Category Archives: Twenty-Two Gallery

Philadelphia Open Studio Tours 2010 – Center City West

Lauren Sweeney edited her display of art for the Philadelphia Open Studio Tour so visitors could get a good grasp of her style. Lauren is a member artist of Gallery Twenty-Two and has established herself as one of Philly’s finest watercolorists, her prints and giclee’s are high quality and affordable. Sweeney’s studio was DoN‘s first stop on an art crawl through Center City West last weekend; this weekend is POST East of Broad Street.

Twenty-Two Gallery smartly participated in the annual open studio tour allowing art lovers to discover this gem of a gallery on 22nd Street; Derek Jecxz‘s large format prints are exquisite. Jecxz is a new member of the Twenty-Two Gallery.

Derek Jecxz @ Twenty-Two Gallery on the Philadelphia Open Studio Tour West of Broad the first weekend in October – a new show opens tomorrow, 10/08/10, with new work by Karen S. Davies.

Jacque Liu @ Area 919 in Cityspace @ 22nd & Chestnut Streets. Michael Garden of Area 919 is hosting Liu’s “drawings” made of folded mylar creating enlarged architectural details which meld beautifully into the fabulously ornate interior of the luxurious office space – Jacque Liu’s: An Abstraction of Details is on exhibit through 11/13/10.

Jacque Liu @ Cityspace Area 919.

Moe Brooker @ Sande Webster Gallery @ 2006 Walnut Street, Philadelphia. Moe Brooker’s bold, big abstractions look fantastic in the large main gallery space, it was a nice respite to sit in the quiet gallery and take in the stunning array of masterworks before setting out to see more studios. Charles Kalick is in the salon gallery.

Of course, DoN Brewer had to stop by Bonte’s Cafe @ 17th & Sansom Streets to check out his own one-person show of photographs called Dark Matter – a Photographic Society of Philadelphia event through 10/13/2010. The space offers PSoP members the opportunity to display their own work as long as it fits the 16 x 20″ format, the warm toned walls and intimate space is a perfect accent for the art work.

DoN‘s last stop of the day was at #1 on the Center City POST list – Jerry DiFalco and his etching filled studio. The bright room on the 9th floor is jammed with fabulous etchings for which DiFalco has gained wide-spread notoriety, the quality of his work is timeless and ethereal.

Jerry DiFalco is well known for his liturgical art which graces many places of worship; as the sun set over the Schuylkill River the light poured over the large golden painting in DiFalco‘s studio while Jerry and DoN chatted about DiFalco‘s true passion – teaching art. Jerry told DoN he was inspired by his visit to DoN‘s place last year – such a great compliment assures DoN will participate in next year’s tour.

Photos by DoN.

Reta Sweeney, Passages in Paint @ Twenty-Two Gallery

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Reta Sweeney’s Passages in Paint exhibit at Twenty-Two Gallery includes several paintings from a trip to an island off Puerto Rico as a guest of Glenn Curry, editor of Art Matters Magazine. The deal was to help spruce up a guest house and then have time to paint, a cool gig especially when your friends like Doris Peltzman, Betz Green, Barbara Keogh and others are there to help. The glow of light in her tropical paintings is a lively counterpoint to the woodsy East Coast landscapes. The body of work on display pays tribute to Sweeney’s trained eye and finely skilled hand, just beautiful.

The Second Friday art crawl in Center City offers several destinations, Twenty-Two Gallery consistently presents interesting installations featuring local artists. Reta Sweeney’s drew a crowd of Philly artists and friends in support of her one-woman show of paintings; Reta’s core group of friends are all dedicated artists who enjoy taking trips to study and paint. Diane Podolsky curated the show with Shawn Murray, the installation is subtle yet utilizes and activates as much space as possible, even hanging paintings back to back in the window.

Meeting of the Board II, oil, 16 x 16″, Reta Sweeney @ Twenty-Two Gallery.

Kumquats, oil, Reta Sweeney @ Twenty-Two Gallery, 236 South 22nd Street, Philadelphia through September 3rd, 2010.

Photos by DoNBrewerPhotography.

Light & Despair @ Twenty-Two Gallery – Valerie Carroll & Adrienne Jenkins

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Valerie Carroll, Spot @ Twenty-Two Gallery.

Valerie Carroll‘s animistic portraits of cats & dogs practically growl with aggression, daring DoN to stare down scary faces like monsters in a dream. Sometimes when DoN looks into KaTy the ArT DoGs eyes he feels a connection with her like some extrasensory perception mind meld is happening, Carroll’s paintings tap into that same vibe. Carroll’s animal portraits are classic mise en scene animal portraits yet brutalist and difficult like a great punk rock song.

Valerie Carroll, Rub-a-Dub, A Man in a Tub, oil on canvas.

Valerie Carroll explained how she first got this impression of the bathing man while out West but finished the painting back East. The painting pulses with emotion, the man’s facial expression roils with desperation, the luxury of a bath too sad to believe, a beard grown wild, a rusted basin a momentary respite from the New Great Depression.

Valerie Carroll, Man in a Pink Shirt, oil on canvas. Light & Despair @ Twenty-Two Gallery.

Adrienne Jenkins, Jamie, oil on canvas @ Twenty-Two Gallery.

Shawn Murray, Twenty-Two Gallery’s mastermind, warned Adrienne Jenkins that portraits are a hard sell but her paintings of twenty-somethings reveal such a current state of being for young people – harried, a bit grim, self absorbed like characters from a William Faulkner novel set in the future – that it makes DoN glad she ignored his advice, the portraits are so painterly they don’t read as so specific.

Twenty-Two Gallery’s co-curator , Diane Podolsky, has the balls to mix up impressionist still life paintings with stylized portraits and crazed pet paintings & makes it work like some museum show of the history of modern art; paintings just never go out of style.

Valerie Carroll & Adrienne Jenkins at the opening of their show, Light and Despair @ Twenty-Two Gallery during West Center City’s Second Friday art crawl. The two artists paint together at Wayne Art Center , sharing studio space and creating a kind of cross-pollination of painting styles. With 25 or so paintings, this is a big show for two artists but Adrienne Jenkins is preparing for her solo show next year for the same space; the two artists have joined the artist collective and you can meet them this Sunday afternoon at Twenty-Two Gallery, 236 South 22nd Street.

Photos by DoNBrewerPhotography.

Jessica Barber & Alison Altergott – Making An Impression @ Twenty-Two Gallery

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Jessica Barber, Bonifacio, monotype/oil pastels @ Gallery Twenty-Two’s Making An Impression show featuring prints by Jessica Barber & Alison Altergott. Prints is a bit of a misnomer in this show, both artists use printing as part of their process but expand the barriers into writing, drawing, collage and painting. DoN LoVeS this print which looks very much like a Star Trek Ferengi.

DoN asked Jessica if she created this piece in Madrid because it feels so immediate and plein air, as if she set up her plates & inks right there in the cafe. Actually the artist worked from a photo she took while on a trip to Alice’s annual painting retreat in Majorca with friends from the Plastic Club. Jessica said club president, Bob Jackson allowed her to work late at night in the wonderful print shop “down stairs”, allowing her to create these rich, saturated images which she had framed at Liberty Art & Framing with non-glare glass. Immediacy, tension and vitality exude from the paper with a fresh, active style only the rigorous lithograph process produces.

Jessica Barber explained to DoN she uses a new non-toxic form lithographic process using plastic sheets which the artist applies different resists for the ink, Jessica used non-conventional mark-making tools to develop her images including Sharpies, she said, “ink loves the donor”.

Jessica Barber @ the opening of her collaborative show @ Gallery Twenty-Two. Second Friday for people in cars was frustratingly frantic, west Center City traffic was snarled because of the snow and the South Street bridge being out but DoN walked, easily strolling past cars with “Bad Romance” blasting in his iPod; Jessica was stuck on a bus trying to get to her own opening, arriving safely – fashionably late!

Alison Altergott @ Twenty-Two Gallery. DoN asked about the girls in Alison’s prints, old dress patterns from the 50s & 20s because of the resonance of the strong feminine ideal of the home-maker. DoN thought a feminist home-maker is a contradiction in terms but Alison defended the mystique as a commentary on what we’ve lost compared to the way families live now. Alison Altergott combines handwriting, collage, paint and printing to develop these densely signified images about the ideals of growing up.

Alison Altergott, Heartstrings, 1 of 2 prints @ Gallery Twenty-Two.

Photos by DoNBrewerMultimedia Photography.

Explorations…..In The Neighborhood – Ed Bronstein @ Gallery 22

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Ed Bronstein is an artist member of Gallery 22 owned & curated by Shawn Murray and is probably Philly’s most prolific plein air artist. It’s a wonder he gets any painting done though, since he is so gregarious and popular that when he’s painting outdoors people (DoN included) stop to talk. The collection of 46 paintings at Gallery 22 attests to Ed’s drive to get the job done; many of the paintings are totally plein air but some, like the dog paintings, are completed in the studio. Bronstein sometimes also works from memory in the studio after beginning a painting in the field, he is so familiar with the territory he could probably create a Philly scene with no reference material at all.

Ed Bronstein @ Gallery 22. Ed told DoN that usually he has to paint the doggie portraits from photographs since as we know dogs don’t stay still for very long, even when they’re sleeping. Ed captured many of these dog images at the Schuykill River Park also known as the dog socialization area – one of KaTy the ArT Dog & Lady Doofie’s favorite spots to hang out.

Scenes of Philadelphia by Ed Bronstein @ Gallery 22. DoN recognized the view from Bartram’s Garden in the lower painting since he sat in the same spot but tried to paint out the oil tanks, focusing on the trees. Bronstein saw the sculptural beauty and urban aesthetic of the oil tanks and captured the scene with bold color and swift brush strokes.

Ed Bronstein started this painting in Fitler Square but then worked on it for months in the studio. Libby Rosoff of The Art Blog commented on how hot the colors are compared to the plein air works. Ed will be having a meet and greet in the gallery soon, check their website for dates & time.

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DoNArTNeWs

Philadelphia Art News Blog by DoN Brewer

Category Archives: Twenty-Two Gallery

Philadelphia Open Studio Tours 2010 – Center City West

Reta Sweeney, Passages in Paint @ Twenty-Two Gallery

Light & Despair @ Twenty-Two Gallery – Valerie Carroll & Adrienne Jenkins

Jessica Barber & Alison Altergott – Making An Impression @ Twenty-Two Gallery

Explorations…..In The Neighborhood – Ed Bronstein @ Gallery 22