Nature’s Daughters: Solo Art Exhibition and Networking,
Jessica Libor, Da Vinci Art Alliance
Jessica Libor, Da Vinci Art Alliance
Enjoy original artwork and creative networking at this unique event. See Jessica Libor’s new pieces in her solo exhibition “Nature’s Daughters,” on view for one night only at the Da Vinci Art Alliance on Wednesday, September 4th from 5-8pm. Celebrate women with Jessica’s art and also with networking expert Jennifer Lynn Robinson. Men are also welcome to attend!
“I want to show the glamour of nature. Whenever I am outdoors in the wild, I feel the most beautiful and free. I don’t think I am alone in this experience. What I wanted to do was show this feeling visually. I want people to be swept away in a gorgeous fantasy of the absolute magic that nature weaves sometimes. I painted women because it felt like a natural expression of nature—like the earth, the feminine can have many sides to it, can bring forth new life, and often express their beauty by decorating themselves…something I am interested in drawing a correlation with.”
Jessica Libor graduated from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 2014 and has been painting, curating and writing since. Find out more at www.jessicalibor.com.
At 7 PM, Jessica will say a few words about the artwork, and Jennifer Lynn Robinson, Esquire of Purposeful Networking will provide her 5 best tips for women to network more strategically. You will also be able to ask Jennifer your networking questions one on one. Find out more at https://www.purposefulnetworking.com/.
There will be light bites and drinks provided. This event is free for all and open to the public! Registration is encouraged.
gravy. 910 North 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123 · 267.825.7071
Exhibition Dates: June 7 – 29th, 2019
First Friday Opening Reception: June 7th, 6 – 10pm
Sponsored by Powers Whiskey and Music by Mother MaryRose
Nolibs Second Saturday, June 8th, 1 – 5pm
Artist Brunch and Open Hours- Saturday June 22nd 1-5pm
Saturday Open Hours – 1-5pm and by appointment
Documenting objects with photography slowly transformed into its own artform with artists like Man Ray, Duchamp, Hans Bellmer, creating pieces which intertwined the two mediums. This exhibition at Gravy is titled; Beauties of the Common Tool, references Walker Evans’ famous portfolio of photographs of ordinary tools in the 1950’s. Today everyone used a new “common tool”; the photographic camera to document their lives and manipulate their world into art. While digital technology has created imagery only used on a screen; this exhibition hopes to explore ways photographers are using materiality, the body, textures, objects, and installation to create multi dimensional pieces which expand our definition of photography.
One theme throughout the work in this exhibition is the ability of the photographic objects to create multiple views for the viewer depending on the lighting and position of the pieces. Roxana Azar’s work is influenced by science fiction, plant intelli-gence, anxiety, and floral design. In the Projections in the Last Greenhouse series, botanical images from greenhouses and conservatories are applied to reflective and colorful surfaces that allow sunlight to pass through, creating shadowplay and reflections that shift and create vivid colorful shadows, fluorescence, and prisms depending on the angle and quality of light. They say, “I used to focus a lot on digital manipulation in my photographs, but now the materials I tend to use result in some sort of distortion and manipulation when viewing an image, whether it’s acrylic, mesh, or fabric. My fascination with these materials is that it shifts in color or shape as you move around it, so you’re never experiencing the surface in the same way.”
Glass artist, printmaker, and photographer; Jen Blazina creates ornate frames for her photographs of plaster sculptures set in nature. This installation titled Menagerie is a combination of cast glass frames, glass flowers, and dye sublimation photographs on metal. She says, “The photographs were taken from an ephemeral site-specific installation which I created for Djerassi Artist Residency in Woodside, CA. As a little girl, the forest and animals entranced me. Having grown up in a city, the forest seemed like a magical place where fairy tales came alive. Menagerie alludes to a dream like memory by using my sculpture in my photography and the elegance of glass baroque styled frames embellished with wild flowers.
Beauties of the Common Tool, gravy. Studio, Philadelphia Photography
In the collaborative works between Will Douglas and Matthew Drennan Wicks, the physical process of manipulating porcelain is fused with the digital process of image making. The flat, hand-built surface of a vessel becomes a screen for image on which to present a photographic image. The work vacillates between three- dimensional and two-dimensional space as both image and object work together to create tension. The artists are interested in the commercial and mass reproducibility of both images and objects; the hand-built vessel pushes against the immediacy of digital imaging. Establishing a new relationship between the two drives the traditional conventions of both materials into a new dialogue about the consumption of images and the viewing of objects.
Created during a 2017 residency at a recycling center in Northeast Philadelphia, Maria Möller’s project One Last Time is a lens-based meditation on mortality, joy, and second chances. She developed a visual narrative that compares life cycles with waste cycles, salvaging six objects from Revolution Recovery and pairing each with a person in her life who is living in an especially close proximity to their own mortality. Working collaboratively with each participant, she staged a photo shoot during which the discarded object could fulfill its purpose “one last time.” After this shoot, another took place when the participant traveled to the recycling center and returned their object to the waste stream.
The images included in this exhibition by Cecilia Paredes are reminiscent of surrealist imagery while her use of pattern and color reveal her ties to Peruvian culture and visual vernacular of womanhood. Paredes composes these photographs by selecting a patterned ground, such as floral wallpaper, and intricately paints her skin to match. Paredes says about her work, “Part of what makes us human is our ability to see beyond the narrow door through which we enter the world—to grow beyond the culture of our birth by recognizing other cultures, other patterns of life. Yet our birth culture is always imprinted upon us; the mystery of identity is never fully resolved. We are always from a time and place to which we can never return”
Makeba “Keebs” Rainey also uses the body, textures, and color to create photographic collages which are printed on fabric. The piece in this exhibit is titled ‘Souls of Philly: London’ where the artist uses collage and statements from the subjects to share insights into her community with the audience. Rainey’s creative practice focuses on building community and what that looks like. For her, community is an extension of family. By centering her work around social justice, specifically in regard to Black Americans, community becomes the key to liberation. Her artwork taps into aspects of the Black community, merging the old with the new by re-envisioning the ancestors through new media and creating space for young creatives to build and sustain themselves.
Thank you to gravy. for the content of this post.
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Suitable Arrangements: time and place, Gail Kolflat, 38 x 48 inches oil/acrylic
Reminiscent of a shadow box with 4 overlapping layers, beyond the pink liatris and blue hydrangea in the foreground, this painting presents a couple of women actively engaged in floral design activity and conversation during an evening session of flower arranging. Behind them a woman works on her creation, and in the distance through the window, cars are parked under a darkening sky – the mode of transportation for the aficionados.
Melding The Collegiate: lessons learned, Gail Kolflat, 46 x 40 inches oil / acrylic
College life! Students between classes mingle and walk on campus grounds, with a stately school building behind them. In this painting, there’s a clear dialogue between abstract and representational elements, forming the body of the composition.
Life and the Progression of Human Bonds : birth and demise, diptych 38 x 96 inches (when flat) oil/acrylic, Gail Kolflat
This is a poignant painting that highlights the maternal bond of a mother and her new daughter, and the daughter’s compassion and sorrow after the death of her mother years later. Raw human emotions transpired from two of life’s most significant events, combine and contrast making this a powerful piece.
Exciting colors and engaging themes draw viewers into the vibrant paintings of regional artist Gail Kolflat. Eye-catching, and invigorating, this one-person exhibition touches on themes of social commentary, with an emphasis on compositions featuring people involved in assorted activities and events, such as: a concert in a park, a flower arrangement class, commuters on a train, students at a university, or a lakeside interlude. Kolflat’s interpretation of Americana and genre painting is contemporary, and uniquely fresh, with distinctive hues and a stylish manner of presentation. A number of works are multi-panel, large format compositions and several have irregular shaped borders. All are painted in oil and acrylic on canvas.
“In a sense these works portray America in positive and refreshing tones that are so rare in contemporary art. It’s America at play, and it is a significant facet of our culture as is violence and drug abuse. Kolflat’s work stands alongside those artists who came before who have portrayed a segment of a population, one that describes a particular time and place. Like Impressionists with their sun dazzled boating scenes and picnics, Kolflat’s people at play describe an innocence in America that still exists.” Marilyn J Fox
Gail Kolflat is a notable east coast artist, who returned to the exhibition arena in 2013 after taking a fifteen year break while raising her daughters. She has long, strong exhibition history, and currently serves as the Membership Chairperson for the New York City Chapter of the Women’s Caucus for Art.
Midsummer Trilogy : sorting through waves of circumstance, irregular perimeter 147 x 74 inches oil/acrylic, Gail Kolflat
This piece represents two anticipatory gatherings, one of several girl friends primping and chatting, the other of male friends casually relaxing and enjoying refreshments, and finally center stage, a melding of the highlighted parties into respective pairings. The idea behind the creation of this piece flowed from a series of optimistic possibilities related to young graduates in my orbit, their coteries, encouraging news from professionals, and the glow of a positive mindset.
Artist Statement: Gail Kolflat
As an artist I find it compelling to create compositions of human society. My paintings are a recording of people today, living in our world, partaking in experiences, culture and lifestyles common to us all. Painted over a period of months, my compositions evolve much on their own. A spontaneous abstract footprint initiates every work. It is intertwined with figurative representations derived from sketches and photographs used as sources for the primary layout of a painting. The sources are then disregarded, as I prefer to improvise from that point onward, relying on a continuing interaction of realistic and abstract principles. Using human forms, objects, landscapes, and buildings, I invite the viewer into a world he/she can recognize, understand and share – as if at the scene, participating in an event, or surmising a situation. The abstract elements “free the viewer from the monotony and predictability of a too real vision.” My work consists of singular or multi-panel assemblages, executed with a broad use of color. Color is of great significance, appealing to emotions and mood. I allow myself to use any pigments that seem appropriate for a painting; instinct derived from experience. Observing and delving into the interplay of shapes, textures and colors is what drew me into the visual arts. I focus on groupings of people – who they are, where they are, why they are there, the ambiance surrounding them collectively as well as individually. Tapestries, textiles, Art Nouveau, modern abstract painting, Impressionism, the human condition and numerous venues in Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City continue to serve as inspiration for my work. The greatest contributing factor to the development of my art is a need to create.
Entertainment and Amusement: summer fare, summer fair, 82 x 59 inches, triptych, oil/acrylic, Gail Kolflat
Thank you to Gail Kolflat for the content of this post.
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B. Proud, Wilmington, DE., Owen and Blue, Transgender Men Archival pigment print, 36″x24″,First Prize 2018
2019 Photo Review 35th International Photography Competition
Noted critic, curator, and writer Lyle Rexer will be the juror for the 2019 Photo Review Photography Competition. He is the author of several books on art and photography, including The Edge of Vision: The Rise of Abstraction in Photography (2009) andPhotography’s Antiquarian Avant Garde: the New Wave in Old Processes (2002). In addition, he has published numerous catalogue essays and articles on art, architecture, and photography and contributed to such publications as The New York Times, Art in America, Aperture, Parkett, BOMB, and DAMn. As a curator, he has organized exhibitions in the United States and internationally, most recently The Edge of Vision, a selection of contemporary abstract photography. He teaches at the School of Visual Arts in New York and is a columnist for Photograph magazine.
Lyle Rexer (Daguerreotype by Jerry Spagnoli)
The Photo Review, a highly acclaimed critical journal of photography, is sponsoring its 35th annual photography competition with a difference. Instead of only installing an exhibit that would be seen by a limited number of people, The Photo Review will reproduce accepted entries in its 2018 competition issue and on its website. Thus, the accepted photographs will be seen by thousands of people all across the world and entrants will have a tangible benefit from the competition. Also, the prize-winning photographers will be chosen for an exhibition at the photography gallery of The University of the Arts, Philadelphia. Plus numerous Editor’s Selections will be exhibited in several Photo Review web galleries. Check out additional prizes below and on the competition website.
Eric Mueller, Minneapolis, MN, On The Bund, 2018, archival pigment print, 20″ x 30″,2018 Prize Winner
Because their work was seen in The Photo Review, past winners have been given one-person exhibitions, have had their work reproduced in other leading photography magazines, and have sold their work to collectors throughout the country.
a 20″x24″ silver gelatin fiber print from Digital Silver Imaging
camera bags from ThinkTank Photo and Mission Workshop
“The Complete Photographer’s Set” from Tog Tees
several Kodak Printomatic Instant Print Cameras
a $200 gift certificate from Shades of Paper, a leading supplier of inkjet photo paper
Awards include:
Prizewinners exhibited at the University of the Arts Photography Gallery, Philadelphia
Accepted entries reproduced in The Photo Review journal and on our website
Editor’s Selections exhibited in several Photo Review web galleries
NOT-SO-FINE PRINT An entry fee of $35 for up to three prints or images and $8 for each additional image entitles all entrants to a copy of the full-color catalogue. In addition, all entrants will be able to subscribe to The Photo Review for $36, a 20% discount. (Higher rates apply for non-US subscribers.) All entries must be received by May 31, 2019. You can download contest rules and submit images on our 2019 Competition page. If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to contact us. The Photo Review 2019 International Photography Competition is sponsored by Haverford College, Blue Flower, Digital Silver Imaging, Wacom, Kodak, Cecilia, ThinkTank Photo, Shades of Paper, Mission Workshop, and Tog Tees.
Thank you to Steven Perloff for the content of this post.
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art Ability at Bryn Mawr Rehab, Chester County Open Studio Tours, Linda Killingsworth, COLORED PENCIL , Emily McGuigan, ACRYLIC, Kathryn Noska, WALNUT OIL, Kathryn Noska WALNUT OIL, Meg Quinlisk, GLASS MOSAIC
Art Ability, Chester County Open Studio Tours, at Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital
Art Ability at Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital will be participating as a host gallery stop along the tour route for the annual Chester County Open Studio Tour! Guests are invited to view and purchase works by four local “pop-up studio” artists, as well as shop our Art Ability consignment collection. We will be featuring artists Linda Killingsworth, Emily McGuigan, Kathryn Noska and Meg Quinlisk. Collection tours are also available.
There are 143 artists and 63 studios participating on the tour this year. We have partnered with businesses and other supporters of the arts in the community to offer a variety of ways to see and collect art.
It is not an exclusive club and there are no membership fees or dues. Just come out and enjoy our one weekend of open studios.
Plan your day and get out early to ensure you have art on your walls by Monday!
