Gerard Cerini, Sky, aluminum foil, 36x36 inches, 2003

Gerard Cerini’s Sky would seem like a traditional, academic sculpture–except for the materials. Paul Wadlinger, show participant (an elaborate fantasy painting) and gallery sitter at the moment I was there–said Cerini’s Sky is solid aluminum foil held together with glue and it weighs a ton. Just the effort to make this life-size figure from that material is pretty startling. The gap between the lowly kitchen material and realistic modeling puts Sky outside of the contemporary mainstream, but the earnestness and quality of the job well done deserves some kudos, as does the title of the piece, which points attention to where the subject is looking and what his shiny material could be reflecting.

The distance between this work and the classical sculpture crapification of Matthew Monaghan is miles apart on the surface, but not really all that many miles if you think about it.

Bob Scheib, Island, sculpture painting, 21.75x20 inches, 2007

The show had a number of literal pieces about neighborhood that tried to bridge the gap between 2- and 3-D. Lilliana Didovic used little shiny bits of tile to add a decorative and craft touch to her exuberant and otherwise traditional painting Neighborhood, and Suzanne Francis hung a little toy parachutist from the frame atop her neighborhood painting East Parkside Commando. But the most successful and daring effort to unflatten the second dimension belongs to Bob Scheib, whose “sculpture painting” Island is a back-lit diorama, made of layers of wood cutouts in a frame. Scheib is one of the artists Sarah Roche has included in her upcoming show we told you about at Raritan Valley Community College.

Mark Dilks, Take Out My Eyes, oil on wood, 12x12.5 inches, 2006

Mark Dilks gave the 2-/3-D conundrum a run for its money in his heavily impastoed Take Out My Eyes. The eyes are literally dug out of the layers of paint, and I honestly fear for Mr. Dilks’ mental health.

Ben Howard, Foul Swoop, oil and acrylic on canvas, 3x4 feet, 2009

Embracing 2-D for 2-D, Ben Howard has a deft painting that channels Lari Pittman, with its gestural drawing, conflicting spatiality and print-like layering.

Jonathan Pappas, The Nuclear Family, sculpture of clay, wire and tape, 17x13x5 inches

And speaking of channeling other artists, the charming Nuclear Family sculpture by Jonathan Pappas has a touch of Miro in his mutiple creature feature. I especially loved the space kid hiding in the coffin underfoot.

But much of the show was marked by the earnestness of the work. Whether sophisticated or not, that earnestness gave this show its value, the sense that people in many cases were crawling out of their cellars underfoot to reveal the secret art into which they had been pouring their souls.

Dragnet runs through Aug. 30.

Thursday, July 16

Sage Projects on South Street, one of the new temporary artist-run spaces,  has an open call for your art for their unjuried show up and show exhibit Dragnet.  Stuff is due in Thursday, 4-8 pm.  No slides or CDs; bring the real stuff.

Here’s their philosophy for this show:

Our mission for Dragnet is to share the walls, floors and ceilings with as many artists as possible, creating an exciting, diverse survey. We place no limits on the type of artwork and accept work on a first come, first serve basis. No judges, no jury, and no commissions.

A reception for the artists will be from 6-8pm on First Friday, August 7, 2009. Show dates Sunday, July 19 through August 30, 2009.

Sage Projects
333 South Street across from the TLA

Richard Torchia (right) speaking with Stephen Shore at Arcadia University in 2006

Also Thursday, don’t forget the Richard Torchia lecture at Vox Populi at 6 pm.  The gallery director of Arcadia University will be talking about the history of alternative art spaces in Philadelphia.  Also free and open to the public.

And speaking of alternative spaces…

Saturday, July 18

Comedy night this Saturday, July 18, at Pifas, part of the Pifas Place roundup of events.
“Get Up Stand Up Comedy”
7/18 @ 9pm-til whenever
Free and open to the public, no reservations required

All exhibits and kiosks of the Pifas Place installation will be on display from about 8:30 on.  But the highlight –we hope– is the comedy troupers including:

Andrew Jeffery Wright
Gavin Riley
Frankie Martin (via skype)
Brian Belott
Annie Pearlman
Leah Shuchter
Margaret Stevens
Brina Thurston
AND more

Also on tap that night at Pifas,
Perineum, in Liv-2-Serv, “a casino gamble to the death with cigarz and booze set somewhere in Africa.”

Sage Projects
“Tenuous Magic Parts” opened at the new South Street gallery in May to a crowd of 300 and is being held over for another opening Friday. The show asks the artists to find truth in a perplexing world. Fantasy abounds in comical portraits, nonsense posters, paintings that question reality, still lifes that aren’t still, and junk assemblage sculpture. Dustin Metz’s paintings and Karen Stone’s “hair trees”—fantasy 2-D portraits with art nouveau arabesques of long hair—are standout pieces. Curator Jon Manteau loves music at openings and “Fat Man Little Boy,” a three-member punk, thrash, surf band will play from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m.

Dustin Metz, Self Signal, charcoal on wood, from Tenuous Magic Parts at Sage Projects

 AHN|VHS

Bill McRight, sketchbook page. On view at AHN/VHS

The new flat file gallery AHN|VHS has Bill McRight’s sketchbooks in the gallery’s opening show. The Space 1026 artist is known for his street-art sensibility (monsters and skulls in bold linocuts or screenprints pasted onto skateboards and scrap wood panels). His sketchbooks are more experimental and range from scribbles and abstract doodles to word rants and drawings in various stages of development. A limited edition reproduction of one of the sketchbooks will be available for purchase.

Little Berlin
Several months in the making, “Offerings” at Little Berlin is a show about the process of interaction and collaboration. Co-curators Alex Gartelmann and Martha Savery asked the 21 teams of artists to spend no more than $50 on their projects. The idea was to introduce artists to other artists they didn’t know and foster the growth of networks—all of which will bear fruit in the future. The projects sound wild and some are full of hijinx. Fifty beach balls will be on tap for some kind of interaction; food will be tossed over a wall at the crowd. On a more serious note, there will be videos, a very large print, photos of a trip to Niagara Falls and a voting booth with hand screened ballots and a ballot box to vote on the best art in the show. Outside the gallery one group will do a performance about the wonderfulness of the word “Wow!”

Bridgette Mayer Gallery

Lauren Whearty, 10x10" panel, in the show at Bridgette Mayer Gallery

Bridgette Mayer is celebrating her gallery’s eighth birthday with a charity show and sale for Back on My Feet, the organization that empowers the homeless through running. Mayer organized a show of 100 local artists, including Back on My Feet members, gallery artists and local luminaries. The works—each one made using 10-by-10 wood panels—will be hung salon-style in the gallery. Panels range from traditional paintings and drawings to video screens. Sculptor Paul Oberst cut up his panel and reassembled it as his contribution to the show. Works are priced at $500 to $1,000 and proceeds will be divided between the charity, the gallery and the artists.

Bill McRight Fri., June 5, 7-11pm. Through June 27. AHN|VHS, 319A N. 11th St., fourth fl. 
Tenuous Magic Parts Fri., June 5, 6-9pm. Through June 7. Sage Projects, 333 South St. 215.706.0406. 
Offerings Fri., June 5, 6-10pm. Through June. Little Berlin, 119 Montgomery St. 
Eighth Anniversary Show and Sale for Back on My Feet Fri., June 5, 6-8:30pm. Through June 27. Bridgette Mayer Gallery, 709 Walnut St. 215.413. 8893.