Category Archives: Photography Philadelphia

Philadelphia photographers and photographs.

Da Vinci Art Alliance – Under $200.00

Judy Engle @ Da Vinci Art Alliance. If Eileen Tognini says packing tape art is in – then DoN says listen to her! If you can’t afford a Mark Khaisman before his packing tape drawings increase in value, then buy Engles layered clear tape collage @ Da Vinci Art Alliance for under $200.00 – in real life this small piece is 3D and deep, with layers and layers of tiny bits of color. Another great steal-able idea.

Judy Engles, photograph.

DoN LoVeS how DVAA displays art – Judy Engle’s photo paired with DoN’s digital print is so elegant and thoughtful, the pieces really work together. DoN was inspired to print “Autum Oak“, a digital photograph from a few years ago after seeing Amie Potsic‘s tree photos @ Area 919 – the most expensive of DoN‘s Under $200.00 entries is $129.00.

Lilliana Didovic, Alden Cole & Karl Johnson @ Da Vinci Art Alliance’s Under $200 show. The DVAA always has such terrific, fun events, even though it was a snowy night, plenty of artists showed up to party – the board is to be commended on their careful attention to detail and making everyone comfortable and welcome.

Francine Strauss @ Da Vinci Art Alliance’s Under $200.00

Gerard Di Falco, etching @ Da Vinci Art Alliance.

Leon Rainbow @ DVAA – he not only produces these funky paintings, Rainbow provides web design services to the esteemed organization. DoN is grateful for the publicity the links provide, the slide-show of member’s art on the website is cool.

Karen McDonnell & Tony Cortosi collaborate on these stencil & spray-paint images replete with peeling paint, drippy spray, coarse edges and mashed up cultural icons – the Carmen has such a skate punk sneer mixed with Hollywood glamor – Grrrl!.

Karen McDonnell, Tony Cortosi & Ray Costello @ Da Vinci Art Alliance’s Under $200.00 opening party.

Photographer, Bill Myers @ Da Vinci Art Alliance. Bill is also an active member of the Photographic Society of Philadelphia; Myers creates photo montage with clashing images mushed into contextual morphs – incredible.There are some really great art bargains for sale at the Da Vinci Art Alliance’s Under $200.00 show. You can own a David Foss for $100, an Art Ostroff for a Benjamin or so…the Lee Muslin prints are gorgeous, an incredible Dexiang Qian for exactly $200.00!?! The art show itself is amazing – all the participating members really put in memorable, desirable pieces and James Warhola signed his book Uncle Andy’s Cats; he took a moment with each autograph to draw a kitty in the front pages and engaged everyone in a personal way – Warhola signed books for 3 hours! He was still signing books when DoN left.

Annual Photography Exhibition @ Galleria Deptford

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Ron Hartman Sand Mandala, DoN Brewer light being (Ann D Harnoncourt), light being (JRR Tolkien) and Ron Hartman Kimono Bow @ Galleria Deptford Annual Photography Show.

Annual Photography Exhibition @ Galleria Deptford, Deptford Municipal Building, 1011 Cooper Street, Woodbury NJ. Curator Pauline Jonas has gathered together six photographers with distinct and diverse styles from landscape to portrait to abstract, from C prints to inkjet to traditional dark room color prints. The municipal building has been hosting art exhibits for 8 years, offering exhibition opportunities to art groups, theme shows and retrospectives – without enthusiatic coordinators like Pauline, events like these don’t happen. DoN was invited to show ten works, choosing favorites from his “light being” series, abstract landscape photographs of light reflections named after the dearly departed ie., friend, “light being (Rick Selvin)“, grandparents, “light beings (Nana & Dada)”… Pauline mixed the various artists works together in loose categories creating a wonderful salon experience and getting the artists & their groupies to mix and meet.

DoN Brewer, light being (Edward Hopper), digital photo, inkjet print and light being (Ophelia), digital photo, inkjet print on drawing paper. Edward Hopper has been exhibited at Philadelphia Sketch Club’s Photography 2008 and Philadelphia Art in City Hall’s, In Your Dreams, 2009; Ophelia was shown at Lantern Theater Company’s Black Box Gallery for Da Vinci Art Alliance’s Envisioning Hamlet show.

DoN Brewer, light being (Leo Seeger) and light being (Nana & Dada) – Seeger was included in PSC’s Photography 2007 and ArtFirst in Princeton & Nana has been seen @ Ardmore Initiative.

Ann Coretti, Perspective & Armchair, digital prints @ Galleria Deptford. DoN‘s 2nd cousin Alex, age 3, liked Armchair the best, he totally got the joke – even though it’s a visual pun, the image really deserves second looks for quality of composition and the mixed metaphors from plaid, to brick to wood.

Leroy Hickman, Jr @ Galleria Deptford Annual Photography Exhibit. Hickman’s nature photographs draw the viewer into his world of wonderment of wildlife; Leroy was also prepared with swag to give out including ballpoint pens with the Ravendark Photography logo along with 2010 mini-calendars with varying images from his photo collection.

Ron Hartman @ Galleria Deptford Annual Photography Exhibit.

Mary Waddington @ Galleria Deptford Annual Photography Exhibit.

Annual Photography Exhibition Galleria Deptford 2009

Horse Bowl by Deborah Waddington Smith. Even though the show was primarily photography, the exhibit included several accomplished sculptures by Waddington Smith – this wonderful Rodin-like bowl is transcendental in concept, design and execution.

Sculpture by Deborah Waddington Smith @ Galleria Deptford.

Pauline Jonas discovered DoN Brewer‘s “light being (Larry Angel)” in Alden Cole’s art collection, contacted him, meeting at Galleria Deptford last Summer she invited DoN to participate in the Annual Photography Exhibit. The opportunity to exhibit in DoN‘s hometown of Deptford (Class of ’71 Most Artistic) is exhilarating – The Gloucester County Times mentioned the show on page one!

Alden Cole’s luminaries are featured in the display case (DoN will post a story about Alden soon) and DoN‘s “light being (Rick Selvin)” is displayed right next to the cabinet. Ironically, the photo (which is named after one of DoN‘s first great art patron’s & supporters) was shot across the intersection from Cole’s studio/gallery/museum/workshop @ 7th & Federal in South Philly. The spirit of the photograph resonates with Alden’s luminous “beings of light” – each of his creations seems to have a particular personality all their own. To say it’s an honor to be exhibited alongside one of Philly’s “famous” artists is totally an understatement.

Thanks to Pauline Jonas for inviting DoN to participate in Galleria Deptford’s Annual Photography exhibit. Thanks to the Hayes family for their love & support, the Regional Art Association for longevity of friendship, Dr. Ross Beitzel for promoting the arts in South Jersey, painting mentor Paul DuSold (we just launched his new homepage design), artist Clif Anderson, Alden Cole for providing the magical showcase, Michael Hogan for presenting wonderful C print landscapes doing brisk sales of the book The Natural Wonders of the Jersey Pines and Shore filled with lush color photos about wildlife in the Pinelands of South Jersey and all the other artists who make art fun, enlivening a warm and friendly arts event which runs through January 20th, 2010. DoN encourages you to discover this unique art installation in the heart of South Jersey.

13 Months, Retrospective @ Area 919

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Amy Schmidt, Toy Soldier @ Area 919, 919 North 5th Street, a survey of the past year of exhibitions. From a distance the content of this image is clear, a young masked rebel with a gun but up close – break me off a toy soldier. The collage is a huge collection of tiny war toys: plastic soldiers, tanks, planes, bugs, dolls, animalsthe subtext is powerful in what Amy Potsic called the political room.

The art work collected in the newly refurbished back gallery is all politically motivated from TODTs, Camera (an old camera with a fetus trapped inside created in 1980, still relevant considering the current debate concerning abortion), to Abby Schmidts Tank (encaustic made from melted crayons on a light box depicting children looking back at an approaching tank) to Potsics own photographs commenting on Chinese oppression of its people. DoN likes arguing about difficult art and this show really pissed him off.

Abby Schmidt, Fossil Fooled @ Area 919. This piece is not so easily read but its all plastic dinosaurs – plastic is made from oil, oil is made from dinosaurs, dinosaurs are dead.

Abby Schmidt, Jessica, melted crayons on light box. Schmidt mixes her own colors by melting crayons together to create flesh tones creating a new take on everlasting encaustic. The subject is fat babies being fed, the look in their eyes is frantic, as if they know theyve already eaten too much – Mom, please stop!

Abby Schmidt, Jessica, melted crayons. There are three of these big baby portraits hanging together, heroic in size, extreme close-ups of glowing skin shines with the light of health – a strong condemnation of Americas obsession with food and never-ending quest for satisfaction.

Amy Potsic, Made in China – Female Adoption, Made in China – One Child Limit, Made in China – Reproductive Rights & Made in China – Population Control, archival pigment print, each 24″ x 48″.

Amy Potsic, Made in China – Exile, archival pigment print. Potsics Made in China series is based on traditional scrolls but are actually all shot around town. Amy is a world traveler but came to the conclusion that Philly is a world class city and began shooting photographs as if she were in a foreign land. The aspect ratio of the camera dictated the scroll design, the content is traditional appearing Chinese imagery but is actually trees found locally, each representing the four seasons, each photo dedicated to forms of Chinese oppression and how America kowtows to the huge market even though they are literally plowing down traditional villages to build high-rise apartment with no concern for preserving history or up-rooting villagers. Hey, even Disneyland now has a franchise for Beijing. The photographs are luxurious and rich with crisp detail, saturated color and beautiful composition, if you did not know how angry Amy is about religious oppression in Tibet you would think these were an homage instead of condemnation.

Mark Khaisman, packing tape on light box @ Area 919.

Mark Khaisman uses tape to create drawings of Baroque and Rococo furniture found in Sotheby catalogs. The furniture is, of course, for rich people only and if you actually owned it you would never sit in it or write on it, you would probably put a velvet rope around it – thats what makes Khaismans drawings use of lowly plastic tape so appealing and intriguing. A former stained glass artist, Mark confidently twists and folds the tape into curvy lines, layering tape to create density and depth, transforming something so cheap into something precious and desirable.

TODT is an artist collective that have been working together (more or less) for 30 years, even though the member artists have individual names, they prefer to be known only as TODT. The group is primarily interested in the future and science, the above piece was developed in the early 80s, before computers, using a light-box they found on the street, the Marilyn is also a found object, the combination is truly prescient considering the current green trend, the use of electronics and light and mixed metaphor collage, très au courant yet timeless. TODTs resume includes the Whitney Biennial, the Venice Biennial, and many gallery & museum shows going back to 1979.

TODT, Eye Tower @ Area 919. This light sculpture was created for a gallery who fronted the funds to develop over a dozen pieces but the gallerist took off with nine of them, luckily several were saved along with material to make more. The staring eyeballs signaled the oncoming onslaught of oppressive mass surveillance of hidden watchmen cataloging our every move from trafffic lights to toll booths; a local real estate mangement office even has a camera just in case renters get pissed off and don’t pay up.

13 Months has plenty more to see with photos by John Rosser, furniture by Luis Montoya, Anthony Angelicola, Mike Parsell & Daniel Petraitis plus antiques and objects of desire. In just 13 months, Area 919 has established itself as an art force to be reckoned with.

Art Ability @ Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital

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The 14th Annual Art Ability Exhibition & Sale at Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital’s Patron’s Preview Party on November 7th was a sensational event kicking off the extensive art show featuring more than 400 art works by 128 artists from 23 states and 10 countries. The hospital on Paoli Pike is an excellent venue with high, long walls, a fine hanging system, great lighting providing a wonderful stroll or roll along a meandering path to wander and take in the wide array of fine art.

Photographer Linda Fry Goschke was honored with the catalog cove, a beatific portrait of a “Crested Caracara“, a raptor she spent time with in a bird sanctuary. The photograph is poignant, strong and sensitive; at first glance it appears to be a painting with golden light brushing the elegant bird’s feathers, the dark head contrasting the ochre beak and the glint of disinterest in the eye, a perfect metaphor for the theme of the exhibit.

Goschke told DoN that in order to capture her images she had to wait for new technology to catch up with her vision – the lustrous flower photograph is actually created on a flat-bed scanner, then enhanced with Photoshop.

Linda Fry Goschke, Barred Owl, photograph @ Art Ability.

Sal Panasci was commissioned by Bryn Mawr Rehab to create the design for a mural leading to the admissions center, formally along stark hallway to what could be an uncomfortable experience.

Now, the hallway is a colorful, exuberant scene welcomes people to what may be an extended stay to rehabilitate the body, mind and spirit. Panasci’s painting was transformed into wallpaper creating a warm, sunny vista.

Sal Panasci, Late Autumn Palette, oil.

Ken Smith, Blue Flower, photograph pigment ink on paper on board, encaustic. Smith’s serene composition won honorable mention, The Mary Armitage Green Memorial Award presented by Heather and Damien Lubeski, the wax finish means the print will survive for a very long time.

Michael Jameson, Charlois Bull, oil painting on birch panel

Sheryl Yeager, pastels. DoN talked with Sheryl about her inspiration for the delightful pig and zebra pastels, she explained that she portrays lots of different animals because they make her feel free, at one with God & nature and the art heals her past. A self described high functioning autistic, her most popular drawings are of elephants and she’s more than willing to accommodate her customer base. This is Sheryl Yeager’s 5th year with Art Ability, she has been accepted into the Pastel Society of Little Rock and has exhibited her work at the Andrews Art Museum in North Carolina.

The big fish are by Arnie Segal, the drawing is by Mari Newman, Dick Wexelblat created the menagerie and won honorable mention for Fine Crafts presented by Sal & Linda Panasci, the sculpture in the right forefront is by blind artist Tara Arlene Innmon. This tableau is very popular with visitors with the vibrant animal forms delighting the eye and lifting the spirit.

Arnold Segal was a true art star at the Art Ability Patron Preview, selling most of his collection of sculptures and earning commissions – a mixed media artist, Segal uses plaster, paper mache and electronics to enliven his sculptures which often have hidden surprises.

Liam Kennedy, Dreams, bronze, winner of 2nd prize for sculpture, the Sarah Hair Shearer Memorial Award.

Kathy Harris, Double Self Portrait & Winter Bride. Harris created the portraits from life masks – the double self portrait is from 30 years ago and the Winter Bride is a recent mask. Kathy told DoN that the younger version is dreaming of the future and the elder shows aging through time, either way she’s beautiful with a wonderful spirit and wicked wit, we had the best time chatting about her career making paintings, ceramic tiles and pipes.

Michael Tavani, Winter in Chadds Ford, oil.

Jack Beverland, Happy Trails, acrylic & plastic.

Clif Anderson, The Last Rose, oil. Clif told DoN this was literally the last rose in his garden last November.

Beverly Strohecker-Yablin, Favorite Teacup, oil.

David Gerbstadt is one of the famous Philadelphia Dumpster Divers, his mixed media paintings are super-pop, perfect for a hipster’s pad or austere modern interior. DoN was recently in the Dumpster Diver gallery on South Street and a patron bought 27 of his $1.00 drawings as Christmas gifts.

Marilyn Lavins, 40th Anniversary 1969-2009, Moon Landing, collage.

Photography by Jim Knisley @ Art Ability.

Gregory Gans, Spirit Over Waters, photograph, winner 3rd Prize for photography, The Denise Fraunfelter Memorial Award.

Photography @ Art Ability Exhibit in Bryn Mawr Rehab.

Gregory Gans, Forest Cathedral, photograph. DoN had the opportunity to chat with Greg’s biggest fan, his wife, who offers constant support and encouragement and agrees with DoN that if you don’t have something nice to say don’t say anything. Gans’ has been a working photographer for 45 years, creating hundreds of images – now many of his photos have Biblical & spiritual references reflecting his faith and strength to battle the epileptic seizures he endures after having a benign brain tumor removed.

The Art Ability show has so much to see it’s impossible for DoN to share it all – Evan Gozali’s brilliant digital Asian style scroll is transcendental, Elizabeth Core’s imaginative large painting, Christine Severson‘s jewelry…the point is that even though the art is all created by artists with disabilities there are no boundaries, no style, no medium that is exempt from an artist with the will to create from painting to drawing, photography to sculpture, fine art to crafts, an artist is an artist even if they have to hold the brush with their mouth, work from a wheelchair, try to hold steady until the tremor passes or struggle to articulate because the words won’t come.

DoN was so happy to see so many red dots indicating sales – 80% goes to the artist and the remainder is used to improve the facilities to aid people who need rehabilitation everything else is provided by volunteers including the wonderful sales team. DoN had the pleasure of meeting Ellie Pfautz, a volunteer sales rep who absolutely loves Bryn Mawr Rehab since they helped her recover from a brain aneurysm; the two of us marveled at the new Lokomat suite – a robot which helps train muscles & nerves by reminding the body of motor pathways, building new neural networks and strengthening the body without manual manipulation by a technician. To see a short video clip – click here.

Lokomat Robot @ Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital

Veronica Schmude @ Rocco Agrippa @ Mirror Image

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Veronica Schmude @ Mirror Image in Old City.

The First Friday vibe in Old City can be frantic, there is so much to see, people to meet and ideas to think about that it can all become a blur. Not only are there galleries, shops and restaurants, the alternative venues are numerous and varied from street vendors selling paintings, prints, crafts and photos to businesses like Mirror Image, a graphic/web design firm on Market Street with lots of wall space to share exhibiting art work. Photographic Society of Philadelphia photographers Veronica Schmude and Rocco Agrippa, appropriated the long wall to display their photographs, brought in friends to play music and transformed the office into an art happening. Veronica’s signature photographs of peeling paint in old buildings and Agrippa’s landscapes brought energy and style to the desk filled space – there were plenty of spots for Shoshka (in her gorgeously inappropriate gallery-hopping boots) to rest while DoN chatted with Veronica. Recently, Schmude organized a field trip to Eastern State Penitentiary so photographers could shoot in usually off limit spaces and she’s organizing another trip to Pennsylvania Hospital to photograph the historic healing center. The PsoP (the second oldest photography club in the world) holds monthly meetings with presentations & lectures by member artists @ The Plastic Club on Camac Street.