Posts By chip schwartz

Drawing organics – Colin Keefe, Sarah Laing and Alana Bograd at Rebekah Templeton

The complex drawings adorning the walls of Rebekah Templeton Contemporary Art in Fishtown have lives of their own. Without the artist’s hand as part of the equation, any of these heavily contrasted, black-and-white forms could easily be growing out of a patch of soil or spreading across the agar of a Petri dish. The fact that these creations are not multi-cellular organisms and are actually comprised of deliberate pencil or ink markings makes them all the more remarkable. Bearing the name Organon as a means for the process of investigation, the show examines synthetic, creative, and human processes that often ... More » »

Nikolay Milushev at Cerulean

The aptly named Cerulean Arts (the outside is a lovely shade of blue) is showing work by Nikolay Milushev now until May 5. The Bulgarian artist moved to the United States back in 2001 to study at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art and continues to live and make his colorful and socially-charged art in  in Philly. Among the works displayed in the gallery, Milushev has some older pieces as well as new work and a number of pages from sketchbooks, which led to the final versions. One piece entitled “Atomic Playground” demonstrates Milushev’s illustrative style rather well. The work ... More » »

Bam Margera and Friends at James Oliver Gallery

Bam Margera: skateboarder, television star, notorious troublemaker and… expressionist painter? That’s the surprising revelation at James Oliver Gallery (JOG) this month. JOG is displaying over sixty paintings by Margera alongside artwork by a few of his friends. The short show only lasts for two weeks, through April 21. What should not come as a surprise is that Bam Margera’s paintings are extremely chaotic. Many are themed by location including “CKY in Moscow,” “Detroit,” “Denmark,” and “Adelaide.” They almost all share in a few characteristics like thickly applied paint and dark, jagged outlines. There are a few exceptions, like photos of ... More » »

Gone but not forgotten – Video Storefront at Possible Projects

From the outside, Possible Projects, on the corner of Thompson and Norris Streets in Fishtown, appears as a humble, yet handsome two-story brick house. If it looks more like a home than an art gallery, that may be because it’s actually both. Husband and wife owners of the project space – Trevor and Rachel Reese – recently relocated from Brooklyn. They now live upstairs and hold art events in the first floor storefront space. The last exhibition was a multi-week series of short films projected on a wall inside the gallery. Called a Video Storefront, the projections could be seen through ... More » »

News – Some good deals, Print Center Finalists, Justin Duerr show, and more!

News Some good deals Two new art deals online–we like the entrepreneurship of both! DealYo – James Dupree is currently offering a limited edition print of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway for half price on DealYo on Philly.com. The Deal — Nicola Midnight St. Claire’s new feature “The Deal” reports on and sells work by artists that they are enthralled with. The inaugural St. Claire deal is work by artist Celeste Dupuy-Spencer. Contact thedeal@the-st-claire.com with any questions — and to buy the art! Print Center finalists The Print Center announced the finalists and semi-finalist for their 86th annual photography competition.  The exhibit will ... More » »

News – Arden’s free First Friday shows, Gallery 339 NYC preview, Jeroen Koolhaas and more!

News Free First Friday performances and free beer at the Arden First Friday isn’t just for art anymore. Located in the heart of Old City, the Arden Theatre Company is hosting free performances as their First Friday offering. There’s also free beer — donated by Boxcar Brewing Company (while supplies last, from 5:30-8pm)! Tonight, March 2, 6-7:30pm in Arden’s Independence Foundation Studio, the N Crowd will perform comedic improvisations based on audience suggestions. More free performances lined up on April 6 and May 4. Gallery 339 previews work at Philly prices pre-New York art fair We think this is kind ... More » »

News – Cecelia Fitzgibbon to Moore, Tim Miller performance canceled by Villanova, and more!

News Cecelia Fitzgibbon named Moore President Moore College of Art & Design has selected Cecelia Fitzgibbon as the school’s new president. Fitzgibbon, Director of Drexel’s Graduate Arts Administration Program, will succeed Dr. Happy Fernandez who has been president at Moore since 1999.  Fitzgibbon steps in at Moore in July. artblog news Check out our new features on artblog’s front page. First, in the bottom of the right column are feeds from Libby and Roberta’s Pinterest boards.  Don’t expect wedding planning or cute design things, but interesting articles and other stuff from around the web. Second, our RSS feeds in the ... More » »

Constructing stories from Degrees of Abstraction at UD Crane

Degrees of Abstraction at The University of Delaware at the Crane features work by a number of UDel MFA alumni who explore materials and the use of resources to raise issues about the earth’s natural bounties, and our capacity for scientific inquiry.  Lest you think this is all dry goods, there are personal and communal stories, structural compositions, and functional recycled goods on view. Curated by Dr. Vicky A. Clark of Clarion University, the show includes work by Mark Franchino, Matthew Gehring, Jim Lee, Jennifer O’Neill, Greg Rubio, Shawn Williams, Deborah Winram and Jim Zeske. Deborah Winram’s installation “Keepsake” is reminiscent of ... More » »

News – OLIN to redesign Met Museum’s plaza, Print Center grant, and more!

News artblog news This week artblog visited The Ungovernables, the second triennial of emerging artists organized by the New Museum in New York. You can see some images from the show here and stay-tuned for the upcoming review. It’s back to NYC on the 27th for the press opening of the Whitney Biennial. And we just learned that artblog was featured on Generocity.org’s list of Philly Non-Profit blogs. The site dedicated to helping non-profits likes what we’re doing here at artblog and we’re glad! In the Media The local voice of young Philly culture, Cred Magazine, organized through the Village of Arts and Humanities, has ... More » »

News – FLASHFLooD, Kutztown, Ward Shelley at Pierogi, and lots of opportunities!

News Lectures and discussions Temple Gallery is offering a lecture with Philadelphia resident and Creative Time curator Nato Thompson on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7:00 PM. Thompson will speak about his latest book Seeing Power: Art and Activism in the Age of Cultural Production. We at artblog would love a Creative Time organization in Philly, and as it turns out we have the curator right here! Reserve a seat for Nato Thompson’s lecture at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2826019701 or call 215 777 9138.  And in West Philly, artist and independent curator Matheiu Copeland speaks at Kelly Writers House Thursday, Feb. 16, 6pm, about his efforts at subverting ... More » »