Only visible at sundown, Shock Waves from artist Daniel Oliva is a memorial to the victims of the tsunami that devastated Japan last spring. While the inside of Pentimenti Gallery is currently empty, the installation in the gallery’s front windows is visible from its sidewalk through August 24.
Much of the work in Think Global 2 at Pentimenti reflects a shared mindset of lowered expectations, with artists channeling environmental concerns or worries about the world economy. In the exhibition open until July 9, the art is a reflection of a larger, collective mood of doubt.
Old City brought the crowds on first Friday. The five o’clock crawl gave way to 6 o’clock jams, and by 7, the 20 and 30 somethings outnumbered the slightly older early-birds. So what’s the draw? The Clay Studio’s flagship exhibit for the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts annual conference has a ponderous name: “Of this Century: Residents, Fellows, and Select Guest Artists of The Clay Studio, 2000-2010” (through May 2nd). Like the title, the show is large, organized by convention, and conveys less than its ought to for its length. As a survey show, it might seem ... More » »
We ran into a lot of folks at the art fairs last week. Some we knew, others were artists and gallerists we were meeting for the first time. Either way, the art fairs are chat fests with conversations about art, sales and the exhilaration of being at the fair. Talk is the glue that holds the memory of the fair together this year. Other years it was the art. Here’s a brief report from Pulse, Volta and the Armory.
Two solo shows at Pentimenti are worth wading through piles of snow for–Joseph Hu’s exhibit “Noticed and Unnoticed” and Hunter Stabler’s exhibit “Center of the Cyclone”.
Here’s my post on Pentimenti. Here it is in this week’s Weekly. Working with six local artists new to her gallery, Pentimenti’s Christine Pfister organized Think Global, Go Local as a show about relationships. It’s an exhibit of clean, sleek, beautiful work consistent with the gallery’s aesthetic and has two surprises — an architectural piece that bulges like a pregnant wall of a house and two sculptures that puncture a freestanding gallery wall, their “heads” on one side and “tails” on the other.
Kim Beck, my favorite detail from Buoys installation. Most of us live in urban and suburban streetscapes. Yet so much art focuses on more romantic notions of nature, neglecting what the familiar paved zones offer in subject matter and imagery. Work now on exhibit at Pentimenti is grappling with its own take on what these human interventions in space and structure mean. Kim Beck, Buoys installation at Pentimenti One that nails it is a piece by Kim Beck, a Pittsburgh artist, who has created a terrific wall installation of a suburban, parking-lot-ish landscape. We don’t see the parking lot, just ... More » »
Aurora Robson’s plastic sculptures are made from recycled materials, this one from plastic bottles. In a final hiccup before the onslought of September shows, Pentimenti has reopened its sweet summer group show, Summer Journeys, Summer Dreams for a couple of weeks. There’s some terrific and surprising work here. The artists in the show are a mix of the familiar and unfamiliar–Darlene Charneco, Heather Hutchison, Aurora Robson, Ben Roosevelt, Paul Villinski and Mauro Zamora. I was pretty taken with hanging sculptures from Aurora Robson–biomorphic interplanetary shapes from recycled, repetitive materials. They were a sort of non-robotic, decorous cousin of Shi Chieh ... More » »
One of Adam Wallacavage’s octopus chandelier; picture courtesy the artist Sun, sand, warm weather and art. It’s a marriage made in magic-land, aka Miami, coming up later this week. And Philadelphia galleries will be there, as well as some Philly-connected artists showing work at other galleries. Here’s what we know about: Two Philly artists to look for at GenArt’s Vanguard Exhibition and Official Party during Art Basel are Adam Wallacavage and AJ Fosik. Here’s a picture of one of Wallacavage’s fabulous octopus chandeliers that will there. FYI, Fosik shows at Jonathan LeVine Gallery. artblog fave Judith Schaechter will show work ... More » »
This week’s Weekly has my review of Pentimenti’s summer show. Below is the copy with some added pictures. More photos at flickr. Breezy Does ItPentimenti’s group show offers loveliness and edge. “In Summer the Song Sings Itself”Through Sept. 15 (gallery closed July 24-Aug. 28). Pentimenti Gallery, 145 N. Second St. 215.625.9990. Thomas Doyle’s miniature environments at Pentimenti escape the trap of precious and instead intrigue with their mystery narrative content. Pentimenti’s summer group show is like one of those eight-countries-in-eight-days European tours. The whirlwind of color, texture, mountains, cities, beaches and woods leaves you panting. And when you’re home, you’ll ... More » »
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