Category Archives: Philadelphia Art Clubs

Art clubs are members only groups with a mission to promote the development of artists; DoN is a member of several Philadelphia area art clubs.

Da Vinci Art Alliance – 7 Deadly Sins @ Noyes Museum of Art, Hammonton NJ

Da Vinci Art Alliance - 7 Deadly Sins @ Noyes Museum of Art, Hammonton NJ

Bobbie Adams. Annette Alessi, Roz Bloom, DoN Brewer, Pat Burns, Lois Allen Charles, Piety Choi, Rachel Christy, Rachel Citrino, Alden Cole, Francesca Costanzo, Lilliana Didovic, Gerard Di Falco, Judy Engle, Linda Dubin, Laura Guzzo, Louise Herring, Ona Kalstein, Maria J. Keane, Gary Koenitzer, Sandi Neiman, Marlon Majette, Lee Muslin, Liz Nicklus, Arthur Ostroff, Anna Pizzoli, Peter Seidel, Rex Sexton, Francine Strauss, Anna Vosburgh, Ted Warchal, Carol Wisker, Wendelyn Anderson, Karen McDonnell, Anthony Cortosi.

 Da Vinci Art Alliance - 7 Deadly Sins @ Noyes Museum of Art, Hammonton NJ

Noyes Museum of Art– Hammonton
5 S. Second St.
Hammonton, NJ 08037
(609)561-8006

The DaVinci Art Alliance: “7” Deadly Sins

Exhibit Dates: October 1 – November 24, 2010
Opening Reception: October 1: 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Artist Lecture with Marlon Majette: October 6: 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.

Da Vinci Art Alliance
is a non-profit artists’ organization located in South Philadelphia.  The organization was founded in 1931 to serve the needs of professional artists and artisans in the Delaware Valley.  Da Vinci Art Alliance currently has over 150 members and is supported through membership dues, gallery rentals, sales commissions, grants, and donations.  Da Vinci Art Alliance holds exhibitions of members’ and non-members’ artwork as well as special events, workshops, performances, poetry readings, and lectures.

DoN is thrilled about his museum debut with the Seven Deadly Sins exhibit in the Noyes Museum of Art, Hammonton, NJ for some wack-a-doodle time-tripping reasons; DoN has a history with Hammonton, showing in the Noyes is kind of cosmic.  DoN hung out with GadFly, an early radical blogger who stirred local political shit in a way that not many people have the balls to do today even in our social networked world.  GadFly posted blogs that ended up getting him interviewed by the FBI, radio talk show hosts and the town council, who he called nasty names which ultimately ended up being quoted in his obituary, a final insult to his political enemies.  Before the internet GadFly wrote letters to the editor in papers locally and nationally, ranting endlessly about corruption, when he discovered blogging there was no stopping his vitriolic sarcastic wit.  GadFly‘s blog was the inspiration for DoNArTNeWs. 

GadFly is now known as Dead Larry, a former life guard, since drowning ironically in a gym pool a few years ago.  DoN adopted, his now geriatric, Lady Doofus, the St. Bernard/Chihuahua mix who lived on Dead Larry‘s farm but is now an urbane canine retiree in Marion Anderson Historical Village; Lady Doofus may make a surprise appearance at the art gala in her former home town, along with KaTy the ArT DoG who also enjoyed romps in the Pine Barrens swamps.  GadFly would LoVe that DoN is presenting his art in Hammonton, New Jersey, his home state (DoN was named most artistic, Deptford High School, Class of ’71), especially the 7 Deadly Sins part – gossip with DoN at the opening party, 10/01/10, to get the real dirt on Dead Larry aka GadFly.

Hammonton, NJ, once a vital town in South Jersey, is recovering from being hit by the Walmart Bomb, the downtown became a bit shabby but now is truly quaint like a Hopper painting, the Noyes Museum Gallery is a revitalizing force – art to the rescue!

 

Philadelphia Sketch Club 150th Anniversary Members Exhibition @ Art in City Hall

Pat Wilson Schmid Philadelphia Sketch Club 150th @ Art in City Hall

Pat Wilson-Schmid works at being an artist full time, a tireless volunteer, and art advocate; the Philadelphia Sketch Club relies on Pat because she always makes the extra effort to keep the team on task.

Edna Santiago - Philadelphia Sketch Club 150th @ Art in City Hall

Edna Santiago told DoN the painting is an uncle who moved to Philly to raise his family, she said he would be proud to know his visage is being shown in City Hall.  The acrylic on plastic painting is unique, confounding and bold, the narrative takes us to a time and place that is old Philadelphia yet very contemporary and urban, the passages of dark and light are deeply moving.  Chicken Louis, acrylic on plexiglass, Edna Santiago.

Piety Choi - Philadelphia Sketch Club 150th @ Art in City Hall

Piety Choi, Manna, mixed media on canvas.  The splashy painting paired with the intensely decorative tile work mixes time lines, metaphors and ideas on what is beautiful in contemporary culture.  Choi continues to surprise, inspire and challenge the Philly art-erati to step up their game, her works continuously win awards and draw people together to talk.

P J Foster - Philadelphia Sketch Club 150th @ Art in City Hall

 P.J. Foster, Unexpected Journey, acrylic & egg shell @ The Philadelphia Sketch Club Member Exhibition @ Art in City Hall.

Art in City Hall featuring the Philadelphia Sketch Club’s 150 Anniversary members show is the oldest art club in America’s first show at the world famous City Hall and it’s 20 year old public art in City Hall program.  The shown is immense with hundreds of art works by many of Philly’s best artists.

 

Photos by DoN.

Haus of DoN, Summer 2010

Hello my little DoNsters, the Haus of DoN, DoNBrewerMultimedia, is slowly rising from the muck of the economic melt-down of 2010 like a lotus with petals opening onto a new season of art and culture.  DoN is so grateful to the Center for Emerging Visual Artists and the Coffee Bar for the extended exhibition of his photo series titled “light beings” through the end of August, 2010. 

As reiki energy would have it, the Photographic Society of Philadelphia‘s long running series of solo member exhibitions @ Bonte’s Café, 17th & Sansom Streets is hosting DoN Brewer‘s “Dark Matter” a collection of images gleaned from the on-going 16 x 20″ show @ the other PSoP venue @ 9th & Walnut Streets and photographs from the “light beings” series.  The exhibition is being installed Thursday, September 9th, 2010 @ 4:00 PM, it is so cool to continue to show DoN‘s art in the heart of Center City.  Thank You so much to PSoP for their confidence end enthusiasm.

light being (Dennis), digital photograph, 2010, DoN Brewer @ Bonte’s Cafe, 17th & Samsom Sts.

From Downtown Center City to Bartram’s Garden in West Philly, Friday, September 10th, 2010 @ 6:00 pm at the Bartram’s Garden Gallery, the Da Vinci Art Alliance is hosting, “What’s the Buzz?”, a DVAA Members Event based on bees; Bartram’s Garden is now cultivating bees and it’s the Honey Festival, too.  Mmmm.  DoN will be gallery-sitting Saturday, September 11th, 2010, 10:00 AM – 2:00PM in the delightful art space in the oldest barn in Philly, stop in for a curated tour by artists participating in the weekend-long show.

Pemberton Street Garden, digital photograph, 2010, DoN Brewer @ Bartram’s Garden Gallery, September 10th – 12th, 2010.

Later that evening DoN will be at the opening of “Through My Window“, a Da Vinci Art Alliance event at The Perkins Art Center in Collingswood, NJ.  The group show’s only caveat was include an old window, each artist visualizing their own view of reality into a work of art – the show has been exhibited at Smile Gallery in Center City Philly and the Renaissance Riverfront Center for the Arts in Millville, NJ. 

 

DoN Brewer & “Vue de la 22 Rue Rambuteau“. colored pencil drawing.

Sunday, September 12th, 2010 @ 2:00 PM DoN will join the party for the Absolutely Abstract 2010 juried exhibition at The Philadelphia Sketch Club, it is such an honor to have abstract landscape photograph from the “light beings” series included in the exclusive art collection for the third year in a row.  Read more about the exhibit @ DoNArTNeWs.

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light beings (Sid & Nancy), digital photograph, DoN Brewer @ The Philadephia Sketch Club’s Absolutely Abstract 2010.

DoN‘s blog, DoNArTNeWs, continues to grow in popularity with a DoN‘s eye view of the gallery scene in Philly.  Thank you to all the artists who share their work, their stories and their passions with DoN; creating a narrative of the warren of alleys in the Philly art world is fun and frustrating with so many exciting and inspiring events to participate in and attend. 

This Fall, DoN is included in the Art Ability art show at Bryn Mawr Rehab Center in Paoli, the huge exhibit of hundreds from artists from all over the world is a juried exhibition of art by works by people living with disabilities.  DoN is also helping to brand Vision for Equality, Inc , designing custom SEO code, resulting in the non-profit organization, which advocates for and monitors people with intellectual disabilities, a page one ranking in Google!  DoN is also writing blog posts for NUVISIONS for Disabled Artists and Diversified Art blog is featuring DoN‘s “light being (Mary)” on their gallery page.  DoN also posts stories on PhillySideArts , QBN and is the Reporting Secretary for the Vitruvian Quarterly art newsletter for the Da Vinci Art Alliance.

light being (Walt), digital photograph, DoN Brewer @ Art Ability this fall.

For now, my lovely DoNsters – the Haus of DoN has withstood the attack of the latest distortion wave in the time space continuum, with super-friends at CFEVA, Da Vinci Art Alliance, The Plastic Club, the Philadelphia Sketch Club, PANMA and The Philadelphia Council for Community Advancement helping DoN survive the money bomb of the Great Recession.  With the LoVe and support DoN feels from comrades & cohorts, making art, communicating visions, telling stories and realizing dreams is now back in fine focus.

Thank you President Obama and Mayor Nutter, without your programs and plans for the people, the Haus of DoN would have collapsed like a house of cards; DoN has been dealt an exciting second hand and has big plans for the future in Philly.

LoVe

DoN

Absolutely Abstract 2010 @ The Philadelphia Sketch Club

John Williams @ Absolutely Abstract 2010 The Philadelphia Sketch Club

John Williams, Mountain Big Top, acrylic, ink, flashe on panel, Best in Show Absolutely Abstract 2010 @ The Philadelphia Sketch Club.

Absolutely Abstract 2010 @ The Philadelphia Sketch Club

Click the thumb-nail below for a closer look.

Absolutely Abstract 2010 @ The Philadelphia Sketch Club

The selection of ninety-eight art works by jurors David Foss and Michael Gallagher for The Philadelphia Sketch Club’s Absolutely Abstract 2010 exhibit is engaging, exciting and challenging.  The range of interpretations runs through almost any media you can think of – Kyle Margiotta‘s, Ribbon, pencil drawing takes basic materials and elevates them to an alternate reality, Rik Viola‘s painting is a triumph in context and Mina Smith-Segal suggests surrealism, impressionism, brutalism, naive primitive-ism…all modern and contemporary styles but stretching the envelop of the popular view of abstraction.

DoN Brewer - light being (Sid & Nancy), photograph, Absolutely Abstract 2010

DoN Brewer, light beings (Sid & Nancy), digital photograph, archival ink-jet print, 2008.  This is the third consecutive year DoN Brewer‘s photographs have been included in the Philadelphia Sketch Club‘s annual Absolutely Abstract show, this year’s piece is named after the tragic punk lovers Sid Vicious & Nancy Spungen who he once saw shopping in Fiorucci’s in NYC in the 70s.

Ring Droppings, Rodney Miller, digital print on canvas @ Absolutely Abstract 2010

Rodney Miller, Ring Droppings, digital print on canvas.  Fall under the spell of the fractal-like inter-twined rings in Miller’s ultra-trippy contemplation on color, shape and depth of field – go see the real thing at The Philadelphia Sketch Club on the Avenue of the Artists, Camac Street in Center City Philadelphia.

 

Photos by DoN.

 

Apocalypse Soon: 2012 @ Da Vinci Art Alliance

David Foss - Apocalypse Soon: 2012 @ Da Vinci Art Alliance

David Foss‘ sculpture made of found materials is like a futuristic robot/humanoid perched in the center of the gallery, the 2012 theme resonates throughout the room with visions of rapture, hell-fire, nothingness and hopefulness.  Foss’s sculpture reminds DoN of a futuristic boy transformed by a post-apocalyptic storm into a cyborg forced to find his way through the scorched land with feelers and antennas extended in all directions, the central brain stem in the middle of the body instead of stupidly plopped up on top where any fool could knock it off.  David Foss is the director of the Da Vinci Art Alliance and will be having a major show at LGTripp Gallery in Old City in September.

Photos by DoNBrewerPhotography.