Tag Archives: sculpture

Stories

Stories to Tell

Stories Told in Pictures at The Plastic Club

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 Tell Opening 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.

The Plastic Club. 247 South Camac Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, (215) 545-9324
info@plasticclub.org

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2019

MAJOR PHILADELPHIA ART EXHIBITS FOR 2019 Philly Museums Celebrate A Year Of Creative DiversityFrom Bondage to Freedom, by Jerry Pinkney, appeared in the National Park Service Underground Railroad Handbook and is part of “Freedom’s Journal: The Art of Jerry Pinkney” at the Woodmere Art Museum, February 16-May 12, 2019. Photo courtesy Jerry Pinkney

MAJOR PHILADELPHIA ART EXHIBITS FOR 2019
Philly Museums Celebrate A Year Of Creative Diversity

PHILADELPHIA, December 17, 2018 – Philadelphia’s celebrated history of dynamic artistic expression shines in a fascinating breadth of art exhibitions in 2019. The lineup features a diverse range of artists and media exploring personal stories and issues of the day.

Major museum shows include the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s multimedia impressionist works in The Impressionist’s Eye. The Barnes Foundation hosts a body of work by contemporary video artist Bill Violaand the Brandywine River Museum looks at the varied work by N.C. Wyeth in New Perspectives.

Smaller yet just-as-mighty exhibits represent provocative, beautiful work by artists from minority communities. These include a year-long, three-part artistic examination of the legacy of slavery with Colored People Time: Mundane Futures, Quotidian Pasts and Banal Presents at the Institute of Contemporary Art; a retrospective of artist David Lebe, known for his homoerotic photographs, in Long Light: Photographs by David Lebe at the Philadelphia Museum of Art; and an exhibit from contemporary artists Sonya Clark and Jacolby Satterwhite that challenges traditional assumptions at The Fabric Workshop and Museum.

Here’s a look at what art fans can look forward to in the year ahead:

Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, (215) 763-8100, philamuseum.org

  • Re-opening of the Galleries of Chinese Art – In tandem with architect Frank Gehry’s overall plan for the museum, the renovation and reinstallation of the Chinese art collection debuts early in 2019. The collection spans 4,000 years and consists of more than 7,000 pieces, including 500 paintings dating from the 12th to the 20th century, plus costumes, textiles, furniture, jades, lacquer wares, cloisonné and contemporary works. February 3, 2019
  • The Impressionist’s Eye – The museum’s collection of work in a rich variety of media by esteemed impressionist painters shows the artists’ versatility. Paintings, watercolors, drawings and sculptures by Manet, Degas, Monet, Pissarro, Sisley, Renoir, Morisot, Cassatt, Seurat, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec and Rodin comprise the exhibit of approximately 70 works. April 16-August 18, 2019
  • Yoshitoshi: Spirit and Spectacle – Honoring Japanese master printmaker Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892), this exhibit showcases highlights from more than 1,200 prints. Yoshitoshi’s work reflects cultural traditions and the upheavals of the modern world that followed Japan’s opening to the West after 200 years of isolation. The exhibit includes selections from the artists final project and his best-known series, One Hundred Aspects of the Moon, 1885-1992April 16-August 18, 2019

Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2525 Pennsylvania Avenue, (215) 763-8100, philamuseum.org

  • Long Light: Photographs by David Lebe ­– David Lebe’s first retrospective features powerful work from his 1994 documentation of his and his partner’s daily struggles with AIDS, images from late-1960s anti-war marches and The Great March on Washington in 1987 for lesbian and gay rights. Born in Manhattan in 1948, the Philadelphia College of Art (now the University of the Arts)-trained photographer is known for the homoerotic themes in his work that present and examine gay life. February 9-May 5, 2019
  • Souls Grown Deep – Works by luminaries Thornton Dial, Lonnie Holley, Ronald Lockett, Hawkins Bolden and Bessie Harvey are part of this exhibit featuring 24 acquisitions from Atlanta’s Souls Grown Deep Foundation. With a focus on art-making with found objects and everyday materials, the artists’works range in size from modest wall pieces to sculptures more than 12 feet wide. Displaying alongside them: 15 exquisitely made quilts by women from Gee’s Bend, Alabama. June 8-September 2, 2019
  • Collage and Assemblage from the Collection – Complementing Souls Grown Deep are select examples from the museum’s collection of early- to mid-20th-century Modernist and contemporary art. June 8-September 2, 2019

MAJOR PHILADELPHIA ART EXHIBITS FOR 2019 Philly Museums Celebrate A Year Of Creative DiversityCecilia Vicuña’s site-specific installation, Precarios, includes 110 to 112 found-object sculptures of stone, shells, glass, wood, plastic, thread and debris, presented in a field of sand, along a wall and on small shelves made of wood. This view is from the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans. The installation is part of “Cecilia Vicuña: About to Happen,” at Philadelphia’s Institute of Contemporary Art, February 1-March 31, 2019. Photo by Alex Marks / Copyright © 2017 Alex Marks

Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), 118 S. 36th Street, (215) 898-7108, icaphila.org

  • Colored People Time: Mundane Futures, Quotidian Pasts and Banal Presents – A three-part exhibit examines the everyday ways that slavery and colonialism continue to leave marks on American culture. The exhibit’s consecutive shows include Mundane Futures (February 1-March 31), featuring work by contemporary artists Martine Syms, Kevin Jerome Everson, Aria Dean and Dave McKenzie. The second, Quotidian Pasts (April 26-August 11), examines the complexities of collecting and displaying African objects, with artifacts from the Penn Museum displayed alongside new work by Matthew Angelo Harrison. The final installment, Banal Presents (September 13-December 22), features new and recent work by Sable Elyse Smith, Cameron Rowland and Carolyn Lazard. February 1-December 22, 2019
  • Cecilia Vicuña: About to Happen – The first major solo exhibition of this Chilean-born poet, artist, filmmaker and human rights activist boldly tackles social and political issues. Vicuña’s work flows from concept and craft, text and textile to address economic and environmental disparities and the reclamation of her ancestral traditions. February 1-March 31, 2019
  • Introducing Tony Conrad: A Retrospective – This exhibit presents the first large-scale survey of an avant-garde artist whose 1960s groundbreaking work in film and Minimalist music challenged barriers between mediums. A sensory experience that invokes the spirit of Conrad’s participatory and performative approach, this exhibit is a showcase for his far-flung interests in sculpture, painting, film, video and installation. February 1-August 11, 2019

Barnes Foundation2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, (215) 278-7200, barnesfoundation.org

  • Pat Steir Silent Secret Waterfalls: The Barnes Series – In the first installation of paintings on view in the Annenberg Court, the Barnes Foundation presents 11 seven-foot-tall oil paintings by American artist Pat Steir. The works reference the artist’s lauded Abstract-dripped Waterfall series that she began creating in the 1980s. January 12-November 17, 2019
  • From Today, Painting Is Dead: Early Photography in France and Britain – Exploring the fertile period in the early history of photography when the medium’s pioneers adapted and transformed this rich and complex medium, the Barnes’s second survey of photography presents nearly 250 early photographs—most of which have never before been exhibited—created by British and French photographers between the 1840s and 1880s. February 24-May 12, 2019
  • I Do Not Know What It Is I Am Like: The Art of Bill Viola – This exhibition brings together a selection of major works reflecting on the history of painting by renowned video artist Bill Viola, including screen-based works and large scale installations. June 30-September 15, 2019
  • 30 Americans – This exhibit showcases painting, sculpture and photos by influential African-American artists of the past three decades. October 27, 2019-January 12, 2020

Fabric Workshop and Museum1214 Arch Street, (215) 561-8888, fabricworkshopandmuseum.org:

  • Sonya Clark (exhibit name TBA) – The Virginia-based textile and performance artist presents work that weaves together her interests in symbols, history, race and identity. Clark’s previous performance art includes Unraveling and Unraveled, in which she meticulously unraveled the threads of a Confederate flag. March 29-August 4, 2019
  • Jacolby Satterwhite (exhibit name TBA) – A multidisciplinary artist embraces the role of provocateur with performance, music and animation. As a queer African-American man, Satterwhite addresses issues that impact his personal experience and explores issues of nostalgia, family and music.September 13, 2019-January 19, 2020

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), 128 N. Broad Street, (215) 972-7600, pafa.org

  • Zanele Muholi & The Women’s Mobile Museum – Acclaimed photographer Zanele Muholi and the Philadelphia Photo Arts Center worked with 10 women in a yearlong paid apprenticeship to create this photographic exhibition that addresses questions such as “Whose portraits are shown in museums?” and “Who is art for?” December 22, 2018-March 31, 2019
  • Invisible City: Philadelphia and the Vernacular Avant-Garde – Appearing at four venues—PAFA, the University of Arts, the Philadelphia Art Alliance and Gershman Hall—this exhibition explores Philadelphia from 1956 to 1976, when the city was a hotbed of Pop Art, architectural and urban-planning innovation and post-war art school expansion. On display: photographs, paintings, films, posters by Ree Morton, Jody Pinto and Hannah Wilkie, along with achievements by architect Denise Scott Brown. March 18-June 28, 2019
  • From the Schuylkill to the Hudson: Landscapes of the Early American Republic – A scenic tour of the local landscape as captured by Philadelphia painters from the Early American Republic to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, this exhibit shows how Philadelphia-area artists influenced the Hudson River School. This is the first major exhibit to look at Philadelphia’s role in the development of American landscape painting. June 29-December 29, 2019

Woodmere Art Museum9201 Germantown Avenue, (215) 247-0476, woodmereartmuseum.org

  • Freedom’s Journal: The Art of Jerry Pinkney – This exhibition of works by Germantown-born illustrator (and Caldecott winner) Jerry Pickney reflects his focus on issues surrounding African-Americans and includes his powerful illustrations for historian Charles L. Blockson’s article, “Escape from Slavery: The Underground Railroad,” which appeared in National Geographic, and watercolors for The Old African, a book Pinkney considers one of his most important accomplishments. February 16-May 12, 2019
  • Our Town: A Retrospective of Edith Neff – This Philadelphia artist and leading realist painter used Philadelphia, her friends, neighbors and students (she taught at PAFA until her death) as subjects in work. Although the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Art have acquired some Neff pieces, Our Town is the first large-scale exhibition of her work in more than two decades. April 13-October 27, 2019

Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens1020 South Street, (215) 733-0390, phillymagicgardens.org

  • Patterned Paintings by Claes Gabriel and Andrew Chalfen – Two artists present work marked by an ornate expression of design, layering and color play. While Gabriel’s works incorporate Haitian culture with color, folklore and fantasy, Chalfen’s reference cartography, fractal blooms and other complex patterns. March 1-April 28, 2019
  • Paintings by Isaiah Zagar – Though more well-known for his mosaics, Zagar is also a painter with an extensive portfolio that informs his work in 3-D. May 3-July 7, 2019
  • Stained Glass Works by Justin Tyner – Tyner’s work mixes salvaged and repurposed glass to manipulate light in his distinctive psychedelic style. July 12-September 8, 2019
  • Collaborative Works by Martha Clippinger – In this exhibit comprising tapetes (rugs), ceramics, repurposed wood and hand-woven textiles, Clippinger explores artistic collaboration’s potential to break down conceptual barriers between craft and fine art. The tapetes are the centerpiece of the exhibition and were made in collaboration with weavers from Oaxaca, Mexico. September 13-November 10, 2019

Eastern State Penitentiary2027 Fairmount Avenue, (215) 236-3300, easternstate.org

  • Hidden Lives, Illuminated – Twenty commissioned, animated short films by artists living or working in prisons look inside the daily life of America’s correctional system. Each film is projected onto Eastern State’s facade and is accompanied by a customized soundtrack. Discussions about criminal justice issues accompany the films. August 17-September 14, 2019

Mütter Museum of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia19 S. 22nd Street, (215) 560-8564, muttermuseum.org

  • Bones, Books & Bell Jars – Photographer and physician Andrea Baldeck went behind the scenes and explored the museum’s collection, then selected items and combined them for her still life photographs. As presented in this exhibition, her images capture the fascinating beauty of some of the Mütter’s medical objects. Through May 2019
  • Spit Spreads Death: The Influenza Pandemic of 1918-19 in Philadelphia – The Mütter opens its most ambitious exhibition to date in a multi-disciplinary recounting of a global pandemic that took thousands of local lives in two years. History, art, science and contemporary issues offer a unique view into the terrifying time. Included in the exhibition is a work by the artist group Blast Theory and digital interactives that allow visitors to explore data from more than 20,000 death certificates from Philadelphia neighborhoods. October 17, 2019-August 5, 2024

Independence Seaport Museum211 S. Christopher Columbus Boulevard, (215) 413-8655, phillyseaport.org

  • O.TW. — On the Water: The Schuylkill River – Work by contemporary artists James Lancel McElhinney, Patrick Connors, Tom Judd, Deirdre Murphy, Stacy Levy, Jacob Rivkin and Joseph Sweeney address the Schuylkill as a nexus of American art, science, literature and commerce. Historic images are also included in the exhibition. Through September 2019

Brandywine River Museum of Art1 Hoffman’s Mill Road, Chadds Ford, (610) 388-2700, brandywine.org

  • American Beauty: Selections From the Richard M. Scaife Bequest – The Brandywine River Museum of Art and The Westmoreland Museum of American Art present 50 paintings from the bequest of their late, longtime trustee, Richard M. Scaife. Featured are 19th– and 20th-century American masterworks by Martin Johnson Heade, John Frederick Kensett, Albert Bierstadt, George Inness, William Merritt Chase and Guy Pene du Bois. March 9-May 27, 2019
  • N.C. Wyeth: New Perspectives – This exhibit takes a comprehensive look into the oeuvre of this master 20th-century illustrator. Though better known for his work illustrating classics such as Treasure Island and The Boy’s King Arthur, Wyeth had artistic output that went well beyond, with landscapes, portraits, murals, and still lifes. The exhibit will include about 70 paintings and drawings that reveal a fuller picture of this American icon. June 22-September 15, 2019

Michener Art Museum138 S. Pine Street, Doylestown, (215) 340-9800, michenerartmuseum.org

  • The Art of Seating: 200 Years of American Design – More than 40 chairs chosen for their significance tell the story of American aesthetics from the early 19th century to the present. Designers include John Henry Belter, George Hunzinger, Herter Brothers, Stickley Brothers, Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, Isamu Noguchi and Frank Gehry, among others. February 9-May 5, 2019
  • Nakashima Looks: Studio Furniture from the Permanent Collection – Artist Mira Nakashima, daughter of acclaimed woodworker George Nakashima, guest curates an exhibit that showcases some of the stunning work in the museum’s collection by both father and daughter. March 2-June 9, 2019
  • The Color of the Moon: Lunar Painting in American Art – More than 50 works of art depict the moon and reveal its prominence in American landscape painting in this unusually themed exhibit. Highlights include work by Thomas Cole, the father of the Hudson River School, and illustrations by Norman Rockwell. June 1-September 8, 2019

VISIT PHILADELPHIA® is our name and our mission. As the region’s official tourism marketing agency, we build Greater Philadelphia’s image, drive visitation and boost the economy.

On Greater Philadelphia’s official visitor website and blog, visitphilly.com and uwishunu.com, visitors can explore things to do, upcoming events, themed itineraries and hotel packages. Compelling photography and videos, interactive maps and detailed visitor information make the sites effective trip-planning tools. Along with Visit Philly social media channels, the online platforms communicate directly with consumers. Travelers can also call and stop into the Independence Visitor Center for additional information and tickets.

CONTACT: Cara Schneider,  (215) 599-0789, cara@visitphilly.com

Tweet Us: @visitphillyPR

Tweet It: Art exhibits in @visitphilly in 2019 reveal unsung works by famous and edgy artists: https://vstphl.ly/2E4m6Nw 

Thank you to Cara Schneider for the content of this post

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Armor

Enamored Armor, Rowan University Art Gallery

ENAMORED ARMOR
The Potency of the Female Figure

GLASSBORO, NJ – Rowan University Art Gallery welcomes guest curator Amie Potsic with this exhibition. Three women artists reframe the cultural construct of feminine as empowering in Enamored Armor. The opening reception and artist talk is on Thursday, November 29 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. The exhibit is on display from November 29, 2018 – January 12, 2019.

Featuring work by Marjan Moghaddam, Mari Ogihara, and Tiantian Li, Enamored Armor includes references inspired by art history, cultural specificity, and contemporary society. The classical figure serves as a basis, as the artists investigate the multiplicity of ways in which women choose to present and redefine themselves in pursuit of potency and self-discovery. Through video, painting, sculpture, and Augmented Reality, their work spans a historical spectrum of millennia with a finger on the pulse of current artistic practice, the women’s empowerment movement, and emerging technologies.

Marjan Moghaddam is an award-winning and pioneering digital artist and animator who works primarily with 3d computer graphics, motion capture, and digital media for animation, post-internet art. Her work has been exhibited internationally, in addition to curated shows at the Armory Show in NYC and Art Basel Miami. In her digital female bodies, Marjan utilizes aesthetic styles as part of a figural vocabulary that explores the evolving nature of humanity. The figures represent the deconstruction of the organic, and its fracturing and fragmentation as it migrates from the physical to the digital.

Mari Ogihara’s work ranges from female figures to colorful biomorphic sculptures. She connects her understanding of how a samurai got ready for battle with the way women throughout history have prepared their physical appearance for sexual intimacy. Ogihara has held international residencies in France, Japan, Brazil, and Mexico in addition to multiple residencies in the United States.

Tiantian Li’s work has been shown in numerous Philadelphia galleries in addition to major art museums in China. In her watercolors she explores ideation of female intimacy and emotions expressed through portraits of her lingerie superposition with portraits of historical characters from the renaissance period, which represents a time of enlightenment and romantic expression. She is encouraging women to take a positive perspective on their bodies and female representation while giving themselves the attention, humor, and respect they deserve.

The Rowan University Art Gallery is located at 301 High Street West. Free 2-hour 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. Regular gallery hours are Monday – Wednesday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Thursday – Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Directions can be found on the gallery website. For more information, call 856-256-4521 or visit www.rowan.edu/artgallery.

Support for programming at Rowan University Art Galleries 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.

Baisser in Mary Boone, in Glassish & Waxish Glitch from marjan moghaddam on Vimeo.

Thank you to Mary Salvante for the content of this post.

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To Print

Edna Santiago, DVAAAttitude, print, Edna Santiago

To Print or Not To Print, Solo Exhibition, Edna Santiago,

at Da Vinci Art Alliance

“We are entitled to be surrounded by art, since art is, in essence, the expression of mankind” – Edna Santiago

After the devastation affecting the island of Puerto Rico, Edna Santiago has returned to the Delaware Valley.

Edna Santiago is a member of Da Vinci Art Alliance, Main Line Art Center, Media Art Council and ARTsisters.org. Presenting her first solo gallery exhibition, in the Philadelphia Area, Da Vinci Art Alliance will open its doors 6:00 – 8:00pm this Wednesday, 5/18/18 for Edna Santiago and her colorful work in plastic arts, printmaking and fine craft gourd lampshades.

Da Vinci Art Alliance is located at 704 Catharine St., Philadelphia, PA. The closing reception is Sunday, 5/29/181-5pm. Please stop by and spend a few minutes with the artist while we talk of what art means today.

Edna Santiago, DVAA

Carved gourd lamp shapes

You are cordially invited,

Edna Santiago

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Modern Times

Modern Times - Thomas Hart Benton - BurlesqueBurlesque, c. 1922, by Thomas Hart Benton, American, 1889 – 1975. Tempera on panel, 9 1/2x 12 1/2 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art: Bequest of Edward Suckle, M.D., 2002-91-1. © T. H. Benton and R. P. Benton Testamentary Trusts / UMB Bank Trustee / Licensed by VAGA, New York.

Modern Times: American Art 1910-1950, Philadelphia Museum of Art

Exhibition dates: April 18—September 3, 2018

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is presenting an exhibition exploring the creative responses of American artists to the rapid pace of change that occurred in this country during the early decades of the twentieth century. Modern Times: American Art 1910–1950 examines the new and dynamic visual language that emerged during this period and had a dramatic impact on painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, architecture, and the decorative arts. These developments were shaped by the dizzying transformations then occurring in every aspect of life, from the advent of the automobile and moving pictures to the rapid growth of American cities and the wrenching economic change brought on by the advent of the Great Depression after a decade of unprecedented prosperity. The exhibition features important works by those artists—Georgia O’Keeffe, Marsden Hartley, Arthur Dove, and John Marin, among them—championed by the great photographer and gallerist Alfred Stieglitz, as well as many other notable figures of this period. Modern Times is drawn almost entirely from the Museum’s renowned collection, especially the gift from the Stieglitz Collection that it received in the late 1940s, and contains 156 works, several of which will be on view for the first time.

Modern Times, Alexander Calder, Portrait of Carl ZigrosserPortrait of Carl Zigrosser (1891 – 1975), c. 1928, by Alexander Calder, American, 1898 – 1976. wire, 14 x 10 1/2 x 10 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art: Purchased with the Lola Downin Peck Fund from the Carl and Laura Zigrosser Collection, 1980-3-141. © Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Timothy Rub, the Museum’s George D. Widener Director and Chief Executive Officer, stated: “America’s embrace of modern life—its perils as well as its promise—in the early twentieth century was expressed most clearly in the arts. The work of this period still feels fresh and of the moment. This exhibition provides us with a welcome opportunity to reassess the Museum’s exceptionally rich holdings of modern American art and how we may display them to full advantage in the future when the Museum completes its expansion under its Master Plan. It also holds the promise of many surprises and discoveries for our visitors.”

Modern Times, Stuart Davis, Something on the Eight BallSomething on the Eight Ball, 1953-1954, by Stuart Davis, American, 1892 – 1964. Oil on canvas, 56 × 45 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art: Purchased with the Adele Haas Turner and Beatrice Pastorius Turner Memorial Fund, 1954-30-1. © Estate of Stuart Davis / Licensed by VAGA, New York.

While the Museum has presented a number of exhibitions devoted to this subject over the years, Modern Times is the largest and most comprehensive since it presented the collection of Alfred Stieglitz in 1944. The exhibition opens with the achievements of some of the leading figures of “The Eight,” including John Sloan and George Bellows, who recorded the changing urban scene with a gritty realism as horse carts gave way to motor vehicles on city streets.

Modern Times, Beauford Delaney, Portrait of James BaldwinPortrait of James Baldwin, 1945, by Beauford Delaney, American (active Paris), 1901 – 1979. Oil on canvas, 22 x 18 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art: 125th Anniversary Acquisition. Purchased with funds contributed by The Daniel W. Dietrich Foundation in memory of Joseph C. Bailey and with a grant from The Judith Rothschild Foundation, 1998-3-1

The exhibition emphasizes those artists—among them Charles Demuth, Morton Schamberg, Charles Sheeler, Benton Spruance, and Paul Strand—who responded to the Armory Show of 1913 and the influence of the European avant garde by seeking to give modernism an authentic American voice. Offering a broader perspective on American art of this period, the exhibition explores the achievements of important African American figures, such as Aaron Douglas, William Edmondson, Horace Pippin and Dox Thrash. It also looks at cross-currents within the arts, including contemporary fashion and design, and work by female artists such as O’Keeffe, Florine Stettheimer, Frances Simpson Stevens, Kay Sage, and Dorothea Tanning.

Modern Times, Charles Demuth, Lancaster (In the Province No. 2)Lancaster (In the Province No. 2), 1920, by Charles Demuth, American, 1883 – 1935. Oil on canvas, 30 x 16 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art: The Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection, 1950-5-1.

One section of the exhibition takes a close look at the many artists who explored in their work the abstract qualities of rhythm, light, and sound. Some of their aesthetic strategies were employed to create dynamic still lifes, enlivening what was commonly considered a static genre. Another section explores the expressive use of color, focusing on Arthur Beecher Carles, Henry Breckenridge, and Henry McCarter who stretched the boundaries of artistic tradition by relieving color of its purely descriptive function. These three artists, each of whom lived and worked in Philadelphia, reflected this city’s active engagement with progressive trends in American art. In fact, the significant role that Philadelphia played in the history of American modernism is echoed throughout the exhibition. It includes works by Philadelphia-born artists such as Man Ray and Alexander Calder who became prominent abroad, where they were closely aligned with modern movements in Europe, and others who remained in the city in which the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts provided a center of energy and a place to teach.

Modern Times, Aaron Doulgas, Birds in FlightBirds in Flight, c. 1927-1929, by Aaron Douglas, American, 1899 – 1979. Oil on canvas, 16 1/4 x 14 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art: Gift of Marguerite and Gerry Lenfest in honor of Anne d’Harnoncourt, 2015-7-1. © Heirs of Aaron Douglas / Licensed by VAGA, New York

Modern Times, Arthur Dove, Chinese MusicChinese Music, 1923, by Arthur Dove, American, 1880 -1946. Oil and metallic paint on panel, 21 11/16 x 18 1/8 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art: The Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1949-18-2.

Landscape painting was, likewise, revolutionized by the artists of this generation, who found in this traditional genre a sustained source of inspiration. The adaptation of the modernist vision to one of the most enduring themes in American art can be seen most dramatically in works by O’Keeffe, Hartley, and Arthur Dove. Others, such as Sheeler, took the stark, yet impressive geometry of the new industrial landscape as a point of departureThe exhibition also examines another familiar subject, the human figure, which proved to be of abiding interest to the artists of this generation. Included in this rich and fascinating section is a group of portraits by artists such as Milton Avery, Beauford Delaney, and John Graham.

Modern Times, Wharton Esherick, Of a Great CityOf a Great City, 1923, by Wharton H. Esherick, American, 1887 – 1970. Wood engraving, image: 9 15/16 x 6 5/16 inches, sheet: 11 7/16 x 7 1/2 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art: Purchased with the Lola Downin Peck Fund from the Carl and Laura Zigrosser Collection, 1979-12-11.

Modern Times, Marsden Hartley, Painting No 4 (Black Horse)Painting No. 4 (A Black Horse), 1915, by Marsden Hartley, American, 1877 -1943. Oil on canvas, 39 1/4 x 31 5/8 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art: The Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1949-18-8

Jessica Todd Smith, The Susan Gray Detweiler Curator of American Art, and Manager, Center for American Art, who organized the exhibition, said: “Modernism changed the way people saw the world around them. Artists pushed their work in new directions, embracing abstraction, while retaining connections to artistic traditions. This exhibition focuses on interrelationships among works of art rather than a single linear narrative. In fact, it gives voice to multiple narratives because the evolution and experimentation in the art of this period is especially fluid. This stylistic pluralism, the beautiful chaos of innovation, was a hallmark of the modern American movement.”

 Modern Times, Alice Neel, Portrait of John with HatPortrait of John with Hat, 1935, by Alice Neel, American, 1900 – 1984. Oil on canvas, 23 1/2 x 21 1/2 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art: Gift of the estate of Arthur M. Bullowa, 1993-119-2.

Modern Times, Georgia O'Keeffe, Red and Orange StreakRed and Orange Streak, 1919, by Georgia O’Keeffe, American, 1887 – 1986. Oil on canvas, 27 x 23 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art: Bequest of Georgia O’Keeffe for the Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1987-70-3.

Publication

The exhibition is accompanied by a new publication, American Modernism: Highlights from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, by Jessica Todd Smith. It is published by the Philadelphia Museum of Art in association with Yale University Press ( 272 pp.) The title of the essay, “Seeing Takes Time” is inspired by a quotation of Georgia O’Keeffe: “Nobody sees a flower—really—it is so small—we haven’t time—and to see takes time . . . “

Modern Times, Georgia O'Keeffe, Red Hills and BonesRed Hills and Bones, 1943, by Georgia O’Keeffe, American, 1887 – 1986. Oil on canvas, 29 3/4 x 40 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art: The Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1949-18-109.

Modern Times, Georgia O'Keeffe, From the Lake No. 3From the Lake No. 3, 1924, by Georgia O’Keeffe, American, 1887 – 1986. Oil on canvas, 36 x 30 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art: Bequest of Georgia O’Keeffe for the Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1987-70-2.

With 120 color and 10 black-and-white illustrations, American Modernism is the first book to showcase this outstanding aspect of the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which was one of the first major museums in this country to acquire what we now call American Modernism. It tells a story that is unique to the Museum, examining the collection’s development since the 1920s and the role that the city of Philadelphia played in promoting modernism in the first half of the twentieth century. While previous publications have focused on European and American modernism, this one considers what it meant to be American and to be modern, exploring how these artists challenged convention without abandoning recognizable elements from the world around them.

Modern Times, Horace Pippin, The GetawayThe Getaway, 1939, by Horace Pippin, American, 1888 – 1946. Oil on canvas, 24 5/8 x 36 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art: Bequest of Daniel W. Dietrich II, 2016-3-3.

Modern Times, Man Ray, A.D. 1914A.D. 1914, 1914, by May Ray, American, 1890 – 1976. Oil on canvas, 36 7/8 x 69 3/4 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art: A. E. Gallatin Collection, 1944-90-1.

In addition to focusing on internationally acclaimed artists from the circle of photographer and gallerist Alfred Stieglitz, including Arthur Dove, Marsden Hartley, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Charles Sheeler, Smith also considers those who contributed significantly to the art of the United States during their day but have been left outside the mainstream of art history, whether due to their race, gender, or social standing.

Modern Times, Charles Sheeler, Pertaining to Yachts and YachtingPertaining to Yachts and Yachting, 1922, by Charles Sheeler, American, 1883 – 1965. Oil on canvas, 20 x 24 1/16 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art: Bequest of Margaretta S. Hinchman, 1955-96-9.

American Modernism: Highlights from the Philadelphia Museum of Art is now available online via philamuseum.org or in the Museum Store (paper-over-board, $35).

Modern Times, John Sloan, Sixth Avenue and Thirtieth StreetSixth Avenue and Thirtieth Street, 1907, by John Sloan, American, 1871 – 1951. Oil on canvas, 24 1/4 x 32 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art: Gift of Meyer P. Potamkin and Vivian O. Potamkin, 2000. 1964-116-5.

Modern Times, John Sloan, The White WayThe White Way, c. 1926, by John Sloan, American, 1871 – 1951. Oil on canvas, 30 1/8 x 32 1/4 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art: Gift of Mrs. Cyrus McCormick, 1946-10-2.

Exhibition Location

Dorrance Special Exhibition Galleries, first floor

 Modern Times, Alfred Stieglitz, The City of AmbitionThe City of Ambition, 1910 (negative); c. 1930 (print), by Alfred Stieglitz, American, 1871 – 1944. Gelatin silver print, image/sheet/mount: 4 1/4 x 3 3/8 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art: The Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1949-18-47.

Modern Times, Paul Strand, The Court, New YorkThe Court, New York, 1924 (negative); 1960s (print), by Paul Strand, American, 1890 – 1976. Gelatin silver print, image (sight): 9 1/2 x 7 7/16 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art: The Paul Strand Retrospective Collection, 1915 – 1975, gift of the estate of Paul Strand, 1980-21-42.

Support

This exhibition has been made possible by The Pew Charitable Trusts, The Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation for the Arts, The Annenberg Foundation Fund for Major Exhibitions, The Kathleen C. and John J. F. Sherrerd Fund for Exhibitions, Lyn M. Ross, Marguerite and Gerry Lenfest, The Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Exhibition Fund, The Laura and William C. Buck Endowment for Exhibitions, Leslie Miller and Richard Worley, and two anonymous donors.

Modern Times, Florine Stettheimer, Spring Sale at Bendel'sModern Times, Dox Thrash, DemolitionDemolition, c. 1944, by Dox Thrash, American, 1893 – 1965. Oil on canvas board, 26 x 20 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art: Purchased with the Katharine Levin Farrell Fund, 2002-97-1.

Exhibition-related education programming was generously supported by the Center for American Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Social Media
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We are Philadelphia’s art museum. A landmark building. A world-renowned collection. A place that welcomes everyone. We bring the arts to life, inspiring visitors—through scholarly study and creative play—to discover the spirit of imagination that lies in everyone. We connect people with the arts in rich and varied ways, making the experience of the Museum surprising, lively, and always memorable. We are committed to inviting visitors to see the world—and themselves—anew through the beauty and expressive power of the arts.

Modern Times, Lloyd Ullberg, PSFS Building, PhiladelphiaPSFS Building, Philadelphia, c.1932 – 1933, by Lloyd Ullberg, American, 1904-1996. Gelatin silver print, image and sheet:10 x 7 3/8 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art: Purchased with the Lola Downin Peck Fund, 1999-121-3.

Modern Times, Artist-maker unknown, Cocktail Shaker with HandleCocktail Shaker with Handle, c.1930s, Artist/maker unknown, American. Chromium, Bakelite, 12 x 6 3/4 x 4 1/4 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art: Gift of Martina Schaap Yamin, 2013-28-66a,b.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. For general information, call 215-763-8100.

Thank you to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for the content of this post. Click the images for large pictures.

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