Second Thursday @ Crane Arts Center – UD@Crane

Shoshka. Alden and DoN made the pilgrimage to Crane Arts Center in Fishtown to witness the spectacle of innovation, artistry and experience design the arts space is becoming famous for.The University of Delaware has taken over the old Busy Bee space and the current exhibition of MFA students is insightful and fun.  Looming over the first floor are fiber and plaster neuron-like constructs by the afore-mentioned Mark Donahue; similar to the Hopkins House installation, this time Donahue has balanced separate components on top of each other creating strange transmitters communicating in a language all their own.  DoN was greeted by the elegant Virginia Bradley, artist/curator/educator who shares a studio on the third floor with Chris Malcomson – Virginia and DoN commiserated over sharing studio space (more about that in a minute). 

Mark Donahue @ UD@Crane.

Mark Donahue @ UD@Crane. 

 Untitled, mixed media, Jim Reske.  Is this thing cool or what?  Simple sun-bleached plywood panels lean against the wall as if Josef Albers were in the house.

Untitled, mixed media, Jim Reske.  Is this thing cool or what?  Simple sun-bleached plywood panels lean against the wall as if Josef Albers were in the house.

rickery, watercolor & ink on stretched & cut paper, Francine Fox @ UD@Crane.

rickery, watercolor & ink on stretched & cut paper, Francine Fox @ UD@Crane.

Francine Fox

Francine Fox displayed several three inch square paintings that are executed with virtuosity, flare and fluid surrealist imagination.  Like seeing a weird image in the clouds or faces in foam on the beach, Fox finds eery fractals of flesh, skin and organs which are all intricately applied to the glossy surface of the wood in delicate strokes of paint.

Anthony Vega

Anthony Vega with one of his multiple image paintings.  Vega uses a projector to capture multiple images within the plane of his painting.  Using found or original images he combines blobs of paint into pixel-like splotches which when viewed from a distance morph into pulsating icons that DoN‘s brain tried to make sense of but was thwarted by the cacophony of ideas vying for attention.  Vega told DoN, “…it’s evidently handmade.”

Balloons

Sho, Alden and DoN all LoVeD the balloon-stuffed panty hose, each of us explained the concept to at least one of our friends.  Like Christo‘s temporary installations, these pieces will obviously deteriorate rapidly but will live on in memory and photographs.  Of course, one could always make more and have fun doing it.

At Nexus Gallery, our threesome was treated to a video installation by J. Makary and Bilwa as part of the Philly Fringe festival.  The gallery transformed into a movie theater with stadium seating presented an extraordinary video: part art movie, part music video, part dance performance with an emphasis on hand gestures and body language.  The saturated colors, quirky dance moves and evocative narrative was absorbing and abstract in it’s simplicity of experience design.

 

Nick of Nexus tells DoN the gallery will be installing a low powered community radio station ala Whitney’s Biennial radio station.  People can schedule air time by contacting the gallery. Lo-fi Coolness Rocks!

 

 Super Kawai Lil’ Lamb @ Nexus. 

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