Judith Stein’s 20-year labor of love, the book “Eye of the Sixties,” came out this summer and it’s great. The biography follows the life of enigmatic gallerist, Richard Bellamy, from his rise from college dropout/lost boy/self-taught poet and art lover in the 1950s to the global tastemaker he had become in the 1960s and 70s to his death in 1998 at age 70.
Read MoreAs someone who knows and has seen these artists develop their practice, I find many artistic commonalities and formal intersections in the show. In the pairings on view in the multi-room space at Vox, the strongest is undoubtedly the collaboration between Alber and Caponera. PLAYDATE #3 is the work of five months of teamwork, planning, and camaraderie.
Read MoreArmchair travelers! I am with you. Longing for travel, I return to pictures of previous trips, like this one of the Rapeseed flowers growing in Germany seen from a speeding TGV train going to Paris. (Rapeseed plants are used to make canola oil.) I told you about the trip in 2013. The colors are somehow cheerful and the suggestion of open space is refreshing for urban eyeballs.
Read MoreArtblog Board member, Gilda Kramer and husband Sam Adenbaum discovered a new gallery I am excited to hear about and share with you in case you haven’t heard of it. RASCO Fine Arts shows Latino artists and is a passion project of the owner, explained Lillie Carabello, speaking on behalf of the gallery.
Read MoreRosa Leff’s papercuts push the boundaries of the two-dimensional world. Inspired by children’s books and political cartoons, her illustrations are painstakingly crafted shape-shifters that trick the eye, at times evoking a relief print with fine line work and deep contrast. It’s upon close inspection that the separation of the cut image from it’s backing creates a landscape of shadows that makes the work reside in neither the two nor three-dimensional realm.
Read MoreThe commercial gallery scene in Philadelphia has always been vulnerable and subject to market whims and weak collector base, but maybe the 21st Century model where gallerists forgo spaces, become nomadic and work as curatorial managers on behalf of artists will prove healthy for both the artists and the gallerists. I hope so. Artblog has watched Bridgette Mayer and her gallery grow and adapt and continually refresh over the years. Bridgette, I wish you the best!
Read MoreArtblog favorite, Anthony (TC) Campuzano, curates a show in his home town of Lansdowne, PA, a Philly suburban town so small you might miss it when driving west out Baltimore Pike. Beyond Cold Polished Stones is a show with a lot of ties to Anthony — his childhood babysitter (and Tyler graduate) is in the show; the architect of his parents’ home is in the show. And on July 4, the artist/curator will be walking in the Lansdowne 4th of July parade — it’s a family tradition (his father is Mayor)
Read MoreDespite all the technical know-how that goes into producing this work, there is something distinctly painterly about Portlock’s approach to image-making. and his futuristic landscapes owe a great deal to the golden age of American landscape painting in the nineteenth century. What separates Portlock’s work from the Hudson River School’s optimism is the artist’s pragmatic engagement with the difficult issues facing many American cities in the 21st century, such as the growing socioeconomic divide between rich and poor, the housing crisis, and environmental degradation. He presents a vision of Philadelphia that is terrifyingly realistic, for depending on where you live, litter-filled streets and boarded-up buildings are all too familiar. As a new resident, I still see the scars of poverty and gentrification that crisscross the city, but exposure and familiarity can blunt the impact of painful reality. Bringing together historical references, contemporary issues, and digital technology, he helps us to see our city with new eyes.
Read More
