Summertime, 10th Annual Community Juried Art Show at Off the Wall Gallery at Dirty Franks, NE Corner, 13th and Pine Streets, Philadelphia, May 31st through July 31st, 2015. Artist reception June 4th, 7:00 – 10:00pm.
Inspired by, Ben Cohen, Church St. Art & Craft, showing Faces, Figures, City/Landscapes, June 3rd – June 28th, 2015. Reception, Saturday June 6th, 6:00 – 8:00pm. Church St. Art & Craft, formerly Home Fine Art Gallery, 2 Church St. (at White St.), Mt. Holly, NJ 609-261-8634
“This show is an eye opener for me. At 92, it taught me I can still learn from 5 year olds with no art training.” – Ben Cohen
“I am “Inspired” by the spontaneous line, uninhibited brilliant color, fearless use of form, and the very direct self expression exhibited by our very young self taught artists – I have learned a great deal from their work. – Ben Cohen
“I try to make the viewer “wake up” to life as we know it. I do this by the use of ordinary subject matter and hopefully an exciting handling of color, content and format. I want to give my message in a direct easy-to-understand manner.”
“I look for the something in areas and situations thought of as “nothingness”, and I invite the viewer to participate in these situations. Sometimes I do people with scenes and sometimes scenes with people. For the most part I feel that much of the so-called nothingness can be uplifting and thought-provoking.”
Church St. Art & Craft is an eclectic art space. We are a cooperative art gallery in the historic Mill Race Village in Mt. Holly, NJ. We are a custom frame shop, a place to gather and create art and a shop to purchase charming hand made gifts. In short, a wonderfully creative place to visit!
Shades and Tones, Poems at an Exhibition,Da Vinci Art Alliance, Golden Forest, monotype by Linda Dubin Garfield
Shades and Tones, Poems at an Exhibition,Da Vinci Art Alliance
Da Vinci Art Alliance, 704 Catharine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147, is pleased to present SHADES & TONES: Poems at an Exhibition on Sunday, May 17, 2- 5 PM. Three fine poets will be reading their work- Rosemary Cappello, Maria Fama and David Kozinski. In the gallery, the exhibition SURPRISE OF THE NEW, featuring local artists inspired by travel- Bobbie Adams, Rachel Citrino, Linda Dubin Garfield, Carla Lombardi and Barbara B Rosin runs through May 27, 2015 with a closing reception. All receptions and events are free and open to the public. This event has been selected for BEST IN MAY by uwishunu! For more information, visit www.davinciartalliance.org.
Rosemary Cappello’s poetry has appeared in Voices in Italian Americana, Poet Lore, Iconoclast, Avanti Popolo, Sweet Lemons 2, Schuylkill Valley Journal, Poetry Ink, and many other publications from 1971 to the present. She has often been the featured reader at places where poets congregate in the Philadelphia area, as well as venues in New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. She was invited to read her immigrant father, John Petracca’s poetry and her own on Ellis Island in 1979, a memorable experience. Her most recent readings were at Fergie’s Pub, sponsored by the Moonstone Arts Center, and the Lansdowne Library, for the Cadence Crafters poetry group. Her poems have been translated into Italian, Spanish, and French. Rosemary’s most recent chapbook is San Paride, named for the patron saint of Teano, Italy. She is currently working on a collection of love poems. Rosemary’s most time-consuming work is that of editing and publishing the annual literary journal, Philadelphia Poets, which she founded in 1980, and planning and presiding over readings in connection with that publication. A graduate of Notre Dame High School, Moylan, Pennsylvania, she received her BA, Summa cum Laude, from Widener University in Chester. Her awards include the Nearing Prize for Literature and Widener University’s Prose and Poetry Awards.
Maria Famà has written six books of poetry, co-founded a video production company, recorded her poetry in CD compilations of music and poetry, and given readings across the United States as well as on TV, Radio, Video, and Film. She appears in the 2007 film, “Pipes of Peace,” about the late jazz bagpipe musician, Rufus Harley, as well as in the award winning documentaries “Prisoners Among Us,” and “La Mia Strada, My Way.” Famà was awarded the 2002 and the 2005 Aniello Lauri Award for Creative Writing. She was the 2006 winner of the Amy Tritsch Needle Award for Poetry. Famà’s latest book of poems, Mystics in the Family, was published by Bordighera Press in 2013. Maria Famà lives and works in Philadelphia, where she teaches English at DeVry University.
David P. Kozinski won the Dogfish Head Poetry Prize, which included publication of his chapbook, Loopholes. He has been the featured poet in Schuylkill Valley Journal. Publications include Apiary, Fox Chase Review, glimmertrain.com, Mad Poets Review, Philadelphia Stories, Poetry Repairs, Margie, and The Rathalla Review. Kozinski was one of ten poets chosen by Robert Bly for a workshop sponsored by American Poetry Review and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize twice. Last November he conducted a poetry workshop for teens at the Montgomery County Youth Center and in 2012 offered a four-session workshop for adults titled “Poetry Presentation & Publication” at the Manayunk-Roxborough Art Center. He received Honorable Mention in Philadelphia Poets’ 7th Annual John & Rose Petracca & Family Award.In November 2007 he received the Dr. Eugene J. Szatkowski (“Schot-kov-ski’) Achievement Award from the Americans of Polish Descent Cultural Society (AMPOL) for his poetry and visual art. As a young child, he studied at the Delaware Art Museum. In the early 1970s he was a student at the École d’Art Americaines in Fontainebleau, France and was among the students who completed the first Art Major course offered at Tower Hill School in Wilmington, DE in 1974. Kozinski heads the publicity team for the Manayunk-Roxborough Art Center. He lives in Wilmington, DE with his wife, actress and journalist Patti Allis Mengers.
Please join us for our next The Philadelphia Sketch ClubAnnual Benefit Open Juried Art Show to benefit a local non-profit organization. This is an open juried show by The Philadelphia Sketch Club to benefit The Philadelphia Urban Creators, open to all artists. The exhibition will be on view in our historic main gallery in center city, Philadelphia. PSC medals will be awarded during the artist reception. The Philadelphia Sketch Club is the oldest artist club in the US, founded in 1860.
The Philadelphia Urban Creators is a youth and community driven organization that inspires inner-city neighborhoods to transform neglected landscapes into food hubs, social enterprises, and models of urban sustainability. We are change makers; story-tellers, urban farmers, dot connecters, movement builders, and innovators, cultivating knowledge, skills, and local resources to take the health of our communities into our own hands. We engage diverse networks in neighborhood revitalization efforts that build self-sufficiency and pioneer grass-roots economic development, while igniting a unified generation of passionate change agents, social entrepreneurs, and urban creators.- http://phillyurbancreators.org/
Online Assistance Day: Sunday May 24, 2015 at Midnight from 1-5 PM at The Philadelphia Sketch Club. Bring your artwork to the club to be photographed and added to the online art gallery.
Jury Notification: June 2, 2015
Delivery of Accepted Works: June 12-13, 2015, 1:00 – 5:00 The Philadelphia Sketch Clubor ship to PSC with return postage.
Reception: Sunday June 21, 2015, 2:00 – 4:00 PM at PSC
ELIGIBLE WORKS:
– Any 2 dimensional works utilizing any media.
– Maximum allowed size is 44 inches on any one side including frame.
– All submitted works must be offered for sale during the exhibition.
– All works must be framed and wired and ready for hanging. Improperly framed pieces will be rejected.
– PSC will assess a 35% commission on all sales.
– Maximum 5 works allowed per entry.
– Maximum two works accepted per entry to be shown in the gallery.
– All works of an ‘Accepted’ artist will be shown for sale in our free Philadelphia Sketch Club Online Gallery.
AWARDS:
PSC medals will be awarded. Awards include First, Second , Third Place Award, 3 Honorable Mentions.
DEADLINE: Sunday. May 24, 2015 at Midnight
FEES: PSC Members: $15 for 1st TWO entries, then $5 for additional entries up to 5 entries. Non-Members: $30 for TWO entries, then $10 for additional entries up to 5 entries. You can pay via credit card or paypal.
NOTIFICATION: June 2, 2015
You will be notified via email of our jurors decision. You can also check our website.
ASSISTANCE: Sunday, May 24, 2015 from 1-5 PM
If you need assistance with the online entry process, please contact the Faad Ghoraishifaad@ghoraishi.com, 917-270-0800) or optionally, bring your work to PSC on the above date and we can assist you.
DELIVERY OF ACCEPTED WORKS: Friday and Sat June 12 and 13 (1-5 PM) at PSC.
If you are accepted, then you must deliver your work(s) to The Philadelphia Sketch Club.
You may also ship your works via a carrier. You must provide prepaid return postage. Ship to the address below.
PICKUP DATES: Pickup of all Accepted works on July 12, and July 15, 2014 1-5 PM at PSC
“America’s oldest club for artists. Since 1860 the PSC has served as a meeting place, forum for ideas, and a vital bridge between the creators and supporters of art. Past luminaries have included such American masters as Eakins and Anshutz. Present luminaries could include you. We welcome all to the Club, and we urge artists to joinin our continuing heritage.” – The Philadelphia Sketch Club
As a native Philadelphian, I’d never visited the Eastern State Penitentiary, which is attributable to my own design as well as lack of desire. Known as America’s most historic prison, Eastern State Penitentiary was once the most famous prison in the world due to its grand architecture and strict disciplinary practices. Notions of such harsh discipline, imprisonment, and being confined to small spaces renders fear and paralysis in my mind. However, after learning about the May First Friday unveiling of several artists at the ESP, this art enthusiast felt it was a perfect time to make the guarded effort to see this well-known space.
I was especially intrigued after reading about the installation ofJesse Krimes, entitled Apokaluptein 16389067: II. Jesse is a Philadelphia-based artist, who was indicted by the U.S. government on non-violent controlled substance charges, and served a 70-month federal prison term. While serving his term, Jesse produced a breathtaking and evocative 39-panel landscape on bedsheets. His process is just as magnificent: Jesse transferred cutout images from the New York Times using a plastic spoon and hairgel he had purchased from the commissary. He used the spoon to press the sheet and hairgel onto the newspaper cutout which resulted in an inverse image on the sheet. Lastly, the images were blended together with color pencil. With the help of prison guards who had supported his work, he was able to store the sheets in a prison locker before having each panel mailed home piece by piece upon completion. Jesse kept a running dialogue in his mind of each of the sheets, as he didn’t see the entire grouping of panels until his release.
In it’s original iteration, Apokaluptein16389067 is 15 feet tall and 40 feet long. The images are a grouped according to three major sections: the bottom represents Hell, the middle portion is a depiction of Earth, and the upper portion signifies Heaven. A facsimile of the original is on display along the interior walls of an abandoned cell at the ESP. I spoke with Jesse about his artistic process, and he explained that the current installation was made by scanning the original bedsheets onto a large scanner and making a large print. He then made a copy of the large print (to mimic the inverse images that appear on the bedsheets due to the transfer) and affixed those pieces onto the walls of the prison cell exhibition space using hand sanitizer and a sealant. Jesse feels that this project has reached it’s zenith in as it’s final iteration at the Penitentiary.
This installation is a brilliant collage of color, form, and text. The texture is reminiscent of decoupage or encaustic painting. In their entirety, the panels serve as an artistic time capsule.
The original title, Apokaluptein16389067, references the Greek origin of the word apocalypse which means to reveal; by definition, it is a cataclysmic event. The numbers reference the artist’s Federal Bureau of Prisons identification number. Of all the works on display at this First Friday event, I felt especially compelled to see this exhibit as I am both amazed and in awe of the power of human resilience. Last year, I read wonderful meme that has since stuck with me: “When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity”. Jesse Krimes‘ work is the epitome and personification of this proverb. I hold much admiration for his creative self-motivation in making this impressively transcendent work of art during his own personal apocalypse.
