studio visits/interviews
Studio visit with two Los Angelenos in Philly – Fabian Lopez and Shanna Waddell
Fabian Lopez got in touch recently about a show he curated at the old Nexus space at Crane Arts. Lopez is a recent Tyler MFA, and the 7-person exhibit includes his work and work by some friends of his. The show fills the space well — it’s mostly painting and works on paper but there is one sculptural installation. I met Lopez and his studio-mate, Shanna Waddell, who is also in the exhibit, and after looking at the show we went upstairs to their shared studio space (they are renting Susan Moore’s large studio – plenty of room for two) ... More » »
Andrew Jeffrey Wright, next podcast on artblog radio
Andrew Jeffrey Wright is known for his humorous drawings and prints, psychedelic pattern paintings, and most recently his stand-up comedy routine, which he performs regularly Tuesday nights at the Barbary. Wright, who is a founding and current member of Space 1026, made his first splash with The Manipulators, an animated film he co-produced with then-girlfriend, Clare Rojas. That fashion-lampoon, done with magazine pictures altered to with whiteout, won Wright and Rojas the top prize for animation at the New York Underground Film Festival. In our talk with Wright we learned that he supported himself when in college by working as a security ... More » »
Annette Monnier talks about guilt, community, humor and values
Perhaps you remember the Tiki Bar at Copy Gallery. Annette Monnier, one of the group that ran Copy Gallery, calls it one of her favorite shows there–a kind of social experiment in which people expect to find a gallery with one set of rules, but instead enter a bar with a whole other set of values. She talks about her confused relationship to the American Flag and about how guilty she feels in spending time making art when there are so many problems in the world. Her antidote to that guilt is her job running the ClayMobile program. She talks ... More » »
Jenny Sabin’s curious greenhouse at APS Museum’s Jefferson Garden – an interview
Back in August, I had an appointment to talk with Jenny Sabin, architect, designer and Pew Fellow, at the APS Museum‘s Jefferson Garden (across 5th St. from the Museum). Sabin had designed and was in the process of building a very curious looking greenhouse as a temporary art installation at the site. It was two weeks before the soft opening and 3 weeks before there was to be a real opening AND a Fringe festival play performed in and around the structure.
Interview: Albo Jeavons and gangsters in suits
An anti-corporate guy like Albo Jeavons couldn’t possibly work with a gallery. He’s constitutionally indisposed to men and women in suits. So tomorrow night (Friday, Sept. 16th), he is mounting his own show in his own apartment. The digital prints are all based on the Sistine Chapel, with voluptuous figures of corporate godhead and equally voluptuous figures of the rest of us non-corporate shmoes.
Annette Monnier on liking–and not liking–art, next on artblog radio
Before the Vox building became a stacked art building, it was home to Black Floor Gallery. The groundbreaking Black Floor and its successor, Copy Gallery, are both gone, but they will remain remembered as among the best collective galleries in town in the first decade of the Twenty-First Century. One of the founders of both spaces is artist Annette Monnier, who came to town after art school in Cincinnati. Monnier is still making art. But most of her time is spent running the ClayMobile program out of the Clay Studio. And she writes a blog about art, One Review a ... More » »
Ralfka Gonzalez returns to Philadelphia
Two days before tonight’s opening, folk artist/gay activist Ralfka Gonzalez was sitting in the middle of A Seed on Diamond slipping final touches on to a painting. He was a little apologetic of as he reinterpreted the virgin’s traditional gold fleur de lis into runic gestures.
New podcast – ICA’s Ingrid Schaffner on curating, making her zine Pink, and working with artists
Ingrid Schaffner, ICA’s Senior Curator, has been with the Institute for ten years, and in that time she’s created many great exhibitions. Schaffner has a an easy smile, a ready laugh, and an interest in the absurd, from Dali and Dada to more contemporary artists like Richard Artschwager, for whom she worked as an archivist, pre-Philadelphia. The curator is an art omnivore whose shows range from conceptual artists Barry Le Va and Karen Kilimnik to the whimsical Maira Kalman. She also organized the Puppet Show, about the influence of puppetry in art, and Queer Voice, about the role of the “queered” ... More » »
Jessica Gath’s gift giving without a registry
By Andreea Bailuc A few weeks ago, on first Friday, I checked out Vox Populi Gallery. Among the various Skype interviews, “open mic” video projections and a surfers’ paradise, a live performance made a mark on me. A woman comfortably installed on a stage and surrounded by a basket of gift wrapping accoutrements and empty boxes was wrapping presents for people. A green and purple banner on the wall behind her announced that “Kindness is contagious.” Jessica Gath, the artist, asked for a brief description of the gift receiver and carefully wrapped the objects provided by spectators, thus creating an ... More » »
Matt Savitsky hits the road–on artblog radio
The day we talked to Matt Savitsky, he was moving out of his North Philadelphia studio, in preparation for a road trip across the country with his father. Savitsky, moved to Philadelphia from what he called “the New York pressure cooker.” Here he found a whole different way of life–first isolation and unemployment, and then friendship in a multi-generational community of gay men. Savitsky says he’s shy, but his art, often with openly gay content, includes not-so-shy performance; he quickly found an audience at places like Vox Populi, the Painted Bride and Bodega in the short time he spent here. ... More » »
