Imani reviews the new catalog from Rizzoli Electa, “I Too Sing America,” published in conjunction with the exhibit by the same name at the Columbus Museum of Art. Chock full of color images, archival materials and biographical insights, the coffee table book by writer and the show’s curator, Will Haygood, a Columbus native, is more than just a pretty face, she says.
Read MoreBecky Suss’s new paintings on view at Fleisher/Ollman honor the legacy of mid-century craftsman Wharton Esherick, whose home studio is in Chester County. Suss chronicles the spaces Esherick designed and occupied as well as the furniture he is known for, translated through her own vision of the spaces, places and objects. Architect and Artblog contributor Mandy Palasik interprets the show and examines the resonance between these two artists and their bodies of work. “Becky Suss/Wharton Esherick” is open through January 26, so make your plans to visit now!
Read MoreSamuel Brown, a musician and writer, interviews the squad leader of the West Powelton Steppers and Drummers, who tells him that the drum team kept him alive and out of jail when he was young, and now he’s paying it forward, helping kids today focus on performing music and precision steps, rather than hanging on street corners and getting into trouble. Drum squads are a big part of Philadelphia’s recent history and culture, and Antoine Mapp tells you why they matter.
Read MoreTina Plokarz takes a trip down to WIlmington to view Aaron Eliah Terry’s current exhibit at The Delaware Contemporary. Terry, who is a current member of Vox Populi, (as is Tina), makes collages, prints and sound installations that explore the relationship between music, visual culture and political activism from the 1960s and 70s until today. Get down to The Delaware quick before “Syncopated Samizdat” closes on January 10.
Read MoreAsk Artblog Advisor, Beth Heinly, responds to a question about her own art practice of organizing the Open Call Guerrilla Outdoor Performnce Festival (OCGOPF). Beth explains what the festival is for those who haven’t heard of it and suggests that, in the spirit of Philadelphia’s community arts scene, anybody can organize the next OCGOPF, and suggests a few (very few) rules to follow. Have a question about the Art Life for Ask Artblog? Email ask@theartblog.org. Or submit a Google form with your question. There’s a link to the Google form at the bottom of the post below. All names kept anonymous.
Read MoreSaba Taj’s current solo show at Twelve Gates Arts deftly combines humor, beauty and violence in speculative collage work that explores earth’s social and biological future from a queer, brown perspective. Deborah Krieger takes in the Durham-based multidisciplinary artist’s subversive “of beast/ of virgin” and reports.
Read MoreRecent UArts graduate Heet Lee had her first solo museum show in Leipzig, Germany earlier this month and Artblog correspondent Olivia Jia, who visited her friend’s exhibition, tells us about it. Lee’s energetic and aggressive compositions draw imagery from a dizzying array of sources, both public and private.
Read MoreTaDa! Just for you, our annual curated list of notable people, groups, books, and other art world stuff from the outgoing year: The 2018 Liberta Awards!
Read MoreLike many local artists, Janyce Glasper treks up to New York every now and again to see what’s new. Here she fills us in on the latest from Nina Chanel Abney, who has just started translating the aesthetic of her politically-charged collage paintings into monoprints. If your plans take you to the big(ger) city, you can view Abney’s powerful, ambiguous work for yourself at Pace Prints through December 15, 2018.
Read MoreWhen an under-appreciated woman artist finally gets her due, you know Artblog will be there to cover it! Here Andrea Kirsh tips her hat to the Barnes Foundation and their major retrospective of Berthe Morisot, on view through January 14, 2019. Morisot, who was one of a small number of female artists at the epicenter of the Impressionist movement, was also a true pioneer of form and technique.
Read MoreImani reviews Poorly Watched Girls, a series of multi-media environments created by Suzanne Bocanegra at the Fabric Workshop and Museum. This complex body of work, in turns mournful and playful, will be up through February 17, 2019.
Read MoreToday, we send love and thoughts to friends, family and colleagues who lost their loved ones in November: Victoria Donohoe, Willis (Nomo) Humphrey, and Susan Fenton.
Read MoreSydney Cox gets a visit from one of her favorite up-and-coming fiber artists, Ariel Posh. Here they discuss the recent Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) grad’s “thread paintings” and the age old question of craft’s relationship to gender. Read on and see below for recent examples of Posh’s intricate and often irreverent works. P.S. we’d like to say there’s something amazing in the Baltimore water. Celebrated artist and “MacArthur genius” awardee, Joyce Scott, whose work uses craft techniques (weaving, beading) to discuss serious representation of women and people of color, is a MICA graduate!
Read MoreTo break bread with someone is to forge an intimate bond. Here Logan Cryer interviews local artist and 2018 Leeway grantee, Shreshth Khilani about their participatory performance “Immigrant Kitchen,” which runs through Monday, December 3rd. Part dinner, part coming-out party, this project uses Hindu mythology and South Asian foods to create communion around tradition while opening up the possibility of change. See below for ticket details!
Read More
Support for Artblog has been provided by The Philadelphia Cultural Fund.