Category Archives: Philadelphia Photographers

Photo Op Op Op

The Hopkins House Gallery of Contemporary Art’s “Photo Op Op Op” presented their first all photography show with a collection of fine examples of how many ways photography can be utilized and interpreted from pin-hole camera to digital layering.  The old stone house on the Cooper River consistently presents outstanding shows, this time taking the “op”portunity to “op”timize the”op”tical observation of reality as mediated through photographic technology.  Melissa Panter created cyanotypes on wood by mixing emulsion with gesso, Ben Panter uses overlapping exposures to create unreal landscapes only visible if you swivel your head plus other creative takes on image-making by photographers Thomas Camp, Annette Defe, Ken Hohning, Christy Higgins, Emily Lash, Jeremy Niedt, Clarence j. Guienze and Sharon Harris.

Mellisa Panter

Melissa Panter @ Hopkins House Contemporary Art Gallery with her cyanotype mixed media.

Mellisa Panter

Melissa Panter, “Death and Sainthood“, cyanotype and mixed media.

Ben Panter

Photographer, Ben Panter with his panoramic landscape created with up to 30 shots then exquisitely mixed into a visual impossibility.

Photo Op Op Op

Annette Defeo, “No Maybe Yes“.

Photo Op Op Op

 Jeremy Niedt @ Hopkins House Photo Op Op Op.

DoNArTNeWs

DoNArTNeWs has been getting a record number of visitors even though DoN has been busy with art instead of blogging:

  • Philadelphia Sketch Club Members show @ Newman Gallery 6/6
  • Workshop Show 6/6 @ The Plastic Club
  • Photographic Society of Philadelphia @ Penn Medicine at Rittenhouse
  • Art in City Hall’s In Your Dreams DoN has three pieces in the show, 6/11 – 9/11, 2009.
  • DoN is now a Board Member of The Philadelphia Sketch Club & member of Exhibitions Committee – this past weekend we installed Phillustration ’09, a great selection of the art of illustration by Philadelphia area artists, June 12 – 27, 2009, Reception & Awards, Sunday, June 14th, 2 – 4 PM., chaired by Rich Harrington.
  • Completion of new website for neo-expressionist artist Alecia D’Alonzo DoN LoVeS the final version.
  • New website & blog in process for NUVISIONS for Disabled Artists.

DoN has plans to visit Tiger Strikes to see David Guinn’s paintings, new photos @ Gallery 339, Fishtown Airways new show, the Romeo & Juliet show @ Da Vinci Art Alliance and more.

DoN Brewer “light being (Chink)” @ Penn Medicine

DoN Brewerlight being (Chink)” @ Penn Medicine at Rittenhouse.

DoN Brewer “In Your Dreams” Art  in City Hall

Shell Game“, scanner/Photoshop collage by DoN Brewer @ Art in City Hall’s – In Your Dreams – reception 6/11.

DoN Brewer @ Newman Gallery

DoN Brewer‘s Philadelphia from Bartram’s Garden, panoramic photograph @ Newman Gallery.

97th Annual Members Medal Show @ The Plastic Club

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Alden Cole‘s “Lucy in the Sky“, marker. DoN sees this drawing as the work of one of Philadelphia’s master artists; the combination of illustration, foreshortening, coloration, line quality, relevance and sensitivity to the subject, immortalizing the model. Then DoN realizes it’s marker pens on paper, the same as used in graffiti, popping energy and vibration, ancient and future knowledge, high and low art all vibrating from a single moment in space and time, into the gallery space. Absorbing the power of the messages being transmitted through Cole’s art is like time-tripping through art history in an instant. When you walk up the steps into the studio gallery, this is where the eye is drawn first.

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Lois Schlachter,Clown Fish“, acrylic. Super flat, futuristic, meticulous trips into the swirly world of Lois’ paintings is like a glimpse into a dream of the best amusement park ride you even went on, the kind that’s so fast and so thrilling that you can’t scream because it’s so much fun.
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Marie Davis Samohod, “Ionic Table“, acylic, Naomi Rubin, “The Beauty of the Land”, watercolor.

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Alan J. Klawans, Mike Guinn & Bob Jackson @ the Plastic Club’s 97th Annual Members Medal Show. Without people like these men it just doesn’t happen; the exhibition is so strong, the display so expertly installed and the experience design so inclusive, warm and inviting that it feels natural and accessible but tremendous amounts of work go into such a huge installation, these guys deserve credit for bringing out the best and making it happen. The art movement is Philadelphia is strong and determined, DoN LoVes it when people proudly tell which Philadelphia art school they went to and how organizations like the Plastic Club fill the void of the commaraderie of attending a school of art.

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DoN Brewer, “Thanksgiving“, digital photo, Jeanne Coryell, “Mandala“, watercolor and Alice Meyer-Wallace, “Vrikis And Glads“, oil.

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The Plastic Club’s 97th Annual Members Medal Exhibition award winners: Katherine Stanek, The Plastic Club Gold Medal, Jake Smith, The Plastic Club Silver Medal, John Benigno, The Zeigler Prize, Ben Wilson, The Dorothy Invernizzi Guinn Memorial Prize.

Art on Rittenhouse Square @ Church of the Holy Trinity

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Deborah Anne Horsting, “Two From New Hampshire”, oil on linen. The red of the fruit is so warm and juicy, the fancy napkin celebrates the impending deliciousness; the spare assured brushwork isn’t so much impressionistic as it is signified realism, loads of information in each placement of paint.

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John Baccile, “American Graffiti“. Isn’t this captivating? Especially in the baroque interior, this mash up of male icons, presented in a strong, masculine, agressive style really make Baccile’s work stand out in a crowd.

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Arthur Ostroff’s painting of Boathouse Row incorporates a subtle glitter, not in a crafty way but in a naturalistic use of an unusual material in a traditional landscape. The sparkle enhances the magesty of the iconic scene bringing to mind evening drives down Martin Luther King Blvd, even the matte has luster.

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Anders Hansen, “Jersey Meltdown“, watercolor & ink. DoN recognizes the facilty and unbridled exuberance with brush and paint Hansen injects into his paintings. The piece in the Holy Trinity show is emblematic of Anders style: limited color palette, wet in wet brushwork, zen-like meditations on energy fields either real or imagined, impeccable scale to object aspect ratio, contempory art vibe and real-world un-obtrusive presentation.

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DoN Brewer, “Memorial Hall from Laurel Hill Cemetery“, oil on canvas and “Column of Light” oil on canvas tryptych mounted in wood. Photo by Daniel Chow.

Thanks to the art team at the Church of the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church on Ritten house Square for hosting such a spectacular event. It was really fun promoting the show with Jym Paris in the Flower Market, DoN walked around handing out flyers while Jym holla’d, “Buy a raffle ticket, your entree into owning a work of art!” – with a Dalinian mustache curled on his face. Mina Smith-Segal was spotted painting in the square and ladies dressed up like lemons carried cupcake pans filled with lemon halves and lemon candy straws. Direct marketing to people is a curious aspect of art, you have to be a huckster sometimes even if it’s to get people to go into a historic building with Tiffany stained glass, 100 works of art by 50 artists and music by Curtis School musicians – a wealth of riches for the taking. One guy asked if DoN was a “schmearer?” The answer is, “Yeah”.