July 7, 2017 by Donald Hunt

Arcana New Music Ensemble shows range at University Lutheran Church

Donald Hunt reviews the new resident ensemble for Bowerbird, Arcana New Music Ensemble. He details the group’s incredible stylistic range while introducing us to a few of its members, and speaks to the acoustic richness of University Lutheran Church.

July 2, 2017 by Andrea Kirsh

Guggenheim Museum’s rare move fills rotunda with its own collection, a summer must-see

Andrea reviews “Visionaries: Creating a Modern Guggenheim,” curated by Megan Fontanella, with artwork from five collectors whose gifts to the museum helped the Guggenheim define itself as a pioneering institution. A rare chance to see beautifully-conserved works by Modern masters like Brancusi, Pollock, Mondrian, the show is a must-see this summer, says Andrea.

July 1, 2017 by Michael Lieberman

Paul Cava’s photo-poetic delights in Variations at C. R. Ettinger Studio

Paul Cava’s Variations, sensual photo collages and prints at C. R. Ettinger Studio up until July 15, are filled with passion, romance and eroticism, and while they encapsulate a perhaps simpler past, Cava’s manipulations add a nice contemporary lens through which to consider human flesh, blood, desires and spirit. Michael calls the work gutsy, and we agree.

June 30, 2017 by Nancy Chen

On film, The Sense of an Ending delivers a dull edge

Nancy reviews a film adaptation of “The Sense of an Ending,” Directed by Ritesh Batra and based on the novel by Julian Barnes, which loses track of the depth that made the original a classic.

June 28, 2017 by Laura Volkening

Works on empowerment, objectification in I Grit My Teeth Before It Began at Little Berlin

An exhibition at Little Berlin utilizes material to address the often uncomfortable nature of the relationship we have with our bodies, from the intimate to the medical and social.

June 15, 2017 by Donald Hunt

Live Connection brings music from stage to screen

Donald reviews an eclectic evening of music composed for video games, hardly a traditional outlet for classical music–and finds a surprising amount of fun to be had.

June 14, 2017 by Evan Paul Laudenslager

Syria’s past and present in Cultures in the Crossfire at University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology hosts a powerful exhibition that juxtaposes work of contemporary Syrian artist Issam Hourbaj with antiquities from the regions of Iraq and Syria. The result is a meditation on loss and destruction that emphasizes the human face of the complex past and present of this region.

June 13, 2017 by Andrea Kirsh

Doug Wheeler’s soundless desert at the Guggenheim

Andrea immerses herself in Doug Wheeler’s “PSAD Synthetic Desert III” from 1971, currently on view at the Guggenheim. Wheeler created a soundless environment inspired by the deserts of northern Arizona. Unfortunately, she writes, the 10 minute slot allotted to visitors isn’t quite enough to feel the full sensory effect of this remarkable piece.