Category Archives: First Friday

Homelessness

Homelessness, Carolyn Harper. MUSE Gallery
Lemuel, art quilt, 5.5′ x 5′, Carolyn Harper, MUSE Gallery

Look Me In The Eye: Portraits of Homelessness

Carolyn Harper, MUSE Gallery

I am a Philadelphian and an artist with an upcoming exhibition in Old City Philadelphia at MUSE Gallery,Look Me In The Eye: Portraits of Homelessness” is a show of large art quilts and oversized hand embroidered drawings that use personal stories of homeless individuals, Philadelphians, to inspire empowerment and  create visibility of those who have been left behind by our society.

My work combines art and action to produce meaningful social impact. The implementation of portraiture within quilting serves to empower the persons depicted, enabling them to see themselves through their own stories rather than qualifiers such as “jobless” or “homeless”. Through conversations and active listening, I learn about the individual stories of these overlooked and ignored community members. The large scale work forces the audience to confront images of people they would rather not see, and bear witness to the stories behind them. 

Carolyn Harper

This work is extremely relevant to the times we live in, and I am grateful to The Puffin Foundation for providing me with a grant in support of my work. The Artist Reception will take place at MUSE Gallery, 52 N. 2nd Street, Old City Philadelphia, on Friday, November 1st from 5 – 8 pm. The exhibition runs through the end of November; Gallery hours are Wednesday – Sunday from 12-5.

For more information and images please visit about Carolyn Harper: www.carolynharperart.com

About Muse Gallery:

Mission: Established late in 1977, the Muse Gallery is an artists’ cooperative dedicated to encourage and promote its members’ artistic expression through abstract, conceptual and representational forms. Reflecting an aesthetic that awakens awareness, the Muse Gallery affirms the shared experience of art between the artist and the community.  Please see the membership page to view a detailed history of Muse.
To join the Gallery: Muse Gallery is always interested in potential new members. We are often fully staffed and maintain a waiting list. Please visit our membership page.

Thank you to Carolyn Harper for the content of this post.

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What Follows

The Birthing, 2019, mixed media on paper, 22″ x 30″

The Art of Grief and What Follows
Paintings and Writings by Tremain Smith


May 1 thru June 1, 2019

Old City Jewish Arts Center
119 North 3rd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-627-2792
Gallery Hours: Mon-Fri 10-5, Sat & Sun 12-5
www.ocjac.org
www.tremainsmith.com

May 3, 5-9 pm: First Friday Opening
Sun, May 19, 2-4 pm: Art & writing workshop led by the artist
Wed, May 29, 6-8 pm: Closing Reception/Poetry Reading

All events are free and open to the public.

Rare Orchid

Let it blossom in its time
Let it unfold of its own accord
Slowly gently imperceptibly 
Like that rare orchid you spoke of, Mom
It’s multiplied
In my window in the light of my window
protected by the pine and nestled in peace 
Brand new bold stems have come 
It’s you.
I made it, Mom. I made it through the grief.
I’m happy now. I’m living again.
Changed and sustained by your life and death I love you.
You fell into my soil
like the leaves from the trees
Bountifully nourishing my essence
I grow,
strong, deep, solid
I can touch the sky
I touch the sky indeed.
You smile.
Ever my encourager, now you are my guide, my holy being.

Remember how we said as you were leaving this earth:
“I place myself in the hands of holy beings.”

I do that now, while still on earth.
Thank you.
Always.
That line that stretches back
Before time
And forever
That’s where I meet you
Thank you to Tremain Smith for the content of this post.

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Faux-Pas

HOUSEGallery April First Friday opening reception :

Autumn Wallace : How could I say no to you?

Autumn Wallace uses her artwork as a means to address social change. Illustrating individuals as large, curvy beings with slightly distorted features, she aims to encourage viewers to see beauty within the ‘imperfect’.  Most recently, Ms. Wallace received a Creative Arts, Research and Scholarship Grant to study at the National Museum of African Art and National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.  Titled “The Origins of Respect[ability],” her research paper focused on themes of queerness and femininity, specifically within the Black community. 


We invite you join us for Autumns reception on April 5th. 

Michelle Marcuse

Would a No by any other name smell as sweet?

Shut-out, Shut-In, or Shut-Up? That big, hard wall sprung by dismissal creates so many wonderful possibilities! Where, oh where will that sharp left turn bring you?  Before you Google what tools you need to split a second for that decision, be aware that in April at HOUSEGallery, Autumn will use experimental thought exercises assisted by paint and clay to lead a guided exploration of the prospects at How Could I Say ‘No’ to You? Come discover your ways here.

About Autumn Wallace

To Autumn Wallace, Faux-Pas is a destination island where anything is possible. On this island [floated in a small undisclosed Philadelphia enclave], Autumn blends daily life with their borderline obsessions. Prominent features of the island’s attractions include 90’s cartoons, Baroque aesthetics, and ‘Adult Materials’ arranged in painting and sculptures, stirring up narratives of chaotic [con]fusion. Why? Eluding reason boosts emotional response, makes viewers voyeurs, or participants–no bystanders. Here, absurdity is the moderator and we’re all in for the ride.
www.autumnwallaceart.wordpress.com/www.instagram.com/veggiemon/

HOURS by appointment

Location HOUSEGallery1816 Frankford Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19125

Thank you to Michelle Marcuse for the content of this post.

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Moment

Zelda Edelson: Color in the MomentZelda Edelson, Calif’s Palace, acrylic on canvas, 40” x 30”, 2018

Accomplished painter and editor from Philadelphia has first solo exhibition at

age eighty-nine in her hometown.

Zelda Edelson:  Color in the Moment

A solo exhibition by painter Zelda Edelson

 November 2 – 30, 2018

Curated by Amie Potsic

OPENING RECEPTION: First Friday, November 2, 5:00 – 9:00 PM Artist in attendance at 5:00 PM

LOCATION: Old City Jewish Art Center (OCJAC), 119 N. 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106

Contact:  Rabbi Zalman Wircberg, 215-627-2792  ocjac.org

HOURS: Thursdays and Fridays 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Sundays 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM and by appointment (Closed on Thanksgiving).

Admission is free.

Click the pics for large images.

Philadelphia, PA – Old City Jewish Art Center, located at 119 N. 3rd Street, Philadelphia, and Amie Potsic Art Advisory, LLC present Color in the Moment, a solo exhibition by painter and Philadelphia native, Zelda Edelson. At eighty-nine years old, Edelson presents her first solo show in the city, which highlights her new paintings.  Curated by Amie Potsic, CEO and Principal Curator of Amie Potsic Art Advisory, LLC, the show begins on November 2 and runs through November 30.  The opening reception will be on First Friday, November 2 from 5:00 – 9:00 PM with the artist in attendance at 5:00 PM to discuss her work with guests and patrons.  Gallery hours are Thursdays and Fridays from 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Sundays from 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM, and by appointment.  Admission is free and all are welcome.

Color in the Moment features Zelda Edelson, a prolific abstract painter who has created her own technique to enable her to paint from a walker used for balance.  Creating something positive from challenging circumstances, her paintings are colorful and evocative.  Edelson begins each painting with a gesture of the arm to create the first mark with her palette knife.  The paint begins to flow and Edelson becomes invigorated, losing herself in the process.  She paints on the areas of the canvas she can reach first.  Then turning the painting, she accesses the previously unreachable portions to complete it.  When each painting is finished, Edelson enjoys the process of bringing her diverse background to bear as she writes insightful titles for each work.  Sharing her love of painting through gesture, color, and form, Edelson’s work reveals a voice that is both seasoned and spontaneous.

Edelson explains, “My paintings are full of color, feeling, and movement.  They are lyrical like a song, strong like a knot, and intricate like a spider’s web.”  Her work is in the tradition of Abstract Expressionism as were her strongest influences:  artists Paul Klee, Jackson Pollock, and Willem de Kooning.

Zelda Edelson: Color in the MomentZelda Edelson, Interrupted, acrylic on canvas, 40” x 30”, 2018

Zelda Toll Edelson was born in Philadelphia on October 18, 1929. Edelson traces her interest in art and painting to an experimental art class she took while at Girls High taught by distinguished artist and teacher Jack Bookbinder.  This first introduction to modern art had a profound effect on her, which she would act on many years later.  As a young woman, Edelson was a bit of a radical, frequently going to far away parts of town to see a foreign movie or check out a bookstore. When she completed high school, she went to the University of Chicago, where she graduated with a major in English Literature.  After marrying Marshall Edelson, she eventually moved to Connecticut.  There she began her twenty-year career as Editor and Head of Publications for Yale University’s Peabody Museum of Natural History. In her role as editor, Edelson used her artistic sensibility to create skillfully produced photographs and illustrations to complement the natural history articles of the Yale faculty.

When she retired in 1995, Edelson decided to focus on painting.  She also moved back to Philadelphia, to her roots, where she still has many family members.  Zelda has exhibited her work at the Woodbridge Town Center and the Creative Arts Center in Connecticut as well as at Gallery Q2, The Jewel of India, Art for the Cash Poor, and Main Line Art Center in the Philadelphia area. She received an Honorable Mention award in the 70th Annual Members’ Exhibition at Main Line Art Center in October of 2007.  At eighty-nine years old, Edelson now lives in Haverford, PA, where she continues to be a prolific painter.

 Zelda Edelson: Color in the MomentZelda Edelson, Romance In A Winter Light, acrylic on canvas, 24” x 18”, 2012

Curator of the exhibition, Amie Potsic, MFA is the CEO & Principal Curator of Amie Potsic Art Advisory LLC, Chair of the Art In City Hall Artistic Advisory Board of the City of Philadelphia, as well as an established photographer and installation artist.  Potsic has extensive experience curating exhibitions for museums, galleries, art organizations, and public spaces and offers Legacy Planning for artists and collectors.  Legacy Planning involves the opportunity to shape an artist or collector’s legacy, during their lifetime, to create meaning and purpose through a life’s work.  By documenting, exhibiting, and publishing their artwork as well as placing works with institutions and collections, she helps strengthen their artistic impact while relieving their loved ones of the difficult task of organizing an archive, studio, or collection.  Potsic presents this legacy exhibition to honor Edelson and her work.

Potsic received her MFA in Photography from the San Francisco Art Institute and BA’s in Photojournalism and English Literature from Indiana University.  She has held faculty appointments at the University of California at Berkeley, Ohlone College, and the San Francisco Art Institute and been a guest lecturer at the International Center of Photography, the University of the Arts, Tyler School of Art, and the Delaware Contemporary. Professional appointments have included Director of Gallery 339, Curator and Director of the Career Development Program at the Center for Emerging Visual Artists (CFEVA), and most recently Executive Director and Chief Curator of Main Line Art Center.  Curatorial projects have included exhibitions for the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts, the Office of Arts and Culture of the City of Philadelphia, Philagrafika, Moore College of Art & Design, Main Line Art Center, Maryland Art Place, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Founded in 2006, the Old City Jewish Art Center (OCJAC) was envisioned as a platform to build Jewish community through the arts.  Growing steadily since then, the OCJAC gallery has become an exhibition space for serious artists, holds monthly First Friday art receptions with a Jewish twist and provides social and Jewish holiday programs throughout the year. OCJAC is now a landmark gallery in the Philadelphia art scene and is the only gallery dedicated to Jewish artistic expression and cultural exchange in Philadelphia.  Using the arts as a springboard, the Old City Jewish Art Center advances and promotes the universal messages of Judaism and spiritually to the broadest possible audience.

Color in the Moment will be on view November 2 – 30, 2018.  The opening reception will be on First Friday, November 2 from 5:00 – 9:00 PM.  Gallery hours are Thursdays and Fridays from 11:00am – 4:00pm, Sundays from 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM, and by appointment.  Admission is free and all are welcome.

For more information, please contact Amie Potsic at amie@amiepotsicartadvisory.com or 610-731-6312.

Thank you to Amie Potsic for the content of this post.

Amie Potsic Art Advisory

Old City Jewish Art Center, 119 N 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106

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Calm

Deann Mills, March 2018 at Muse GalleryHeat Rises, 48” x 48”, oil on canvas

Madness and Calm,

Deann Mills, March 2018 at Muse Gallery

March 1st through April 1st, 2018, Muse Gallery52 North Second Street, Old City, Philadelphia, 19106, 215. 627. 5310

First FridayMarch 2nd, 2018 from 5:00 – 8:00pm

Artist’s receptionSunday, March 11, 2018 from 2-5 pm

Artist Statement:

“When starting a painting, I try to be crazy and paint with whatever feels good at the moment:  old acrylic test paint, rollers, squeegees, stir sticks, wire mesh, oil sticks, and lots of smearing and dripping.  It is pure madness and lots of fun.  After a time, the painting has to calm down, be edited, have a composition and hopefully a dominant color.  My paintings are all about the tension between madness and calm, my striving to keep the energy, chaos and color while imposing an order and coherence.”

Mission: Established late in 1977, the Muse Gallery is an artists’ cooperative dedicated to encourage and promote its members’ artistic expression through abstract, conceptual and representational forms. Reflecting an aesthetic that awakens awareness, the Muse Gallery affirms the shared experience of art between the artist and the community.  Please see the membership page to view a detailed history of Muse.

To join the Gallery: Muse Gallery is always interested in potential new members. We are often fully staffed and maintain a waiting list. Please visit our membership page.

Thank you to Charlene Lutz for the content of this post.

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