Anders Hansen, Midnight Sun, charcoal and gesso on paper.

Off the Wall Gallery at Dirty Franks Bar Autumn Invitational 2013 features new artwork from their award-winning, top-selling artists: Jim Biglan, Bob Gorchov, Anders Hansen, Yeoun Lee, Jesse r Lentz, Bill Myers, Lance Pawling and Syd Torchio.

The gallery located in the corner bar has developed a reputation for discovering new artists, creating exciting art experiences and generating sales. Located near art schools, artist clubs and art galleries, Dirty Franks is a hub of artistic energy and talent. It’s not unusual to rub elbows with famous artists or aspiring art students, chef Anthony Bourdain even shot a segment of his show there and got a bit drunk while shooting the show (click his name to see the episode).

Curated by the multitalented Jody Sweitzer, who recently was celebrated with a one-person show at The Plastic Club with an eighteen year retrospective, Off the Wall Gallery is a unique venue which welcomes all kinds of art and artists. Togo Travalia, manager of the bar, tirelessly promotes the shows with outstanding publicity efforts including keepsake catalogs, posters and inventive facebook posts helping create the environment that the art is indeed for sale.

Anders Hansen, Somewhere in France, ink on paper

“I want my work to have density, complexity, movement, expressiveness. I like my materials to have a life and play of their own – ink that’s inky, charcoal that’s earthy, paint that’s rich, lines that cavort.” – Anders Hansen artist statement excerpt

Anders Hansen’s artwork never fails to surprise yet is totally accessible and decorative. Maybe his limited palette and fluid lines are the secret to his success, allowing the viewer to enjoy his art as it seeps into their consciousness with beautiful simplicity. But the work is the result of determined practice and years of work achieving a level of artistry that is reminiscent of the masters like Pollack or De Kooning. I’m not being flattering here, look for yourself, and you’ll see why collectors seek out his art to fill voids in their collections.

Bill Myers, Everyone Bleeds Now, digital collage

Bill Myers mashes up original photography with found art to create his signature brand of surrealism. I love it that not everyone get’s it because the best art is often confusing. An accomplished professional photographer, Myers’ artwork mixes metaphors and memes with aplomb creating a balancing act between the real and unreal.

“My art mixes reality or fantasy and combines them to create a storyline that is TOTALLY TRUE OR FALSE!!!” – Bill Myers artist statement excerpt

Lance Pawling, Life on the Line, found object assemblage

Lance Pawling has established himself as an important influence on the creative community of Philadelphia. As a performer with the Dumpsta Players, an employee of the Philadelphia Art Museum and an award-winning fine artist he demonstrates that living the artistic life can be fun and functional. His art, like his life, mixes what he finds into pleasing compositions of exotica, multi-media and history. Unafraid of criticism he laughs with the viewer when he puts Ben Franklin in drag, spoofs the Last Supper or assumes the personality of a Super-Star!

“I find inspiration everywhere I look. The spark might  emerge from the shadow of reflected light,or follow the path of a leaf delicately dancing through the air, set aloft by a passing bus. The delight of creation is all around me.” – Lance Pawling artist statement excerpt

Lance Pawling, Diamond J, found object assemblage

“Lance Pawling, a Philadelphia-based artist, does performance art and creates handcrafted goods. Lance’s performance art takes the form of drag and female impersonation intended to delight his audience while making them squirm. Lance’s handcrafted art is made largely through found objects—often broken or discarded items—which he transforms into another state of material being that the viewer may not otherwise have seen or expected.” – Lance Pawling website

Bob Gorchov, Untitled (Aves), acrylic, watercolor, ink and pencil on paper

With naive abandon, Bob Gorchov, mixes media and styles to create exuberant creations that recall great artists like, you know, Picasso, Kandinsky, Bourgeois…seriously, before you buy copy-cat art from a big box store buy a Gorchov and you will own an original that no one else has.

Picasso famously said, “It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.”

“About my recent paintings, I can say that the use of color is bolder, less somber and more varied than in previous works. This probably has little to do with conscious choice. I start wirth a line or image and see where it leads me. Then it’s one accident after another – or almost.” – Bob Gorchov artist statement

Yeoun Lee, Spring Shades, acrylic on canvas

The Autumn Invitational show has some amazing tableaus spread across the wall but Yeoun Lee‘s work, even though it stands fully on it’s own, complements the works nearby. Paired with Anders Hansen‘s mysterious abstractions her brilliant colors deepen the darkness of Hansen’s moody artworks. Placed next to Syd Torchio‘s exquisite portraiture, her work sings the song you hear in your head but with color. Adjacent to Bob Gorchov‘s child-like exhuberance, Yeoun Lee‘s paintings act like the adult in the room. There are several of Lee’s award-winning paintings in this show that belong in collections. #BuyArt

“My greatest source of inspiration to paint comes from nature, which gives me the freedom to express myself and to forget about the darkness and hardships that are inherent in the journey of life. With nature as my inspiration, I feel completly free to my own colors and techniques to create my own world on canvas. In this respect, I consider myself a colorist, using techniques such as dripping, layering, overlapping, and brushwork in my paintings. – Yeoun Lee website

“We’re all affected by what we see around us, by our experience and also by our moods. My great source of inspiration comes from nature and colors. Through observation, memory and my imagination, nature inspires me.” Yeoun Lee artist statement excerpt

Off the Wall Gallery at Dirty Franks Bar Autumn Invitational 2013 features new artwork from their award-winning, top-selling artists: Jim Biglan, Bob Gorchov, Anders Hansen, Yeoun Lee, Jesse r Lentz, Bill Myers, Lance Pawling and Syd Torchio.

Jesse r Lentz and Jim Biglan, Off the Wall Gallery

The vitrine in the corner of the bar is dedicated to Jesse r Lentz‘ and Jim Biglan’s sculptures, drawings, paintings and mixed media objects with quirky mash-ups and objet trouve that makes me think that Dirty Franks invented the concept of ‘pop-up shop’. Like a mini museum, the glass case contains a fantastical array of the artists’ work that would enhance an urbane mantle, brighten a kitschy kitchen or add animal totem’s to a bedroom to occupy your dream-scapes. Lentz says, “I genuinely feel my small works can live peacefully in the dimly lit environment of Dirty Franks.”

“Jesse r Lentz is a sculptor who focuses mainly on the idea of toy and touch. The physicality of an interactive sculpture has been a primary part of her sculptural work since she began practice. Learning the lost wax process of bronze sculpture as well as jewelry casting, welding, and other metal working techniques influenced her relationship to materials and craft. Animals and the human form have been a major inspiration point in all her studies.” – Jesse r Lentz artist statement excerpt from RAWartists.org

“This artwork represents three different avenues I’ve been exploring: 1) small humorous drawings sometimes using text, 2) my ‘moving drawings’, with slots, tabs, pulleys, etc., that can be manipulated to alter the drawing or reveal new areas; and small sculptures that are an extension of my love of mask and puppet-making.” – Jim Biglan artist statement

2013 Autumn Invitational at Off the Wall Gallery in Dirty Franks Bar, 13th and Pine Streets, Philadelphia on view through November 22nd.

The next show is called Coupling – the deadline for entry is 10/31/13

Written and photographed by DoN Brewer except where noted.

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