Category Archives: Philadelphia Artists

Artists DoN has met in and around Philadelphia.

Pandemic

Kassem Amoudi is a Palestinian Jordanian American artist who came to the US in 1983. He got his MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and now teaches there. The first time I remember seeing one of his paintings was at the Woodmere Art Museum. Like a philosopher Kassem thinks in terms of dualities, pairs of things that complement one another. He told me about one of the greatest of these pairings. – John Thornton, arts videographer

Artists in the Time of Pandemic, Kassem Amoudi

One of the paintings I will show at Cerulean Arts Gallery from the Stripes series. It is a 48×48 Acrylic. The show starts May 5th with social distancing and masks. The opening will be a Virtual tour and talk on Saturday the 8th at 2 pm. You can register for it at the gallery website when they add it. It hasn’t been posted yet because there is another show right now. — Kassem Amoudi

Cerulean Arts Collective, Kassem Amoudi

Cerulean Arts Collective

I will be One of the panelists at this webinar at Woodmere Art Museum May 6th at 7.
Please click the link to register.
Closing Reception (virtual): Group ’55 and Midcentury Abstraction in Philadelphia
Presenters: Bill Valerio, Woodmere Director & CEO; Patricia Stark Feinstein, Curator of the Samuel L. Feinstein Trust; Barbara Wolanin, PhD, Curator of the Group ‘55 exhibition; Kassem Amoudi, Artist
Join Woodmere in celebrating the art and artists of the Group ‘55 exhibition through an online closing reception. The online program will feature a new film on the exhibition, along with a conversation between Bill Valerio; Patricia Stark Feinstein; Barbara Wolanin, PhD; and Kassem Amoudi. Group ‘55 and Midcentury Abstraction in Philadelphia is on view through Sunday, May 9.
This event will be held online via Zoom, and registration is required. Participants will receive event information via email upon registration.
Free | 7pm | Click here to register.
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_aCKZqyA-R-WFIqoOgyrUEQ

Kassem Amoudi, Cerulean Arts Collective

Thank you to Kassem Amoudi and John Thornton for the content of this post.

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mOTHER

Sarah Detweiler: mOTHER

A solo exhibition by Sarah Detweiler, presented by Paradigm Gallery.

April 23 – May 22, 2021


Sarah Detweiler, Life of the Party, Oil on Canvas, 16”w x 20”h 
(oval canvas with beveled edge)

Paradigm Gallery is pleased to present mOTHER, a solo exhibition by figurative painter Sarah Detweiler. mOTHER features 12 new vibrantly haunting works from Detweiler’s ongoing series, Hidden Mother, which adeptly subverts the portrait form and instead, focuses on a woman’s self-imposed perceptions and expectations that a mother attaches to their identity. Her evocative paintings use concealment as a way to reveal deeper truths. mOTHER marks Detweiler’s first solo exhibition at Paradigm Gallery and will be on view* from April 23 – May 22, 2021 with a virtual opening on Friday, April 23 at 5:30PM, RSVP is required: 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sarah-detweilers-mother-opening-and-live-qa-tickets-1505768303 53

The Hidden Mother series was inspired by a trend in Victorian portrait photography in which mothers concealed themselves in fabric while they held their children still for long exposure photographs. Detweiler’s images remove the children, showing only the women covered and posed alone within each frame. In this way, they are both hyper visible and hidden. While the artist used herself as the model for previous works, her new collection turns her gaze toward other women, thus expanding the view of motherhood as both a connective thread and as an experience that is unique to each individual. 

Though the series has been ongoing since January 2020, mOTHER marks the first body of works where Detweiler collaboratively created the pieces with her subjects. Detweiler worked closely with her subjects to best tell their stories, intuitively translating their experiences and feelings onto the canvas. By personalizing her paintings to her subjects’ stories, their life experiences shine through the patterns and colors of the work, even as their faces are obscured. Though Detweiler knows her subjects personally, in maintaining the anonymity of her subjects, she preserves a universal relatability — the woman under the shroud could be you, your mother, your friend. 

Sarah Detweiler: mOTHER, The Night Owl

The paintings in mOTHER include hand-stitched embroidered elements that add texture and dimension, while alluding to a craftwork traditionally associated with femininity. The stitching is often only noticeable upon closer inspection, reinforcing the significance of that which is hidden in plain sight. The resulting images in this exhibition are deep, vibrant, and fantastical. They express their subjects’ ambivalence, acceptance, and embrace towards their changing roles as mothers, all while celebrating the true multiplicity of their identities. 

Detweiler opens the conversation around transformation and identity, honoring each woman’s existence beyond motherhood. Her powerful images are both eerie and whimsical, cathartic and hopeful. Though the subjects are hidden on a superficial level, the coverage actually allows the artist to see more deeply, revealing them in new and beautiful light. 

*Due to COVID-19, ”mOTHER” will be open for regular weekend hours with limited capacity and is available to view by private appointments during the week until further notice. The digital exhibition twin is available on https://www.paradigmarts.org/ for viewing from home. 

These policies are dependent on the current policies of the CDC, WHO and the Governor and Mayor’s offices. Paradigm Gallery’s number one priority is the safety and wellness of their visitors. For live updates on the exhibition and appointments, please visit the Paradigm website and socials. For any questions on Paradigm’s current policies, please email info@paradigm-gallery.com. 

About Sarah Detweiler 

Sarah Detweiler is a Philadelphia area-based, mixed media painter. Her experiences as a woman and mother are explored through figurative narratives created with a combination of embroidery with oil, acrylic, gouache, and watercolor.

Sarah has a BFA from the University of Delaware in Visual Communications and a Masters in Art Therapy from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. She has exhibited in group and solo shows in various locations including New York City, Brooklyn, New Jersey, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Chester County, PA and Philadelphia. Sarah has been featured by The Jealous Curator, Create Magazine, Making Art Films, and Thrive Art Studio. Her work has been published in Uppercase Magazine and Create Magazine. 

Sarah’s art centers around themes of fertility, motherhood, female empowerment, and the human experience. 

About Paradigm Gallery 

Paradigm Gallery + Studio® was established in 2010 by co-founders and curators, Jason Chen and Sara McCorriston. The gallery exhibits meaningful, process-intense contemporary artwork from around the world. Now open 11 years, Paradigm Gallery is globally recognized and known as a tastemaker within their greater Philadelphia arts community. As the gallery grows, it maintains its original mission to keep art accessible. Through monthly donations, free public art installations, and initiatives like Insider Picks, Paradigm Gallery, continues to be a champion of small businesses and emerging and mid-career artists. 

Location: 

746 S 4th St 

Philadelphia, PA 19147 

Media Contact: 

Lainya Magaña, A&O PR 

347 395 4155 

lainya@aopublic.com

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Ouroboros

Ouroboros- works by Jordan Kressley

Ouroboros- works by Jordan Kressley

May 1st- 31st

Black Moth Gallery

18 East Lancaster Avenue Ardmore, PA 19003

For the month of May new works by illustrator Jordan Kressley will be on display in the gallery.

A fairly recent graduate in the field of illustration Kressley has made the wise decision to stick to traditional hands on mediums, quickly and adeptly honing the skills of chalk pastels. In an age of digital content one can drown in these works on paper that have tediously been labored upon are a fresh breath on art. Everything about this young artist’s choices set her apart from the pack. She impresses the viewer with every single work she creates with scale and attention to detail. Kressley creates a fantastical and rich sense of depth and luminosity in her work, where the bright and energetic meet calm of boundless darkness. While referencing the living world around her, she develops exciting compositions with unique narratives that capture the viewer’s attention. Presenting a new series of works that tie in her current interest in flora and fauna that push the boundaries of reality just enough. Do not miss the opportunity to view these wonderful works in person. Stop in the gallery 5 days a week to view and add to your collection. All works are also available for sale online through our site www.blackmothgallery.com

https://www.facebook.com/events/1098597167326716

Steve Martin Black Moth Tattoo & Gallery Voted Best of Philly 2020·Voted Best of the Main Line 2020 ·Voted MontCo’s Best of in the Happening List 2018 2019 2020

www.BlackMothTattooandGallery.comFacebook | Instagram | Youtube18 East Lancaster Avenue
Ardmore, PA 19003
610-642-1500

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Afromythology

Shawn Theodore, Fanm Jade Ble (Blue Jade Woman), 2019

Shawn Theodore: Night Stars
A Solo Exhibition of New Work
February 26 – March 20, 2021

February 11, 2021 (Philadelphia, PA) – Paradigm Gallery is pleased to present Night Stars, a solo exhibition of new photographic work by interdisciplinary artist Shawn Theodore. Night Stars is an expansion of Theodore’s investigation into a space he calls ‘Afromythology’, which unites
the real and imaginary histories and futures of African Americans. In Night Stars, Theodore widens this space by melding together the traditions of African indigo making and the magical powers of water and stars.

The evocative exhibition illuminates the space where they all converge, a body of work that is a deep, deep blue. Night Stars marks the first exhibition at Paradigm with the artist. Night Stars is open to the public from February 26 – March 20th with an opening event on Friday, February 26th at 5:30PM.

Theodore makes connections, finds linked points and intersections within the past and seeing what is repeated in the current he identifies recurring themes, like spirituality. Spirituality has been passed on from generation to generation, and is something that is ostensibly part of the Black experience, but it is not something you can see or touch; it happens without direct knowledge, just faith.

In Night Stars, Theodore looks deeper for where instances of faith happen such as in music, quilt making or code switching. All of these hold examples of coded language, subversive art and intent and Night Stars is constructed from these metaphysical bridges. Bridges like quilts that were used to smuggle secret messages guiding people to freedom, far beyond the maker’s own physical passing. Or the Dogon tribe of West Africa, who were master astronomers.

They believed that their ancestors were descendants of a species from the Sirius star system eight and half light years away and to be free meant going back home. Though they were physically limited, their collective celestial knowledge somehow traveled across time and space to other groups of Black people who used it to understand the same set of stars that were used in the same way: to be led to freedom. ‘Afromyth’ sits upon these bridges.

The works in Night Stars are a series of statuesque portraits, monuments within a vast space of blue. Blue is a multi-tiered reference within the exhibition. The color is known to ward off evil in African and African American culture and Theodore questions how that symbolic signal came to
be and why it still holds that power today.

The artist says, “To create in blue, one must first understand its powerful nature. There has to be a world that exists inside of the color. A spiritual process is happening that is begging us to look inside of it, and somewhere within it are answers”. Theodore connects the symbolic color to the 19th century process of cyanotype.

The artist has always been fascinated by the historic practice, which produces a cyan-blue print; however, it is extremely rare to find a Black subject in one of these prints. Rather than shooting in cyanotype, Theodore uses it as a guideline, photographing his subjects using blue filters and blue cast lights.

The resulting works are less historic than they are revolutionary. On the series Theodore says, “Featured in this collection are portraits made of bejeweled deities in the indigo-hued ether, the fervor of fête revelers, the quiet stillness amongst the dense foliage and haints of Low Country of South Carolina, possession in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, and sunrise reverence at the edge of the Caribbean Sea. At the center is the viewer, who stands at the bardos of these seemingly disjointed experiences, their presence unifying the real and unreal”.


Photography often acts as a fast route to see the past, but what is beyond the camera’s sight? Subconsciously, the brain creates narratives beyond physical photographs, beyond what we logically know or see. These leaps are our imagined archives and it’s within their boundless possibilities that Night Stars lives, filling the gaps.

*Due to COVID-19, “Night Stars” will be open for regular weekend hours with limited capacity and is available to view by private appointments during the week until further notice. The digital exhibition twin is available on https://www.paradigmarts.org/ for viewing from home. These policies are dependent on the current policies of the CDC, WHO and the Governor and Mayor’s offices. Paradigm Gallery’s number one priority is the safety and wellness of their visitors. For live updates on the exhibition and appointments, please visit the Paradigm website and socials. For any questions on Paradigm’s current policies, please email info@paradigm-gallery.com.

About Shawn Theodore
Shawn Theodore (b. 1970, Germany) is an award-winning photographer whose work opens broad conversations regarding the role of the photographer in the shaping of agency and imagery, engages in new forms of storytelling, and impacts the trajectory of the collective black consciousness.


Theodore has participated in exhibitions at various institutions, galleries and fairs, including the African American Museum in Philadelphia (2017, 2018), Mennello Museum of American Art (2018), The Barnes Foundation (2017, 2018, 2019), Steven Kasher Gallery (2018), AIPAD (2018, 2019), Hudson Valley Community College (2018), Catherine Edelman Gallery (2017), The Bakalar & Paine Galleries at MassArt (2017), Snap! Orlando (2018), Richard Beavers Gallery (2018), PRIZM Art Fair, Scope Art Fair, Philadelphia Photo Arts Center, Rush Arts Gallery (2017, 2018), and the University of the Arts (2019).

His commercial projects include works for Apple, Showtime Networks, RocNation, PAPER Magazine, New York Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, The Atlantic, The New York Times, PDN and others.
Theodore was awarded the prestigious PDN’s 30 New & Emerging Photographers to Watch (2019), the Getty Images / ARRAY ‘Where We Stand’ (2018) grant and a grant from the Knight Foundation for ‘A Dream Deferred’ (2018). He is a two-time nominee of The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage Fellowship, and a nominee of the Magnum Foundation Fund.

Theodore earned his BA in JPRA (Journalism, Public Relations and Advertising) from Temple University. He currently attends the MFA for Photography program at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD Atlanta). Theodore is a current trustee of the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation and the Philadelphia Photo Arts Center.

About Paradigm Gallery
Paradigm Gallery + Studio® was established in 2010 by co-founders and curators, Jason Chen and Sara McCorriston. The gallery exhibits meaningful, process-intense contemporary artwork from around the world. Now open 11 years, Paradigm Gallery is globally recognized and known as a tastemaker within their greater Philadelphia arts community. As the gallery grows, it maintains its original mission to keep art accessible. Through monthly donations, free public art installations, and initiatives like Insider Picks, Paradigm Gallery, continues to be a champion of small businesses and emerging and mid-career artists.

Location:
746 S 4th St
Philadelphia, PA 19147
Media Contact:
Lainya Magaña, A&O PR
347 395 4155
lainya@aopublic.com

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DoNArTNeWs – celebrating twelve years reporting on Philadelphia artists and art.

Paradigm

Kate Glasheen: DEAD KINGS, II 

Crystal Latimer: KEEPSAKES 

December 4, 2020 – January 9, 2021 

(left) Kate Glasheen, Dead King 27 [20th Century Iraqi President], 2020,
Pen and Ink, 16” x 20”
(right) Crystal Latimer, Take Reign of Backroads, 2020 Acrylic, pastel, gold leaf,
cotton fiber tassels on panel 24” x 30” (plus tassels)

Paradigm Gallery is pleased to present two solo exhibitions of new works by contemporary artists, Kate Glasheen and Crystal Latimer. Glasheen’s exhibition, DEAD KINGS, II (pronounced ‘the second’), is an intricate body of work that depicts world leaders past, present, and dead and comments on their obsessions with materialism and legacy. Latimer’s exhibition, KEEPSAKES, marks the artist’s first time showing at Paradigm and is a series of mixed media paintings that act as colorful reminders of one’s own inner-strength. Though the exhibitions exist as separate bodies of work, they both explore the concept of power, external and internal, through historical references and imagery. DEAD

KINGS, II and KEEPSAKES are opening* on December 4, 2020 and on view through January 9, 2021. 

DEAD KINGS, II is a follow up to Glasheen’s 2018 Paradigm exhibition, DEAD KINGS, which presented compositions of fictional rulers in ink on paper. Though fabricated, Glasheen’s characters were eerily connected to the contemporary leaders of today and for this exhibition, the leaders are now real. The timeline’s maw has expanded to swallow up the current day and Glasheen’s Kings’ relevancy moves from allegorical to actual. While her cast of characters are still skeletal, which is typical of the artist’s practice, they are recognizable in the details; their legacies constructed in ink. DEAD KINGS began as a sarcastic body of work that mocked the historical patterns of power; however, as unwieldy kings became contemporary, no longer a thing of the past, Glasheen wonders, ‘With them so close, is the joke the same? Is it funny at all, anymore?’. DEAD KINGS, II seeks to expose the desperate flailings of these rulers to maintain power. Power is temporary, and time is the only King. 

KEEPSAKES is the first body of work in a brand new series by Latimer that continues the artist’s fascination with storytelling and affirmations. In her practice, Latimer reinterprets Western historical art to create a connection between the past and the present. The mixed-media paintings in KEEPSAKES are colorful and bold, as the artist uses acrylics, gold leaf, and cotton fiber tassels. The works look like tapestries, an art form that was long ago favored for its accessible and portable storytelling abilities and through the use of contemporary iconography, Latimer tells stories of inner strength, positivity and triumph. In her previous work, the artist painted masculine imagery like battle scenes of conquest and male historical figures, but for KEEPSAKES, the imagery and color story is re-interpreted as feminine. Power comes from within and Latimer’s works act as an evocative visual reminder of that inner strength. 

*Due to COVID-19, “DEAD KINGS, II” and “KEEPSAKES” will be available for viewing by appointment only or on https://www.paradigmarts.org/ until further notice. These policies are dependent on the current policies of the CDC, WHO and the Governor and Mayor’s offices. 

Paradigm Gallery’s number one priority is the safety and wellness of their visitors. For live updates on the exhibition and appointments, please visit the Paradigm website and socials. For any questions on Paradigm’s current policies, please email info@paradigm-gallery.com. 

About Kate Glasheen 

Kate Glasheen graduated from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts. Kate has since been a creator, artist, and contributor for several critically acclaimed books, participated in exhibitions across the country, and worked on some of the biggest properties in entertainment. Her artistic interests find communion in fine and sequential art under the notion that there’s something hilarious about something that’s not funny at all. 

Kate has exhibited her work in spaces such as LA’s Gallery 1988, Philadelphia’s Paradigm Gallery, and Brooklyn’s Gristle Gallery. Published works include Top Shelf’s A Radical Shift of

Gravity (with collaborator Nick Tapalansky), contributions to the Adventure Time series (BOOM! Studios), Hybrid Bastards! (Archaia Entertainment), The Sakai Project (Dark Horse Comics), several entries in the Graphic Canon series (Seven Stories Press), Resist! (Françoise Mouly, Nadja Speigleman, and Desert Island), Kickstarter funded Bandage: A Diary of Sorts, and Line Webtoon’s dark teen drama, Varsity Noir

Commercial clients include Paramount Pictures, Cartoon Network, AMC, Topps, Inc., and many others with work spanning such properties as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and The Walking Dead

About Crystal Latimer 

Crystal Latimer was born in Hollywood, CA but grew up in Ellwood City, PA. In 2010, Crystal completed her BFA Slippery Rock University. She then went to receive an MA and MFA from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2013 and 2016, respectively. After graduating, Crystal taught several courses at Penn State New Kensington and Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Punxsutawney and has lectured at Slippery Rock University and Carlow University. 

Crystal’s work has been shown extensively in both solo and group exhibitions, including at the Pittsburgh International Airport, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Chautauqua Institution, The Mine Factory, George Washington University, and Union Hall among others. She has shown her work in Hong Kong, China, South Bank, London, as well as participated in a residency at the Joaquin Chaverri Fabrica de Carretas in Sarchi, Costa Rica. Crystal’s work has been featured in Create!, Pikchur, Local Arts PGH, Art Maze, Ruminate, and Fresh Paint Magazines. Her work is included in both public and private collections including those of Indiana State University of Pennsylvania, PNC Corporate, the Benter Foundation, and Wyndham Tryp Hotel. 

About Paradigm Gallery 

Established February 2010 in Philadelphia, Paradigm Gallery began as a project between co-founders and curators, Jason Chen and Sara McCorriston, as a space to create and collect in a welcoming gallery setting. Now open 10 years, Paradigm Gallery is globally recognized and known as a tastemaker within their greater Philadelphia arts community. As the gallery grows, it maintains its original mission to keep art accessible. Through monthly donations, free public art installations and initiatives like Insider Picks, Paradigm Gallery, continues to be a champion of small businesses and emerging artists. 

Location: 

746 S 4th St 

Philadelphia, PA 19147 

Media Contact: 

Lainya Magaña, A&O PR 

347 395 4155 

lainya@aopublic.com

Thank you to Madison Fishman for the content of this post.

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DoNArTNeWs – celebrating twelve years reporting on Philadelphia artists and art.