Tag Archive "paul-swenbeck"

News post – Obama re-elected, Patricia Goodrich all over the world, Theodore Harris at AAI, opportunities and more!

News The dust and dollars of the election season have finally settled, with victory for President Obama and high hopes for the next four years. If you’re looking to read up on the implications of his win for the art world, take a look at some stats on his positions on the arts, courtesy of Art League. Relief for Hurricane Sandy’s victims continues, especially in the battered arts community of New York. Among the organizations that have intervened to provide assistance, PINTA, which honors ­Latin American art with an annual art fair, has converted this year’s Art Fair (November 15 to 18, ... More » »

News post – Little Berlin gets on Groupon, congrats to Florcy Morisset, Swenbeck & Carpenter, WHYY Connections Fest, opportunities and more!

News Right there at the forefront of crowd-sourced fundraising, Little Berlin is using Groupon to raise money for its next mission: benches for its Fair Grounds project. And not just any old benches – they’re seeking donations of $10 or more for $1000, going towards hand-crafting five benches with the help of local artists and designers. The campaign is up for seven days, from August 20-26 – so if you haven’t already donated, act fast! For more info and access to the Groupon page visit Little Berlin’s Tumblr. Junot Diaz, author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and winner of ... More » »

News – Nichols Berg, Cambridge Street Studios, Divine Lorraine,Data Garden, opportunities and more!

NEWS Gallery classes – Beginning this spring and continuing through the summer, Nichols Berg Gallery  will host workshops in the gallery taught by Clarissa Shanahan (teaming up with Scott Nichols of Nichols Berg) on subjects including encaustics, manuscript illuminations and printmaking. And Cambridge Street Studios, a new realist atelier in Philly, is having their Grand Opening Gala this coming Saturday, March 31st.  The studio/school also has classes.  Check their website. Boundary-defying record label and journal Data Garden is running a plant-based audio exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art April 13-15. Four large tropical plants outfitted with specialized electronic sensors to process their physiological data will produce ... More » »

Ceramic art by Swenbeck, Rosen and Hom at Fleisher/Ollman

With so many exhibits all over the city first for printmaking and then ceramics, the question needs to be asked. How to recognize which well-crafted tree in the forest is the rare specimen worth the visit?

NoLibs First Friday: Adventures (Mostly) in Clay

Several shows this month in NoLibs above Spring Garden step outside the norms of a medium, bringing new life to photos, prints and clay. At PPAC through May 15, .matrix includes work by artists interested in “pushing the limits of the printed image and how it is created, used and disseminated.” This isn’t your grandmother’s printmaking. Much of it purposefully challenges our perception of the single matrix, or surface onto which one unique print is impressed.

Fired up about clay, the tour — Part 2

This post continues the tale of our NCECA (National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts) shuttle bus tour on Mar. 31 of ceramics exhibits in the Fishtown/Northern Liberties parts of town. Little Berlin “Scene,” an international show organized by Jennifer Woodin at Little Berlin is spare and a little chilly. The grid of ceramic knots held up by wire by Henny Linn Kjellberg (of Sweden) reminded us of how many other grids we had seen that day — at Tyler, up on Amber St. and elsewhere.  Grids are great, but we had trouble conversing with the ceramic knots in the ... More » »

Fired up about clay–we take a tour

We talk too much. So when we go out looking at art, we end up talking to everyone we see, which means we see less than we ought to. Imagine therefore how we jumped at the chance to take a bus ride and see lots of the NCECA clay shows on an enforced schedule. Otherwise we would never get around to them, given our propensity to stop and chat and the shows’ short duration. The Northern Liberties/Fishtown tour Wednesday was just the ticket. Our tour leader, Casey Porter, is part of the Claymobile posse. He was amazing–energetic, resourceful, and gracious. ... More » »

Dirt on Delight at the ICA

[This is part 2 of a 2 part article that first appeared in the March issue of Ceramics Monthly. Click on the Dirt on Delight tag at the bottom of the post to find part 1.] Not everything in the exhibit is explicitly about body and bodily functions. Numerous pieces revel in clay’s historic use as a decorative medium. Jeffry Mitchell, Pickle Jar, 2005, glazed ceramic, 15.5 x 13 x 13 inches, collection Ben and Aileen Krohn

Weekly Update – ICA’s Dirt on Delight is sexy and great

This week’s Weekly has my review of Dirt on Delight at ICA. Below is my copy with some pictures. Robert Arneson Lustred Rose, 1966 glazed ceramic 29×60 1/2 x 28″ From earthly delights in clay to pithy word art and a cerebral video animation, ICA’s Spring shows are bon bons of creamy goodness, crunchy ideas and beautiful packaging. Kathy Butterly speaking about her sexy pots at ICA’s opening. The big downstairs show, Dirt on Delight, commands attention by sheer volume of gorgeousness on display.  The survey of sculptural clay brings together 22 artists breaking ground in the traditional craft material.  ... More » »