Graduation Exhibition!

The Annual Student Exhibition (ASE) of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) has only two more days to run! Last day to see it is this Sunday June 1, 2014. For those who can't make it, here is what I have hanging in the show:

"Presence" oil on canvas 18 x 24 inches 

"Young Man" and "Young Woman" oil on canvas 48 x 30 inches each

"Cheer" digital image 52 x 36 inches

"Signifier" oil on canvas 36 x 24 inches

"Veiling" digital image 18 x 22 inches

"Head Dress" digital image 14 x 20

"Angel Caul" digital image 14 x 20

"Emerging" digital image 14 x 20

"Laptop" digital image 14 x 20

"Push" digital image 12 x 14

"Stamp" digital image 12 x 14 inches

"Witchy Anne" digital image 20 x 14 

"Henry King" digital image 20 x 16

You can see a gallery showing a few pieces by every artist in the show by clicking here. If you wish to make a purchase, you can call the museum at: 215-972-7600

Henry and Art

Henry came home from his boarding school the previous Saturday for a full week of Thanksgiving vacation. We started his break off by going to the Astrid Bowlby exhibition and Gallery Talk at Gallery Joe last Saturday night:

It was a packed house

Examination

Reflection

Contemplation

Enjoyment!

Henry attended his first art opening on his ONE MONTH birthday, and it has just gone on from there, so it's an atmosphere he is comfortable with and also seems to naturally enjoy, at least for short periods of time.

The next day we visited my studio at PAFA:

We looked at my new piece (on the right) hanging in a small group show 

and we also visited the PAFA vending machines...very much appreciated in every way.

 These big boxes that light up, and hum, and show you lots of snacks and then you GET one of the snacks and you can eat it! It is like the most perfect kind of art really, when you think about it...

Not so sure about this one and what it wants from him? :-)

Henry is a catalyst for re-examining preconceived notions of the world, that's for sure. We took in a few more shows:

Hen responded positively to The Artist's Response to Tonalism show

Judging by the number of stims per square inch, I think his favorite was this small piece by Al Gury

And he was as good as gold in the other galleries as well. Another nice thing is that most museum/gallery goers seem to be generally sophisticated/broadminded and savvy people, we rarely get more than a brief glance and a friendly smile when Henry flaps his hands (stims) with excitement, or gives the occasional happy little skip (which can be a surprising move enacted by a six foot five inch young man.)  I guess it is pretty well understood that art-loving comes in all shapes and forms...

PAFA tries out POST (Philadelphia Open Studio Tours)

PAFA decided to try participating in POST (Philadelphia Open Studio Tours) this year. It was decided only the graduate degree students would participate this time, maybe we are the guinea pigs? I wouldn't say the traffic was heavy but there were a lot of interested strangers poking their heads in, and a few good friends came to hang out and make it more fun!

Queen Catherine: friends enjoyed trying out my prop box of head gear!

From Betty to Veronica in one second flat! So cute.

YEAR OF THE WOMAN Group Show

I have three new pieces in an exciting group show opening this weekend in Philadelphia:

"Painting Girl"  oil on canvas 24 x 20 inches  2013

"Hijab Me"  oil on canvas on board 16 x 12 inches  2013

"Young painter" oil on canvas on board  11 x 14 inches  2013

YEAR OF THE WOMAN Paintings and Sculpture of Women by Women     April 2013 at Artists' House Gallery April 3 to 28, 2013  First Friday: April 5, 5 to 8:30 PM Sunday Reception: April 7, 1 to 4 PM     The year 2013 seems to be the pinnacle of events in recent years that have culminated in special recognition of the contributions of women in many activities:  politics ,science and medicine, management, visual arts, theater and film, sports, etc.     We three women managers of Artists' House Gallery have designated 2013 as a special year to recognize the "Year of the Woman" in the visual arts.  We present an exhibit of twenty extraordinary women artists, each exhibiting paintings or sculptures of women.   Please join us at Artists' House for our two receptions: First Friday, April 5, from 5 to 8:30 PM and our Sunday reception on April 7, from 1 to 4 PM.     The following artists are exhibiting in "The Year of the Woman" exhibit. Works by these artists are displayed below.  Julie Bell  Kate Brockman Rachel Constantine Saskia Ozols Eubanks Diane Feissel Renee Foulks Katherine Fraser Frances Galante  Leigh Gustafson Hilarie Hawley Rita Klinger Julia Levitina  Amber Lia-Kloppel Jafang Lu Sydney McGinley Nancy Bea Miller   Elena Peteva Carolyn Pyfrom Lauren Tilden  Lea Colie Wight ABOUT ARTISTS' HOUSE GALLERY Artists' House Gallery, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, features the work of outstanding emerging and established artists, frequently from the greater Philadelphia area. Artists' House offers art lovers and collectors the opportunity to purchase excellent affordable works of art.  Artists' House Gallery   57 N. Second Street   Philadelphia, PA 19106 (215) 923-8440  Email: artistshouse@aol.com Gallery hours:  Wednesday to Sunday 12:00 Noon to 5:00 PM, or by appointment.      Click to visit the Artists' House website

Friend Friday!

I managed to catch a bunch of friends' shows yesterday...they all come down after this coming weekend so hurry if you'd like to see them too!

Eileen Neff at Bridgette Mayer
Wow is all I can say! A great show! I love her imaginative and playful work.

Weird shot in the video room (I'm trying to be like Eileen I guess!)

I never saw so many red dots at once...go Eileen!

David Wilson's show at Rodger LaPelle Galleries.

That's Rodger gesturing. Talking with him is always a lot of fun! 

Friend Sarah Barr momentarily becomes part of "The Incident on Pine Street."

Lorraine Riesenbach and I in front of Diane Feissel's lovely work at Artists' House Gallery!

Susan O'Reilly had several strong pieces at AH as well.
I especially liked this one, entitled "When Turquoise Was New."

Friends, Family, Fun and Art Galore!

It was great to have a visit this past weekend from Amer Olson and his lovely family!  (photo credit: Jon Redmond )

It's been a busy month, so halfway through, I am going to somewhat randomly focus on some of the more obvious points, in no particular order, just to keep up!

 

Part of the the old art school gang: Jon Redmond, me and Amer Olson (photo credit: Paul Downs )

Son H running in a X-C race two weeks ago

Well done all!

A couple of weeks ago the Wilburn cousins came up from Maryland to see the William Trost Richards show at PAFA. Friend and artist Eliza Auth joined us for lunch and small masterpiece viewing. I highly recommend this show, A Mine of Beauty, it's simply amazing! And there are magnifying glasses!

My wonderful MIL Darian came to Philly from DC for a day to lend her expertise and support in a medical matter (but we had fun, too!)

Darian came to Philly by train: the view at 30th Sreet Station was fantastic!

The first PAFA Aumni Gathering took place earlier this month. This was something the Alumni Association Council has worked very hard to pull off, so we were all thrilled that it turned out to be such a great night (many thanks to all who helped make it so memorable, most especially Patty Castner!)

Liz Wilson and I joking around in the cast hall (Fred Danziger took this shot!)

Liz drove me home and we just by chance happened upon this visually stunning art happening, Open Air,  as we wended our way past the art museum later that night!

This past Saturday was yet another PAFA event, a panel for Family Weekend on "Life After Art School." I was the moderator and here I am with two of the panelists, old friend Clarity Haynes and Sterling Shaw. This was the first time I was a moderator, an unexpectedly interesting role! (photo credit: David Sigman)