Philadelphia’s art scene is vibrant, ever-changing, combining technique and technology for new visions of reality, creating a transformative influence on life-style in the urban community and beyond.
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
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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
Linda Dubin Garfield’s Solo Exhibit Benefits Women International Leadership
In 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic swept the globe, Linda Dubin Garfield cancelled her travel plans and instead spent time reminiscing about her past travels. In a typical year, Garfield travels during the summer months and returns home to create artworks using the impressions left by these landscapes and cultures. Garfield has spent decades creating mixed media collages inspired by her travels to 37 countries on every continent. Instead of traveling this year, she spent her time working on a new body of mixed media work that reflects on the memories associated with her past expeditions.
Footprints: Travel Landscapes is a selection of new work by the artist, curated like a map that touches each of the 7 continents she has visited. The Da Vinci Art Alliance, 704 Catharine Street opening/birthday party is May 13, 5- 8 PM. The exhibit runs until May 30. For appointments visit www.davinciartalliance.org/footprints.There will also be a virtual opening and exhibit at the DVAA website.
Linda Dubin Garfield, Landscape Remembered
In lieu of birthday gits, Linda asks the people make a donation to Women international Leaders at www.will-pa.org whose mission is to invest in underserved women globally who take the lead in becoming self-sufficient, elevating their families and communities. A percentage of sales will also benefit WIL.
Linda Dubin Garfield’s abstract and dynamic works use multiple layers of ink that waver between background and foreground to create a fusion of surface design and abstract expressionism. Using hand-pulled printmaking techniques, photography, collage and digital imaging, she explores the mystery of memory and the magic of place, inviting viewers to observe the world through her “mind’s eye.”
Linda Dubin Garfield, Namibia Remembered
Linda Dubin Garfield is an award-winning printmaker, the founder of ARTsisters and smART business consulting, and sits on the board of several nonprofits. She also offers memoir art-making workshops at several organizations like Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Centers for Older Adults, Simpson House and Atria Senior Living. Linda Dubin Garfield has hosted charitable birthday celebrations since the untimely death of her dear friend 15 years ago. In lieu of birthday gifts each year, Garfield collects donations for nonprofits that she supports and that match her annual art theme. Some charities are Family Support Services, Locks of Love, Women in Leadership, Breastcancer,org, and the Dementia Society. She has raised over $15,000 for various charities since 2006. ###
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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(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 byappointment 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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Paradigm Gallery is pleased to announce Be Kind Rewind, an immersive solo exhibition of new works by Contemporary artist, Charles Clary, opening* on June 26, 2020 and remaining on view through August 8, 2020. Presented as an immersive video store installation, Be Kind Rewind is comprised of 1,000 new paper relief works from Clary’s ongoing VHS series, making it the largest showing of VHS since its inception in 2016, and explores the cathartic power of shared nostalgia.
Charles Clary: Be Kind Rewind
VHS is a reactionary body of work to the passing of Clary’s parents, both of whom he had a complicated relationship with growing up. As they were often absent during his childhood, movies acted as a surrogate babysitter. Clary began thinking about how his nostalgia for a happier childhood could be translated through his work and used as a way to channel his grief. A pop culture fanatic, Clary began to notice cheap, 50 cent VHS tape copies of his favorite movies at his local thrift stores. Analog and carelessly discarded, these films held a lot of emotional significance to Clary, who saw them as “beautiful scarifications”, a traumatic moment healed by a film.
Charles Clary: Be Kind Rewind
Clary sourced every one of Be Kind Rewind’s massive number of works at thrift stores or garage sales, with a large number being old copies of horror movies. A self described ‘horror nut’, Clary always felt a kindred spirit to the final person standing in a scary movie – surviving through the trauma. Not wanting to take away from the cover’s imagery, Clary will design around what he feels is important and then will carefully cut and layer 15 pieces of paper into the slipcase, salvaging and elevating the artifact with a newfound intricacy and depth. Viewers will recognize old favorites like Tron, Labyrinth and Dark Crystal, movies that have become synonymous with Clary’s childhood cinematic history. Lovingly handmade, Be Kind Rewind reimagines a mom and pop video store where visitors can take coordinating tabs to the register to “rent” a tape, making it an immersive and joyful experience. From a first date to the surprise twist ending of a thriller, watching movies has become a communal human experience. Be Kind Rewind reminds us of our collective human spirit through the power of nostalgic connection and in doing so, brings us all a little bit closer.
Charles Clary: Be Kind Rewind
*Due to COVID-19, “Be Kind Rewind” 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.
Charles Clary: Be Kind Rewind
About Charles Clary Charles Clary was born in 1980 in Morristown, Tennessee. He received his BFA in painting with honors from Middle Tennessee State University and his MFA in painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design. He has shown in exhibitions at Galerie EVOLUTION-Pierre Cardin in Paris, France, Pierogi Gallery and Nancy Margolis Gallery in New York, Spoke art in San Francisco, and museum shows at Mesa Contemporary Art Museum, Gadsten Museum of Art, and Cornell Museum of Art. He has also completed a three week residency in Lacoste France, completed a painting assistantship with Joe Amrhein of Pierogi Gallery in Brooklyn NYC, and had work acquired by fashion designer Pierre Cardin and gallery owner James Cohan.
Clary has been featured in numerous print and Internet interviews including, This is Colossal, WIRED magazine (US and UK), Hi Fructose, Beautifuldecay.com, Bluecanvas Magazine, and This Is Colossal as well as a recent feature in American Craft Magazine. He was also featured in the Art On Paper Art Fair with Kenise Barnes Fine Art. He has also been featured in publications including 500 Paper Objects, Paper Works, Paper Art, Papercraft 2, PUSH: Paper, and The New Twenties. Charles has exhibited regionally, nationally, and internationally in numerous solo and group shows. Clary currently lives and works in Conway SC.
About Paradigm Gallery Paradigm Gallery + Studio® exhibits contemporary artwork from around the world with a focus on Philadelphia-based artists. Established February 2010, the gallery began as a project between co-founders and curators, Jason Chen and Sara McCorriston, as a space in which to create artwork, to exhibit the work of their peers, and to invite the members of the community to create and collect in a welcoming gallery setting. Now open 10 years, the gallery still aims to welcome all collectors, from first time to lifelong, and continues to support accessible work that welcomes a wide audience.
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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