DoNArTNeWs

Roz Bloom, Divided by Seven, mixed media and Bobbie Adams, The Seven Signs, ink @ The Noyes Museum of Art in Hammonton, NJ.

Liz Nicklus, The Mick, mixed media.  Liz mixes media & metaphors with this clever assemblage, a memento mori mashed up with meme Micky Mantle, the narrative vibrates with liveness and death.  Nicklus, a Da Vinci board member is an a accomplished muralist and educator, her determination and drive is inspiring.

Seven, a Da Vinci Art Alliance event @ The Noyes Museum of Art in Hammonton, NJ is a wonderful symbiotic relationship between a contemporary art space looking for work to show and a grass roots community art group of the stature of the South Philly art collective known as Da Vinci.  The significance of the number 7 is explored in a myriad of media in the naturally lit large gallery, the opening night party was attended by board members of Stockton College, Noyes Museum Executive Director Michael Cagno, assistant to the director Brittany McPherson, Da Vinci board members and artists with the comfortable setting buzzing with conversation.

Seven, Da Vinci Art Alliance @ Noyes Museum of Art - Rex Sexton, Peter Seidel, Gerald DiFalco.

Alden Cole sandwiched between Carol Wisker’s 3D mixed media sculpture, Yemaya Oqqutte:Goddess of the Seven Seas and Cole’s own epic painting, Burning Men, oil on canvas.

With the success of the Noyes Museum of Art in Hammonton, NJ, Stockton College is planning to expand into a nearby building with enough room for workshops, offices and galleries, Michael Cagno, executive director of Noyes told DoN he hopes to continue the relationship with Da Vinci Art Alliance with future events

Photos by DoN.

Bobbie Adams. Annette Alessi, Roz Bloom, DoN Brewer, Pat Burns, Lois Allen Charles, Piety Choi, Rachel Christy, Rachel Citrino, Alden Cole, Francesca Costanzo, Lilliana Didovic, Gerard Di Falco, Judy Engle, Linda Dubin, Laura Guzzo, Louise Herring, Ona Kalstein, Maria J. Keane, Gary Koenitzer, Sandi Neiman, Marlon Majette, Lee Muslin, Liz Nicklus, Arthur Ostroff, Anna Pizzoli, Peter Seidel, Rex Sexton, Francine Strauss, Anna Vosburgh, Ted Warchal, Carol Wisker, Wendelyn Anderson, Karen McDonnell, Anthony Cortosi.

Noyes Museum of Art- Hammonton
5 S. Second St.
Hammonton, NJ 08037
(609)561-8006

The DaVinci Art Alliance: “7″ Deadly Sins

Exhibit Dates: October 1 - November 24, 2010
Opening Reception: October 1: 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Artist Lecture with Marlon Majette: October 6: 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.

Da Vinci Art Alliance is a non-profit artists’ organization located in South Philadelphia.  The organization was founded in 1931 to serve the needs of professional artists and artisans in the Delaware Valley.  Da Vinci Art Alliance currently has over 150 members and is supported through membership dues, gallery rentals, sales commissions, grants, and donations.  Da Vinci Art Alliance holds exhibitions of members’ and non-members’ artwork as well as special events, workshops, performances, poetry readings, and lectures.

DoN is thrilled about his museum debut with the Seven Deadly Sins exhibit in the Noyes Museum of Art, Hammonton, NJ for some wack-a-doodle time-tripping reasons; DoN has a history with Hammonton, showing in the Noyes is kind of cosmic.  DoN hung out with GadFly, an early radical blogger who stirred local political shit in a way that not many people have the balls to do today even in our social networked world.  GadFly posted blogs that ended up getting him interviewed by the FBI, radio talk show hosts and the town council, who he called nasty names which ultimately ended up being quoted in his obituary, a final insult to his political enemies.  Before the internet GadFly wrote letters to the editor in papers locally and nationally, ranting endlessly about corruption, when he discovered blogging there was no stopping his vitriolic sarcastic wit.  GadFly’s blog was the inspiration for DoNArTNeWs. 

GadFly is now known as Dead Larry, a former life guard, since drowning ironically in a gym pool a few years ago.  DoN adopted, his now geriatric, Lady Doofus, the St. Bernard/Chihuahua mix who lived on Dead Larry’s farm but is now an urbane canine retiree in Marion Anderson Historical Village; Lady Doofus may make a surprise appearance at the art gala in her former home town, along with KaTy the ArT DoG who also enjoyed romps in the Pine Barrens swamps.  GadFly would LoVe that DoN is presenting his art in Hammonton, New Jersey, his home state (DoN was named most artistic, Deptford High School, Class of ‘71), especially the 7 Deadly Sins part - gossip with DoN at the opening party, 10/01/10, to get the real dirt on Dead Larry aka GadFly.

Hammonton, NJ, once a vital town in South Jersey, is recovering from being hit by the Walmart Bomb, the downtown became a bit shabby but now is truly quaint like a Hopper painting, the Noyes Museum Gallery is a revitalizing force - art to the rescue!

Monday @ noon, a ceremony was held in the fabulous Please Touch Museum in the glorious Memorial Hall to introduce a new public art program called Phanatic Around Town, a project assigning artists a life size sculpture of the famous Phillies mascot, The Phanatic.  The anticipation was high as each artist was introduced and stood next to their covered art work - but then one of the sculptures came to life and the new RED Phanatic was introduced and with a flourish all the artists revealed their secret projects including Lillian Didovic and Ronnie Norpel of Da Vinci Art Alliance, the famous art club in South Philly.

Ronnie Norpel, the new Red Phanatic and Lilliana Didovic with their fantastic Phanatic collabo of images and phrases referring to Philly fan favorites from cheese steaks to the Art Museum to the Walt.  The duo’s work will be on display at The Convention Center on Independence Mall!  Lilliana is probably Philly’s biggest fan; the Phanatic Around Town project is the perfect way for Philly to LoVe Lilliana back!

Lilliana Didovic painted her iconic glamorous scenes of Philly paired with Ronnie Norpel’s poems - Norpel has just released her new novel, Baseball Karma & The Constitution Blues on Three Rooms Press.  Ronnie’s book release party is @ PATOU, 4/16, 9:00 PM.

Lilliana’s hubby has been hinting to DoN for months about her progress on the immense project as she worked in a neighbor’s garage; he and their son, Gordon - in full Phillie’s Fan gear - were present for Lilliana’s new pinnacle of success in the Philadelphia art world.

No! it’s not zombies - it’s all the Phanatics with open arms, perfect for embracing all the fans of the Phillies and the City That LoVeS You Back - thanks to the artists for bringing such joy, it really warms the heart to see a giggling little kid get hugged by the big hairy beast -  With LoVe Philadelphia XOXO!!!

The Phillie Phanatic Around Town as the Mad Hatter by Lorna Kent.

Phanatico Latino by Marta Sanchez.

Photography by DoNBrewerMultimedia Photography.

On a cold, sunny early January afternoon, Miss Shirleen surprised Shoshka & DoN with tickets to The Barnes Foundation in Merion, PA.  Just a quick drive to the mansion from the plateau, the guards greeted us and pointed to a parking spot and soon we were wandering the fabulous rooms filled with French Impressionist masterworks, African sculptures and antiquities.

The main hall is the social hub with visitors absorbing and discussing in hushed tones the eccentric array of masterpieces.  Quickly splitting up, the three of us gravitated to lush Monet’s, an oddly hung Seurat or a small Cezanne and soon DoN found himself alone in a room with one of Van Gogh’s famous Postman portraits hung clumsily in the corner.  DoN moved in closer and closer, studying the brushwork, observing color-ways, admiring the pattern of the floral wallpaper in the background, the Postman’s eyes staring straight into DoN’s.  When DoN was about a foot from the painting he felt a tap on the shoulder, jumping like an armadillo, DoN was smilingly admonished by a pretty guard, he had wandered over the black electric tape line, the only barrier between DoN & Vincent.

After about ten minutes a few more visitors joined DoN so he moved on to the next gallery and again had one-on-one time with an Heironymus Bosch, it seems unreal that such an iconic object is so accessible, the phantasmagoria playing out across the canvas like a fever dream.  There’s a Soutine which DoN used to think was ugly and seemed to suck the oxygen out of the room but over time the skewed, garish sailor boy has transmuted into a signification of the meaning of painting.  Toulous Lautrec’s “A Montrouge” is so incredibly beautiful that everything else in the room becomes a supporting player.

DoN doesn’t understand why the Barnes is moving to the Parkway even though it will be within walking distance for many more people.  The commute to the current location is simple, the wacko presentation of art & utilitarian craft in a Main Line mansion is a unique experience and, oh yeah, it breaks Barnes’ last will & testament, beside the fact that the place was practically empty on a Saturday afternoon.  Is there really an audience for the quirky mix of art & industry removed from it’s original locale?  DoN recommends you schedule your visit asap - it’s a trip.

Amy Stevens cakes @ POST 10 party at the Institute of Contemporary Art.

Amy Stevens - CFEVA 2008 Alumni - made the art cakes for the POST 10th Anniversary party in University City.

Art Party People - Ed Bronstein (a POST founder), photographer Danny Reilly (who’s having a one-person show @ Bonte’s on 17th this October), Ron (we studied together @ Fleisher with James Dupree), Andrew Pirie (former CFEVA rep)…Shoshka, Alden & DoN ate cake & sipped wine with Margaret Anderson of heavybubble.com, Brooke Hine, CFEVA director Holly Lentz,  Genevieve Coutroubis (with her pretty baby), Tremain Smith (encaustic artist), and so many more.  Hopefully the tradition of having the kickoff parties for future POST events at the ICA continues since it’s the epitome of contemporary art spaces in Philly.

Textile artist & muralist, Kathryn Pannepacker arrives via moped at the POST 10th Anniversary party @ the ICA.

Dumpster Diver extraordinaire, Alden Cole in the Noyes Museum annex gallery in Hammonton, NJ.  Click the pic for a wide angle view of this important new art space.