Pygmalion, Roberta Gross, Shapes and Colors of Summer in July, The Plastic Club
Shapes and Colors of Summer in July ONLINE MONTHLY EXHIBITION AT PLASTIC CLUB
The Plastic Club’s building is closed, but the Club is resuming its regular schedule of monthly shows with an online exhibition devoted to the shapes and colors of Summer.
The Summer show opens Wednesday, July 1. The art can be viewed on the Plastic Club‘s website (www.plasticclub.org) then. There will also be one of the Club’s “Third Sunday” online Salons with discussion about the exhibit on Sunday, July 19, from 1 to 2 PM.
Entries can be realistic or abstract, based on reality or your imagination, or any combination of these approaches. Any medium is accepted. Physical artwork must be submitted in the form of a photograph or video. A reasonably clear cell phone photo or video should suffice. As always, original digital imagery, photography and video are also welcome.
Due to the building closure, we have devised a simple method to submit your photograph, image or video along with your contact information. For detailed instructions, see the “Call for Submissions” on the Exhibitions Tab of the Club’s website, www.plasticclub.org.
A lottery will select three entrants to win a prize: four free workshop sessions when the Club re-opens.
The Plastic Club, located on historic Camac Street, was founded in 1897 by a group of women artists to promote the arts to the public and support artists both in the Philadelphia community and beyond.
Jedediah Morfit: Adapting to Change A solo exhibition of new work by sculptor Jedediah Morfit
Jedediah Morfit, Gills: Grow A Pair, 2019, Mixed media, 8.5 x 9 x 33”
Paradigm Gallery + Studio is pleased to present Adapting to Change, a solo exhibition of new sculptural works by Jedediah Morfit, opening* May 29, 2020 and remaining on view through June 27, 2020. Known for using traditional techniques to create contemporary interpretations of historical forms, Morfit explored new digital fabrication processes specifically for this exhibition. The resulting busts are raw and vibrant, but still preserves Morfit’s signature precision.
Morfit’s artistic practice subverts traditional figurative sculpture and mirrors his own lived, contemporary experience. By combining old-world techniques with modern material, his past works created a juxtaposition between old and new, sculpture and sculptor. That tension is still at the heart of Morfit’s practice, but it has evolved to reflect new artistic technologies. In Adapting to Change, the muted busts Morfit is known for have gone through a total contemporary, bordering on futuristic, transformation. Digitally crafted, embedded with mixed media, dosed in color, manipulated, these works are a major departure for the artist. Unlike his last exhibition at Paradigm in 2017, the pieces in Adapting to Change are not about a modeler’s sensibility, but rather focuses on the intricacies of process, color and material.
Jedediah Morfit: Adapting to Change, Paradigm Gallery +Studio
While Morfit’s new process uses digital tools, there is still evidence of the artist’s touch. The final pieces, while incredibly detailed, do not look manufactured or automated in any way. While many of the pieces in the exhibition started with existing 3D scans of Greek and Italian busts, they were realized through a combination of 3D fabrication tools and traditional modeling and casting techniques. Many of the pieces are embedded with found objects, like plastic beads and cake doilies, which act as a part of the piece’s DNA; exploited for their texture and bright colors. Morfit takes the intact busts, cuts them up and puts them (almost) back together again. The ensuing works are presented slightly off kilter, hanging upside down or teetering off an edge.
The works in Adapting to Change are intended to look and feel disjointed. Countless hours were spent composing the busts, only to be deconstructed, modified, rebuilt, and reimagined. The shifting process mimics Morfit’s own sense of having lost and scrambling to keep his balance, as the ground shifts beneath his feet.
*Due to COVID-19, “Adapting to Change” will be on view at https://www.paradigmarts.org/ until further notice. During the exhibition, Paradigm hopes to be able to allow a limited number of viewing appointments, but this is dependent on the current policies of the CDC, WHO and the Governor and Mayor’s offices. Paradigm Gallery’s number one priority is the safety and wellness of their visitors. For live updates on the exhibition and appointments, please visit the Paradigm website and socials. For any questions on Paradigm’s current policies, please email info@paradigm-gallery.com.
About Jedediah Morfit Jedediah Morfit received his MFA in sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2005, where he was awarded the Sylvia Leslie Herman Young Scholarship and the Award Of Excellence. He was a Fellow at the Center For Emerging Visual Artists from 2007-2009, and received a New Jersey Council On the Arts Fellowship for sculpture in 2009. He received the Louise Kahn Award for Sculpture from the Woodmere Art Museum in 2006, and was awarded the Dexter Jones Award for Bas Relief from the National Sculpture Society in 2011 and 2012. In
2013, he was commissioned to create a series of new work for Artlantic:Wonder, which was named one of the 50 best public art projects in the Public Art Network’s Year in Review. His work has been shown in numerous group and solo exhibitions, and featured in The New York Times, Sculpture Review, Artnews and American Craft Magazine, as well as on NJTV’s State Of the Arts. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and three (count ‘em, three) children.
Jedediah Morfit: Adapting to Change, Paradigm Gallery + Studio
About Paradigm Gallery Paradigm Gallery + Studio® exhibits contemporary artwork from around the world with a focus on Philadelphia-based artists. Established February 2010, the gallery began as a project between co-founders and curators, Jason Chen and Sara McCorriston, as a space in which to create artwork, to exhibit the work of their peers, and to invite the members of the community to create and collect in a welcoming gallery setting. Now open 10 years, the gallery still aims to welcome all collectors, from first time to lifelong, and continues to support accessible work that welcomes a wide audience.
Location: 746 S 4th St Philadelphia, PA 19147
Thank you to Madison Fishman for the content of this post.
LikeDoNArTNeWs Philadelphia Art News Blog on facebook
Funbox, Christine Firrito-Easton, Jasmine Alleger, and Common Zen Savvy, Jed Williams Gallery
November 9 – 30, 2019 featuring art by Christine Firrito-Easton, Jasmine Alleger, and Common Zen Savvy at Jed Williams Gallery,615 Bainbridge St., Philadelphia PA 19147
Christine Firrito-Easton, Funbox! at Jed Williams Gallery
Opening Reception: Saturday Nov. 9th featuring jazz guitar/electronic music by Philadelphia’s own ZAVETIS
Jed Williams Gallery is proud to present its poppy, magical new exhibit featuring 3 talented artists working in different mediums. We are happy to present these artists in the Fall season; we feel that each has something very special and moving about their work. Come avoid the November doldrums and celebrate life with our pop art filled Funbox.
The Imaginary Girlfriend, collage, 5″×7″, Jasmine Alleger, Funbox! at Jed Williams Gallery
Enter Funbox and you will find dragons, clocks and other sculptural wonders made with old metal parts and erector sets, by the visionary artist Christine Firrito-Easton, alongside he wryly humorous illustrated works of Common Zen Savvy and Jasmine Alleger’s collages, which include ephemera and found materials from her travels. With so much pop attitude, you are bound to find inspiration here, in the Funbox!
Common Zen Savvy, Funbox! at Jed Williams Gallery
Thank you to Jed Williams for the content of this post.
LikeDoNArTNeWs Philadelphia Art News Blog on facebook
Mending A Reflection, Julie Heffernan, Rowan University Art Gallery
Rowan University Art Gallery is pleased to present Mending A Reflection, a solo exhibition of Julie Heffernan’s self-portraits, curated by Mary Salvante, Director of Rowan University Art Gallery.
The exhibit will be on view September 3 to October 26, 2019, with an artist talk and opening reception on September 12, from 5 – 7:30 pm. Artist talk begins at 5 pm with a reception immediately following.
Mending a Reflectionaddresses the connection between culture, mass media and personal identity through the eyes of one central female figure. Through her self-portraiture, Heffernan investigates what she calls the “shared collective unconscious,” exploring the historical narratives and subliminal imagery that work to shape who we are and how we perceive the world around us.
Self Portrait with Daughters, Julie Heffernan
In 2019, Heffernan revised many of her self-portraits, including Self-Portrait with Daughters, Self-Portrait After Galilee, Self-Portrait with Shipwreck, Self-Portrait as Wrangler, Self-Portrait as Two-Headed Princess, and Self Portrait as Hothead. These newly updated paintings will be exhibited for the first time publicly in Mending a Reflection.
Heffernan’s paintings help us understand how media can influence our behavior and manipulate our perspective. In her large-scale vibrant works, she pays homage to many powerful women by including them in her portraits. Taking inspiration from women activists like Anita Hill and Tarana Burke, Heffernan confronts this bias by presenting what she calls a “different sort of self-portrait,” one full of female spirit, “giving voices to women who have been silenced for too many years by the dominant culture.”
Self Portrait as Wrangler, Julie Heffernan
ABOUT JULIE HEFFERNAN Julie Heffernan has been exhibiting her paintings nationally and internationally since 1988 and is represented by Catharine Clark Gallery in San Francisco. She has had numerous solo exhibitions throughout the United States and Europe, including at PPOW in NYC entitled Hunter Gatherer (2019); the Crocker Art Museum, Palmer Art Museum and Michael Haas Gallery in Berlin; and a museum show entitled When The Water Rises originating at the LSU Museum of Art in Baton Rouge and traveling to museums in California, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Texas through 2019. She has participated in numerous group shows at major galleries and museums including the Museum für Moderne Kunst, in Bremen, Germany; Me Museum, Olbricht Collection in Berlin; the Palazzo Reale in Milan, Italy; and in Environmental Impact exhibition traveling to 12 museums throughout the United States.
Heffernan is the recipient of such prestigious grants as the NEA, NYFA and Fulbright, as well as a PS1 Artist-in-Residence, and her work has been reviewed by major newspapers and magazines including The New York Times and The New Yorker. Her work is in numerous museums throughout the country including the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York and the Virginia Museum of Fine Art in Richmond, VA. She is a Professor of Fine Arts at Montclair State University in New Jersey.
ABOUT ROWAN UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY Rowan University Art Gallery serves as a premier cultural destination for South Jersey, the Rowan community, and surrounding region. Our mission is to provide a platform for discourse on best practices in contemporary art by professional artists, curators, and scholars through the presentation of interdisciplinary art exhibitions, panel discussions, guest curatorial projects, and other public programming.
The Gallery has a history of programming that recognizes the achievements of women in the visual arts. Important past group exhibitions include The Sister Chapel: An Essential Feminist Collaboration (2016) and Groundbreaking: The Women of the Sylvia Sleigh Collection (2011). The gallery also hosted Better Than Ever: Women Figurative Artists of the ’70s Co-ops (2009), a traveling exhibition that was curated by Sharyn Finnegan, Between the Threads: A Feminist Guide to the Domestic (2016), and Enamored Armor (2018). Solo exhibitions have included Beverly Semmes (2011), Joyce Kozloff (2014), Jeanie Jaffe (2015), Diane Burko (2018), and Ebony G. Patterson (2019).
Support for programming at Rowan University Art Gallery is also made possible by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information please visit: rowan.edu/artgallery
Public parking is available in the Mick Drive Parking Garage across the street from the gallery. Admission to the gallery, lecture, and reception is free and open to the public.
Thank you to Chelsea Markowitz for the content of this post.
LikeDoNArTNeWs Philadelphia Art News Blog on facebook
April will be a time for story-telling at The Plastic Club, as the historic art club invites visual artists to show how they retell the world’s stories, whether drawn from holy books or comic books or the depths of their own imaginations.
The prospectus explains that works can be representational or abstract, based perhaps on literature or perhaps on popular genres or even current events. “It is your story to tell, using your special way of doing art.”
The prospectus quotes the poet Wallace Stevens for inspiration: “They said, ‘You have a blue guitar, you do not play things as they are.’ The man replied, ‘Things as they are are changed upon the blue guitar.'”
Stories to Tell at The Plastic Club
Stories to TellOpening Reception Sunday, April 7th, 2:00 and 5:00 PM, with juror’s awards and announcement at 3:30 PM. The work can also be viewed by appointment or at The Plastic Club‘s special Third Sunday Open Gallery on Sunday, April 21 from 1 to 4 PM.
