DoNArTNeWs

Rebekah Wilhelm, VIII - 2011 MFA Thesis Exhibition, University of Delaware Department of Art @ Crane Arts Center.

Rebekah Wilhelm, Untitled, detail

Rebekah Wilhelm, Untitled, VIII - 2011 MFA Thesis Exhibition, University of Delaware Department of Art @ Crane Arts Center in Fishtown.

Rebekah Wilhelm’s most excellent print display @ UD Crane is filled with information, tightly packed into clever, spare prints like an art lesson on less is more.  The prints of swirling words explains how viewers interact with vision, her chain link fence prints are confounding and restrictive and the reams of paper spread in a long swipe across the floor is provocative yet simple and easy. Wilhelm already has plans to go to work teaching at the University of Delaware and is considering studio space in Philly.  DoN chatted with UD Crane curator Anthony Vega, he highlighted how there was more focus on craft and skill in traditional media and no video this year.  C. Grant Cox, III includes multimedia and mechanics in his sculpture but there was a noticeable absence of flat screens and projections in the gallery.

Tara Russell,  VIII - 2011 MFA Thesis Exhibition, University of Delaware Department of Art @ Crane Arts Center.

Jacob Smiley, VIII - 2011 MFA Thesis Exhibition, University of Delaware Department of Art @ Crane Arts Center.

Tia Santana, VIII - 2011 MFA Thesis Exhibition, University of Delaware Department of Art @ Crane Arts Center.  Tia Santana’s performance/installation anchored the lower gallery by the stairs with the artist studiously braiding what looked a lot like hair into long dreads.  Dressed in white, Santana focused on expanding the mound of braids, weaving memes like “roots”, “identity” and “work” into a fascinating presentation of a simulacra-like archetype that a week later is still vibrant in DoN’s mind.

Daniel Jackson, VIII - 2011 MFA Thesis Exhibition, University of Delaware Department of Art @ Crane Arts Center.  Check out Jackson’s web site for a good look at his work, his paintings exhibit not just vibrancy and virtuosity but thoughtful content, decorative panache and strong painting science.  The glossy panels thick with layers of saturated color and ancient technique are mashed up with a contemporary sense of irony; Jackson’s paintings illustrate Vega’s observation of skill being penultimate.

Congratulations to Matt Giel for his desirable photographs, Leontien Rotteveel’s beatific objet trouve-like sculpture/installation and the entire class of UD 2011 for a refreshing look at the endurance of art.  The gallery is University of Delaware’s outpost away from school, offering students a really cool space to show their work, creating an aspirational vibe and a real clarity of vision of who artists can be after college.

Photos by DoN.

Ashley Pigford & Troy Richards, Vanishing Point combines computer graphics, motion sensors and robotics in the Information Translated exhibit in the University of Delaware’s art department adjunct gallery in the Crane Arts Center curated by Anthony Vega.

Troy Richards, The Hoarders II - Information Translated @ Crane Arts Center.

The University of Delaware faculty exhibit, Information Translated, is a futuristic trip into an art world where video projectors follow the actors around the room on a robotic platform (a movie called Knock by Lance Winn & Toronto artist Simone Jones), Legos and computers work in conjunction with movement and sound to create an experience design and normal appearing prints reveal underlying messages as if a computer memory kernel has exploded.  The show restores DoN’s appreciation of how video can be incorporated into an art show without seeming like a knock-off of Warhol.  By utilizing off-the-shelf components combined into innovative new forms, the UD faculty have created an inspirational, aspirational show that is sure to trigger new neural pathways for UD art students.  The space is an adjunct gallery for University of Delaware artists to display their work away from campus in the heart of one of Philly’s vibrant, emerging art centers.  The downstairs space is especially exciting with several video/robot installations that excite the eye and confuse the senses.  Check out the UD website for a statement about the show, but really, this show has to be seen to be believed.

CFEVA Artist Opportunities Listing for September: Career Development Program Application, Deadline Oct. 1st

Career Development and Exhibition Fellowship – Apply Now

Deadline:  October 1st

Call for Artists:  FREE Career Development & Exhibition Fellowship for Emerging Artists.  For a select group of highly talented artists, our Two-Year Career Development Program includes: exhibitions and exposure opportunities around the region and beyond, a three-person exhibition in the second year of the fellowship, individual career counseling, professional development workshops, mentorship, networking, community service opportunities, and alumni solo exhibitions and travel grants. This program serves artists residing within a 100 mile radius of Philadelphia.  For an application and further eligibility requirements, go to http://www.cfeva.org/cfeva_programs_career.aspx .  For assistance or inquiries, please contact Amie Potsic, Director of the Career Development Program at: amie@cfeva.org or 215-546-7775 x 12.

Long version:

Open Call for Artists:  Apply Now!

Career Development and Exhibition Fellowship for Emerging Artists

The Center for Emerging Visual Artists™ strives to provide the essential support services and programs emerging artists need to build sustainable careers.

Our FREE two-year Career Development Program offers a select group of highly talented artists:

·                Two-year fellowship period and lifelong alumni affiliation

·                Group Exhibitions around the region and beyond

·                Three-person show in the second year of the fellowship

·                Professional development seminars

·                Opportunities to meet patrons, gallerists, and curators

·                Assistance with the marketing and sale of artwork

·                Individual career counseling sessions

·                One-on-one sessions with mentors, chosen from the Board of Artistic Advisors

·                Opportunities to gain career experience while giving back to the community 

·                Alumni exhibition series

·                Alumni goal-setting group

·                Alumni Travel Grant Program

·                Monthly newsletter updating fellows and alumni on regional, national and

international opportunities for artists. 

Eligibility requirements include:

Applicants cannot be in school full time.

Applicants must live within 100 miles of The Center (Artists in Baltimore, Harrisburg, and the

five boroughs of New York City are eligible; Washington, DC artists are not).

Applicants cannot have an ongoing contractual agreement with a commercial gallery.

For an application and further eligibility requirements, got to http://www.cfeva.org/cfeva_programs_career.aspx

Contact:  AMIE POTSIC, Director of the Career Development Program (amie@cfeva.org) or 215-546-7775 x 12.

“Disappearance - Remembrance”  The Myth of Persephone works on paper.

 Gus V. Sermas @ Blue Streak Gallery.

 Art party for Gus Sermas @ The Blue Streak Art Gallery, Wilmington.

 The myth of Persephone was the closest the Greeks came to resurrection.   Sermas chooses to tell the tale with bold mixed media drawings, combining natural shapes with machine overtones.  Demeter, goddess of the Earth, was Persephone’ mother; Persephone’s father was Zues.  Gus told DoN, “Persephone went to the Underworld, everything dies so she can come back.”

Blue Streak Gallery is @ 1721 Delaware Ave, owner Ellen Bartholomaus is an old freind of DoN’s, it was wonderful re-connecting with an influential art person from the past.  

Mimesis ; ape-ish copying.  The technical definition is simple but Carter and Carlin exhibit considerable skill in creating atmospheric naturalism, magic realism and ecclesiatical ecstatic images designed to stir the soul and portray the mystery of life through painting.

Neilson M. Carlin @ The Pierre S. DuPont Art Center, Wilmington, DE.

Neilson M Carlin.  DoN overheard Neilson tell a gallery visitor, “you have to scare the kids; raw meat and naked men.”  Carlin has a really great website representing the artist effectively, his understanding of interface design on the web and what he calls “Memesis” in painting is powerful; Carlin has his own painting school in  Kennett Square with a dedicated following. 

Panoramic shot of preparatory drawings for a major painting.

Allen G. Carter, Sr. @ The Pierre S. Dupont Art Center.  Carter wrote an article for International Artist’s magazine - visit the cool website with Allen’s article here.  Carter exhibited works in process including color palettes and diagrams of the design included in the magazine article, utilizing and energizing the space with knowledge and learning.  The school has a really excellent gallery space with the room to explain everything that goes into creating a classically modern masterpiece even displaying full-scale cartoons by Carlin used to create a large scale mural.

Allen G. Carter, Sr. @ Mimesis Exhibit in The Pierre S. DuPont Art Center. 

Artist and teacher - Allen G. Carter, Sr. with his painting teacher and mentor Neilson M. Carlin @ the opening reception for Memesis in The Pierre S. DuPont Center for the Arts in Tower Hill  School.