine’s ceramic mixed media sculpture also has slippery hidden narratives, “These are a Few of My Favorite Things” is composed of ceramic, slip, stains, glaze and whiskers.  Real cat whiskers. 

Daniel Traub’s large format c-print is hyper-realism with a hypnotic story to tell about Chinese “Cities Edge”; the incomplete skeletons of future luxury housing is occupied by industrious people gleaning the pervasive demolition of old China and reselling to the secondary market.  An amusement park is on the horizon while stacks of doors and windows, each a metaphor, lean against the concrete.  Fabric and plywood fill the vacant windows like layers of pages from a book. 

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 Diane Savona, “Sewing Bag Number One“.

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 Brenna K Murphy, “Roots #3“.

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Brooke Hines sculpture, Danielle Bursk, drawing. 

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Daniel Traub, photograph.

 

ben volta 

Ben Volta @ Introductions ’09. 

25th Annual School Districts of Philadelphia High School Show @ PSC

The Philadelphia Sketch Club in partnership with the Philadelphia School District presents the 25th Annual High School Student Art Exhibition from February 9, 2009 through February 22, 2009.  A closing reception and awards will be held February 22nd, 2 – 5:00 PM.  The invitational represents the best student artists from High Schools around the city.  The 2009 exhibit was organized by Dorothy Roschen, a prominent Philadelphia sculptor and former art teacher, the jurors are Diana Larisgoitia, PH.D, Rik Viola, actor and fine artist and multimedia artist DoN Brewer.

The depth and breadth of this wonderful show demonstrates how young people can communicate through art whether through Photoshop to cut paper to traditional drawings and paintings.  DoN recalls that art was his favorite class in high school, a place to escape from the difficulties of growing up during the Viet Nam War (the Vietnamese called it the American War) with the inherent fear of the draft after graduating.  Today young people are dealing with multiple wars and the new-age depression yet they, too, find solace in losing themselves in paint, charcoal and pastel even if they only have brown paper to develop their ideas.

More than 20 awards are being presented but there are many students being presented with honorable mentions that will receive certificates.  DoN urges you to donate funds, materials or gift certificates to the Philadelphia Sketch Club’s effort; it would be great if every kid who poured his soul into their art is able to go home with an award. 

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Olivia Haas mixed media piece won best in show at the 25th Annual Philadelphia High School Art Show @ PSC. 

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25th Annual Philadelphia High School Art Show @ PSC.  

 high school

25th Annual Philadelphia High School Art Show @ PSC.  

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Anthony Martin’s drawing, “Good vs. Evil” won the Lois Muriel Award for Excellence in Drawing.