DoNArTNeWs

Deja Vu - 6th Annual Juried Competition @ Off the Wall Gallery in Dirty Frank’s.   DoN is honored to be represented in this show, the requirements were stringent and the jury big league. the opening party is Thursday, December 2th, 2010, 7 - 9:00 PM.

DoN Brewer, I Was Here, digital photograph, inkjet print @ Deja Vu - 6th Annual Juried Competition @ Off the Wall Gallery.

Carla Lombardi, Gavaciolli, high fire stoneware, Shinoglaze, @ Decameron, Da Vinci Art Alliance @ Smile Gallery on 22nd Street.  Decameron is presented in conjunction with the world premier of Karen Saillant’s new opera of the same name presented by the International Opera Theater and inspired by Il Decamerone by Giovanni Boccaccio.  The stories of the ten people who escaped the Black Plague to a country estate is operatic in scope with so much source material from the tens of tens of stories told while the world collapsed around them that the tales of love, lust, morality and sin still ring true and wise in the modern age.  The artists reached deep to connect the dots of our common deep past with our futuristic present through drawing, painting, sculpture, collage and photography.

Ona Kalstein, Lisbetta Weeps, 4th day, 5th tale,  ink & colored pencil on vellum.

Rosalind Bloom, Danse Macabre - The Black Death, watercolor, acrylic, collage.

Ted Warchal, Tale 5 - 2, Gastanza Sails to Tunis, assemblage,  Decameron, Da Vinci Art Alliance @ Smile Gallery.

Ted Warchal @ Decameron, Da Vinci Art Alliance @ Smile Gallery.  Tale 6-1o - The Relic of Archangel Gabriel reminds us of a time when zealots professed to own bits of Saints which could be viewed at a price, Warchal’s magical assemblage holds a golden feather and a bone.

Rachel Citrino @ Decameron, Da Vinci Art Alliance @ Smile Gallery.  Citrino created a 100 block grid of images relating to Italy and the hundred tales of the Decameron, printed on canvas, the digital collage pops with hits of color amidst the stark black and white memories of a distant world.

Rosalind Bloom, The Embrace..., oil & mixed media collage and DoN Brewer, Heliotrope, digital photograph, digital print.  Roz’s painting refers to the boils caused by the Black Plague called Caviciolli like some pasta, but when you got a boil you’re dead in 3 days. DoN’s Heliotrope does not refer to the color but the magic stone offering the power of invisibility.

Alden Cole’s painting depicts the rise of humanism and the lesson of living in the moment filled with love.

Sadly, this is the last Da Vinci Art Alliance show at Smile Gallery, Ken Tutjamnong’s restaurant has become so popular that he needs the room for diners he has been turning away and he can show his own outstanding artwork as he does in the dining room at street level.  Admittedly the art drew people to the restaurant and the gallery offered DVAA space outside the club’s gallery to do theme show’s like Decameron.

Photos by DoN.

Collage walls by Dan Welch @ OCDan on Fitzwater Street.  The handy-dandy POST guide says,”surreal, alchemical, flux.“  Yup!  The first stop on a beautiful Saturday was a third floor walk-up to OCDan’s trippy studio he shares with Emily Smith, their art resonates on different vibes but the space has room for both.

Emily Smith, watercolors.  Smith says she does a lot of self-portraits because no one will pose for her. she likes to mix beauty and the grotesque because people are monsters yet beautiful. “I like it when people hate my work, take away what you want.”

Mosaic mural near South Street - we tried to get into the Magic Garden but it was crowded, this little diversion helped satisfy the urge.

Nancy @ Nangellini on South Street makes Dream-Catchers from hand pulled, hand died yarn; the shop carries artisanal yarns made from exotic threads from near and far.  Although not part of the POST tour, Nangellini is a welcome stop on South Street to take in a heady mix of art and fashion.

Studios @ The Purl, 1138 South 9th Street - jewelry, clever scarves, photography created by a five artist collective in that strip along the Italian Market waiting to become cool, on the other side of Washington Ave.

Studios @ The Purl is a good example of how many smaller galleries and collectives participated in this years art crawl, in this tough economy we have to band together to keep the dream alive.  Philly has a rich heritage of art and culture requiring support if we are to survive as a hub of the regional creative economy.  Studios @ The Purl includes Jurgita Centuke, Zivile Pupinyte & SoulPurl 77 Design.

DoN is working on a separate story about 1241 Carpenter Street and his Sunday tour of Kensington area studios and galleries.

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!

Morris Klein, Giovanni’s Room, photograph.

Mina Smith-Segal, Giovanni’s Room, watercolor.

Inspired by an art show at the William Way Gay Community Center of gay hang-outs which are no longer around - remember the Allegro?  The art power couple, Mina leads a workshop at the Philadelphia Sketch Club and Morris is VP of the Photographic Society of Philadelphia, decided to create an art show of 12 locations in the modern day Gayborhood of Philly with Mina creating paintings and Morris shooting photos of the same location such as Woodies, Sisters, Giovanni’s Room and more.  Mina’s liquidy paintings paired with Morris’ filter-ific watercolor-like photos capture the essence of the famous gay district.  Bet you didn’t know there’s along history of Philly being in the forefront of the gay civil rights movement - the first gay civil rights march was held in Philly and an historic marker is at Independence Mall to prove it.

The HIV Clinic, Mina Smith-Segal & Morris Klein.

Woodies Bar, Mina Smith-Segal, watercolor.

Woodies Bar, Morris Klein, photograph.

The staff at 12th Street Coffee told DoN this is the best art show they’ve had to date, with 24 images this is truly an historic exhibit commemorating Philly’s famous gay neighborhood.  Located next to the 12th Street Gym it’s a great spot to take in the art, sip some coffee and check out the hot boys coming and going from the gym.  Thanks Mina & Morris, your idea is inspiring, brave and beautiful.

Pat Wilson-Schmid works at being an artist full time, a tireless volunteer, and art advocate; the Philadelphia Sketch Club relies on Pat because she always makes the extra effort to keep the team on task.

Edna Santiago told DoN the painting is an uncle who moved to Philly to raise his family, she said he would be proud to know his visage is being shown in City Hall.  The acrylic on plastic painting is unique, confounding and bold, the narrative takes us to a time and place that is old Philadelphia yet very contemporary and urban, the passages of dark and light are deeply moving.  Chicken Louis, acrylic on plexiglass, Edna Santiago.

Piety Choi, Manna, mixed media on canvas.  The splashy painting paired with the intensely decorative tile work mixes time lines, metaphors and ideas on what is beautiful in contemporary culture.  Choi continues to surprise, inspire and challenge the Philly art-erati to step up their game, her works continuously win awards and draw people together to talk.

 P.J. Foster, Unexpected Journey, acrylic & egg shell @ The Philadelphia Sketch Club Member Exhibition @ Art in City Hall.

Art in City Hall featuring the Philadelphia Sketch Club’s 150 Anniversary members show is the oldest art club in America’s first show at the world famous City Hall and it’s 20 year old public art in City Hall program.  The shown is immense with hundreds of art works by many of Philly’s best artists.

Photos by DoN.

John Williams, Mountain Big Top, acrylic, ink, flashe on panel, Best in Show Absolutely Abstract 2010 @ The Philadelphia Sketch Club.

Click the thumb-nail below for a closer look.

The selection of ninety-eight art works by jurors David Foss and Michael Gallagher for The Philadelphia Sketch Club’s Absolutely Abstract 2010 exhibit is engaging, exciting and challenging.  The range of interpretations runs through almost any media you can think of - Kyle Margiotta’s, Ribbon, pencil drawing takes basic materials and elevates them to an alternate reality, Rik Viola’s painting is a triumph in context and Mina Smith-Segal suggests surrealism, impressionism, brutalism, naive primitive-ism…all modern and contemporary styles but stretching the envelop of the popular view of abstraction.

DoN Brewer, light beings (Sid & Nancy), digital photograph, archival ink-jet print, 2008.  This is the third consecutive year DoN Brewer’s photographs have been included in the Philadelphia Sketch Club’s annual Absolutely Abstract show, this year’s piece is named after the tragic punk lovers Sid Vicious & Nancy Spungen who he once saw shopping in Fiorucci’s in NYC in the 70s.

Rodney Miller, Ring Droppings, digital print on canvas.  Fall under the spell of the fractal-like inter-twined rings in Miller’s ultra-trippy contemplation on color, shape and depth of field - go see the real thing at The Philadelphia Sketch Club on the Avenue of the Artists, Camac Street in Center City Philadelphia.

Photos by DoN.

Rich Harrington, fine artist, illustration professor & Philadelphia Sketch Club board member is just one of the local art activists featured in Midsummer Invitational @ Off The Wall Gallery, 13th & Pine Streets.  Harrington’s paintings of rusting hulks of old cars and trucks are indefineable: part landscape, part still life and part portrait, the paintings are loaded with secret narratives and unanswered questions.  Harrington is a driving force@ PSC, always prepared to problem solve, take on projects and promote other artists - just ask his students, they love him.

Morris Klein is VP of the Photographic Society of Philadelphia and organizes ongoing art show at the Bonte Cafes in Center City, his style of photography is hyper-realistic with enhanced color and edges.  Getting photographers to participate in ongoing events is like herding cats, Morris is always even keeled and fair without being condescending - guys like Morris make such clubs like PSoP last hundreds of years.

Michelle Anne Clements @ Off the Wall in Dirty Franks - curator & gallerist Jody told DoN that Clements is donating a portion of the proceeds of her drawings of coral to Gulf relief.  The alien forms are wonderfully rendered drawings of different kinds of corals, the simple black and white drawings, beautifully presented, pay homage to the complexity of the simple and vital life form.

The Midsummer Invitational @ Off the Wall Gallery includes: Michelle Anne Clements, Rebecca Cross. Rich Harrington, Morris Klein, Kelly A. Kozma, Don McPartland, Karen Rodewald, Peter Smyth, Michael B. Tantaros & Lauren Westenhiser through October.

Karl Olsen lights the subject of an impromptu critique of Yeoun Lee’s paintings during the monthly Salon des Plastiques @ The Plastic Club on the Avenue of the Artists.  Lee took up the challenge from a previous meeting to bring out a few paintings on the sweltering Summer evening to stand up to the observations of Anders Hanson, Bob Jackson, Mike Quinn, Alan Klawens - the guys behind the on-going series of exhibitions at one of Philly’s premier artist clubs.  DoN couldn’t help to harken back to the days when air conditioning was a dream yet to be realized.  Yeoun explained the cosmological influence on her current work with light being represented by a subtle rainbow of color.

Yeoun Lee @ The Plastic Club’s Salon.

The Casual Summer Show @ The Plastic Club showcases artist favorites.

Members of the Plastic Club are showing works not directed by a theme allowing for a salon like diversity of styles and medium; curators Alan Klawans and Bob Jackson filled the main galleries with a spectrum of light and color.

Marlise M. Tkaczuk, 3 Big Monkeys, silk screen in The Casual Show.  The Plastic Club has long represented printmaking with a great print room and print shows; Marlise’s confrontational funky monkeys are part clever and engaging, jumping off the wall.  Check the clubs website for info and links to events.

Seven Dishsoaps, Peter Seidel @ Da Vinci Art Alliance, 7th & Catharine Streets in South Philly.   Peter Seidel won the Da Vinci Art Alliance Gold Medal for his superb painting.

DoN Brewer, Heptagon, photoshop.  DoN was honored to be on the jury committee to select the medal winners, which also freed him to produce whatever he wanted for the show.  Seven will be shown at The Noyes Museum annex in Hammonton, NJ this Fall.

Lois Allen Charles, Seven Waterlillies and Lilliana Didovic, Seven Elephants @ Seven, the current member exhibition at Da Vinci Art Alliance has a wide interpretation of the symbolism of the number seven, yet the discussion around the sign went on long after the show was installed.  The DVAA exhibitions committee really tapped into a concept the members could grok.

Anna Vosburgh, Hope 1 @ Da Vinci Art Alliance - Anna is not only a great painter, she’s a blogger!

Alden Cole , Burning Man, oil on canvas.

Photo courtesy of the artist.

Alden Cole completed his series of self portraits portraying the Seven Deadly Sins, the first three sins are included in a painting Cole produced for DVAA’s Henry IV, Part 1 @ The Lantern Theater Company’s Black Box Gallery.  These two panels, though, are more explosively emotional, brashly colorful and deeply introspective; Alden acts for the camera then paints the facial expressions with light, color fields and texture as if he’s looking deep into your being, reflecting back the many faces of sin.

Karen McDonell & Anthony Cortosi

7 screens, 7 colors, 7 minutes - cool.

Anna Vosburgh & Lilliana Didovic @ Seven in the Da Vinci Art Alliance Gallery, Summer 2010.

Photos by DoNBrewerPhotography.