Category Archives: Philadelphia Sculpture

sculpture in Philadelphia

Elaine M. Erne, “Mr. Bunny Misses His Friends” and Leah Reynolds, “Bee Life” @ Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art

Elaine Erne, “Mr. Bunny Misses His Friends” @ Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art

Elaine M. Erne, “Mr. Bunny Misses His Friends” @ Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art

Mr. Bunny Gets Screwed, graphite on paper, 90 x 60″.  Elaine Erne lost her toy bunnies with return instructions throughout Philly and May 12th many people returned what they found to the Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art, the Crane Arts Center in Fishtown.  If you returned a bunny you could exchange it for a numbered print and the bunny is hung on the wall, if you want to keep the bunny you found it cost you five bucks.  Elaine told DoN Mr. Bunny Misses His Friends causes the finder to decide whether to return the lost toy and participate in an interactive experience or just keep it and live with your conscience.  Many participants exchanged their finds for a signed, numbered print and took pictures of themselves with the installation and the artist.  Erne’s installation is anchored by two of her heroically scaled drawings facing each other across the room allowing the viewer to take in the scope of the drawing then move in close and feel the energy it took to complete the masterful drawings.

Elaine Erne, “Mr. Bunny Misses His Friends” @ Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art

Elaine M. Erne, “Mr. Bunny Misses His Friends” @ Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art.

Elaine Erne, “Mr. Bunny Misses His Friends” @ Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art

Elaine M. Erne finding one of her numbered prints to match the returned lost bunny at “Mr. Bunny Misses His Friends” @ Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art.  Erne’s interactive idea showcases her image making skill and innovative public interaction and social networking, adding a layer of sophistication, thoughtfulness, liven-ess and fun to Elaine’s art.

Elaine M. Erne, “Mr. Bunny Misses His Friends” and Leah Reynolds, “Bee Life” @ Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art

Elaine M. Erne, “Mr. Bunny Misses His Friends” and Leah Reynolds, “Bee Life” @ Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art.

The two artists share the space with Leah Reynolds Bee Hive themed installation cross pollinating Elaine Erne’s toys in peril with exquisite corpse-like dynamism.  Leah Reynolds told DoN she based her show on the lives of bee’s and the symbolism surrounding them from hives to queens to hair-dos – Super-Kawaii!  Reynolds’ photography is off the chain with dynamic hair portraits interspersed with interstitial abstracts, the environment enlivened by the whimsical paper sculptures and swathes of lace like being in a magical dream.

Leah Reynolds, “Bee Life” @ Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art

Leah Reynolds, “Bee Life” @ Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art.  Queen for A Day, the hanging fabric forms the shape of a cartoon-ish crown, an homage to the creepy early TV show which made home-making the pinnacle of being an American woman.

Elaine Erne, “Mr. Bunny Misses His Friends” and Leah Reynolds, “Bee Life” @ Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art

Leah Reynolds, “Bee Life” @ Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art.

 

Photos by DoN.

www.Philly.SideArts.com Philly Aids Thrift Art Auction

Before DoN met Todd Hestand of www.Philly.SideArts.com @ a Corzo Center for the Creative Economy event, he had already been posting blogs on the popular free artist’s website with it’s cool blog, great writing by local artists and educators, bio/portfolio pages for artists and Philly social networking.  Linking to the Philly.SideArts.com web site drives web traffic to DoNArTNeWs, posting a blurb on the site stimulates interest in all types of social, art, education, business and opportunities.  The catalog of artists who post their bios and art images on Philly.SideArts.com includes great painters like Arthur Ostroff and Karl Olsen, fine art photographers like Angelo Benedetto and digital artists like Lee Muslin, their database is superb.

Philly.SideArts.com has launched a grand new venture offering artists enhanced services such as art opportunities and expanded portfolio space at a really reasonable price, the same free site is still available and they are expanding to other cities with the same business model.  The possibilities of connecting artists, galleries, collectors, educators and business people in an easy to use, immersive design experience is really cool.   Imagine?  The Philly art scene is a model for other cities.

www.Philly.SideArts.com Philly Aids Thrift Art Auction

Art-trepreneur, Todd Hestand of Philly.SideArts.com gave away extended free memberships to artists whose business cards were pulled from a bag.  Jed, you left too early!

To celebrate the launch of the new site, Todd Hestand hosted a party at the Dark Horse Pub near Head House Square with a silent auction benefiting Philly Aids Thrift, so many artists offered donations that many had to be turned away, yet, there are still several fine art pieces available at the on-line auction including DoN‘s “light being (Joey Ramone)“.   All the proceeds go to Philly Aids Thrift, please bid, there is some really cool art for a great cause.  The party drew a crowd of artists, friends and the art-erati such as Da Vinci Art Alliance’s Lilliana Didovic, artist/entrepreneur Jed Williams, the master Arthur Ostroff and Art in City Hall’s Guru, Tu Huynh – Todd did a terrific job explaining the benefits and services for the new and improved site and really mixed it up with the crowdVisit the Philly.SideArts site to see how vibrant, inspiring and diverse the Philly art scene really is and follow the progress of a thoughtful, intuitive idea to help artists connect in a meaningful way.

www.Philly.SideArts.com Philly Aids Thrift Art Auction

The silent auction sponsored by Philly.SideArts benefiting Philly Aids Thrift.

www.Philly.SideArts.com Philly Aids Thrift Art Auction

The Philly.SideArts.com easy to use homepage.  Join!

 


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Envisioning Shakespeare – Da Vinci Art Alliance @ Rowan University

Envisioning Shakespeare - Da Vinci Art Alliance @ Rowan University

Through April 26, 2011 at Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, in collaboration with the Da Vinci Art Alliance, presents “Envisioning Shakespeare” an exhibition of art by 24 members artists relating to the works of William Shakespeare in the lobby of Wilson Hall which houses Rowan’s Pfleeger Theatre.

Artists in the exhibition include:  Bobbie Adams, Betsy Alexander, Rosalind Bloom, Bud Boehringer, DoN Brewer, Alden Cole, Lilliana Didovic, David Foss, Linda Dubin Garfield, Sharri Jerue, Carl Johnson, Ona Kalstein, Marie Keane, Rikard Larma, Carla Lombardi, Karen McDonnell and Anthony Cortosi, Deb Miller and Ray Costello, Liz Nicklus, Patricia O’Halloran, Francine Strauss, Ted Warchal, Carol Wisker, Burnell Yow! 

Envisioning Shakespeare - Da Vinci Art Alliance @ Rowan University

Envisioning Shakespeare - Da Vinci Art Alliance @ Rowan University

Envisioning Shakespeare - Da Vinci Art Alliance @ Rowan University

Click the thumbnails for panoramic views of Envisioning Shakespeare – a Da Vinci Art Alliance Event @ Rowan University, Glassboro NJ.

Envisioning Shakespeare - Da Vinci Art Alliance @ Rowan University

Envisioning Shakespeare @ Rowan University.  Da Vinci Art Alliance is an 80 year old art gallery cooperative located in South Philly; the expansive show of art gleaned from Shakespeare themed art shows from the past examines images, themes and ideas from Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Hamlet and Henry IV, Part 1 by artists working in all types of media.

Envisioning Shakespeare - Da Vinci Art Alliance @ Rowan University

Lilliana DidovicEnvisioning Shakespeare – a Da Vinci Art Alliance event @ Rowan University.

Envisioning Shakespeare - Da Vinci Art Alliance @ Rowan University

Carl Johnson@ Envisioning Shakespeare – a Da Vinci Art Alliance event.

Envisioning Shakespeare - Da Vinci Art Alliance @ Rowan University

DoN Brewer and Mina Smith-SegalEnvisioning ShakespeareDa Vinci Art Alliance @ Rowan University.

Envisioning Shakespeare - Da Vinci Art Alliance @ Rowan University

Envisioning Shakespeare – a Da Vinci Art Alliance event @ Rowan University.  Thank you to the great work by the Da Vinci Art Alliance team for installing the exhibition; director Dave Foss, board members Alden Cole and Ted Warchal transported and hung the show in a coherent, flowing retrospective in the handsome lobby of the Pfleeger Theater with each artwork resonating and reinforcing the messages from the works in proximity.  But, Dr. Deb Miller, Da Vinci Art Alliance Board President is the master-mind behind the series which has brought this collection of Philadelphia artists together in a bright, welcoming setting where the art can be seen by theater-goers and students at Rowan University.  The on-going series of theme shows allows artists to interpret Shakespeare in their own styles and media, most recently interpreting A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the Black Box Gallery at the Lantern Theater Company.

Envisioning Shakespeare - Da Vinci Art Alliance @ Lantern Theater Black Box Gallery

Lilliana Didovic has participated in each of the Da Vinci Art Alliance Envisioning Shakespeare exhibitions and won First Prize this time for her painting in the Envisioning A Midsummer Night’s Dream (the dreamy blue night scene above).  Lilliana is dedicated to Da Vinci Art Alliance, volunteering her time and creating art even as she worked at achieving her Masters Degree in Psychology from the University of Chicago this Spring.

Envisioning “A Mid Summer Night’s Dream” @ The Lantern Theater’s Black Box Gallery.

Nadia Kunz was thrilled to be exhibiting for the first time with Da Vinci Art Alliance for the Envisioning A Midsummer Night’s Dream art show; Nadia’s construction is a whimsical interpretation of the famous play created with found objects.

Envisioning “A Mid Summer Night’s Dream” @ The Lantern Theater’s Black Box Gallery.

Envisioning “A Midsummer Night’s Dream @ The Lantern Theater’s Black Box Gallery.  DoN know’s that’s Ted Warchal’s Puck in the middle but he needs help identifying the others, if you know who’s who in any of these photos please comment so credit can be given to the artists.

Envisioning “A Mid Summer Night’s Dream” @ The Lantern Theater’s Black Box Gallery.

Envisioning Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the Black Box Gallery at Lantern Theater.  See the Da Vinci Art Alliance Facebook page for more photos. Thank you to the Lantern Theater for giving DoN exclusive access to the gallery, normally only theater-goers get to see the art show, the underground gallery has a bohemian vibe synchronizing with the eclectic artist collective’s esthetic, Da Vinci Art Alliance has been invited back for next year’s Shakespeare production.

Photos by DoN. shot exclusively with Kodak Digital Cameras

Bohyun Yoon: Embody @ Center for Emerging Visual Artists on Rittenhouse Square

Bohyun Yoon: Embody @ Center for Emerging Visual Artists on Rittenhouse Square

Bohyun Yoon has created an experience design in the chic art gallery in the Barclay Building, every surface of the gallery is activated with a confounding display of intellectual design, superb craftsmanship, historical references and anthropomorphic symbolism vibrating in unison like a strum on a guitar.  Every nuance is considered as the exploded little bodies, each element hand crafted from custom molds, coalesce as shadows of babies cast by a single bright white light bulb on the walls.  But, when the light bulb begins making a circular motion, the tiny doll parts swinging with air movement, the whole room suddenly becomes a dream scape of dancing babies, inducing a startling sensation of floating.

Bohyun Yoon: Embody @ Center for Emerging Visual Artists on Rittenhouse Square

On the right is the artist, Bohyun Yoon.  Yoon decided to create each doll part mold because he didn’t want to violate copyrights, he told DoN the process took more than 5 months.  Each carefully crafted element of the installation is suspended in a way that the sum of the parts creates a whole experience design, Yoon told DoN he wished to,”…create a dialog not a monolog.”

Bohyun Yoon: Embody @ Center for Emerging Visual Artists on Rittenhouse Square

Yoon created these mirror masks to help him learn English by seeing all parts of the face he was listening to; the face recognition technology in DoN‘s camera went wacko.   Bohyun Yoon is an art professor at Tyler, is a glass artist (the water filled glass bowl hat and accompanying video is idiosyncratic to the extreme), a video artist and photographer; Amie Potsic explained to DoN that Bohyun Yoon, “is smart and resourceful in his use of materials.”

Bohyun Yoon: Embody @ Center for Emerging Visual Artists on Rittenhouse Square

Buhyun Yoon, Reforming, 9 channel video with sound, 4 minutes, dimensions variable @ Center for Emerging Visual Artists in the Barclay Building on Philadelphia’s beautiful Rittenhouse Square.  This Friday, 4/15/11, is the Center City District art crawl, the perfect opportunity to experience Bohyun Yoon: Embody.

 

Photos by DoN.

 

Downstairs Gallery @ The Plastic Club – DoN Brewer, Burton Greenspan, Cara Kendric, Mervyn Kline & Diane Podolsky

Downstairs Gallery @ The Plastic Club - DoN Brewer,  Burton Greenspan, Cara Kendric, Mervyn Kline & Diane Podolsky

Downstairs Gallery @ The Plastic ClubDoN Brewer,  Burton Greenspan, Cara Kendric, Mervyn Kline & Diane Podolsky.  Downstairs at the Plastic club is a gallery, print shop and kitchen carved out of a once junk filled basement, now a chic venue to show art and meet with friends and peers.  Even though the names are drawn from a hat, look at the well established artists DoN is associated with in this collection, it’s humbling to be included in the same sentence let alone show in the same space with artists Greenspan, Kendric, Kline and Podolsky.

Downstairs Gallery @ The Plastic Club - DoN Brewer,  Burton Greenspan, Cara Kendric, Mervyn Kline & Diane Podolsky

Burton Greenspan, Sun Lee, oil, DoN Brewer, light being (Joey Ramone), digital photograph, Diane Podolsky, Star Gazer, multicolor reduction linocut and Another Part of Town, collograph/watercolor in the Downstairs Gallery @ The Plastic Club.

Downstairs Gallery @ The Plastic Club - DoN Brewer,  Burton Greenspan, Cara Kendric, Mervyn Kline & Diane Podolsky

Diane Podolsky, The Cat, oil stick and Burton Greenspan, Gilda, oil in The Downstairs Gallery @ The Plastic Club.

Downstairs Gallery @ The Plastic Club - DoN Brewer,  Burton Greenspan, Cara Kendric, Mervyn Kline & Diane Podolsky

Mervyn Kline @ The Down Stairs Gallery in the Plastic Club.

Downstairs Gallery @ The Plastic Club - DoN Brewer,  Burton Greenspan, Cara Kendric, Mervyn Kline & Diane Podolsky

DoN Brewer, light beings, digital photographs @ The Downstairs Gallery @ The Plastic Club.  The opportunity to exhibit in  one of America’s oldest art clubs is a tremendous honor; with the luck of the draw, DoN was able to assemble some of his favorite images in a representative selection of his “light being” theme of reflected light on urban surfaces titled after friends and family who have transmogrified into spirits traversing the universe as beams of light.  DoN‘s Grandma would be so proud.

 

Photos by DoN.