I went to an exhibition at Rowan University Art Gallery a couple of weeks ago to see an exhibition called Earth Offerings: Honoring the the Gardeners, that featured the ceramics and mixed media of Syd Carpenter
Press here for more information on Syd Carpenter and the work in this exhibition which closes on March 26, 2022. If you can’t make it in person, you can take a virtual tour by video here.
Some pictures from the one hundredth and twenty third annual student exhibition at Fleisher Art Memorial. Click on each picture to see the artist and the name of the work.
Some selected works from Fleisher’s 122nd annual Faculty Show. The works this year range from oils and photography to collage, prints, mosaic, mixed media, sewing and ceramics,
The show closes on September 24, so you still have time to check it out in person. Fleisher is located at 719 Catharine St, Philadelphia, PA 19147. For more information, press here.
Last week’s post which included a link to a film about the artist Judy Chicago got me thinking. If being an artist is challenging, being a woman artist is even more so. I saw a great exhibit at the Tate Modern a couple of years ago on the Guerilla Girls and one of my favorite parts of the show was their Advantages of Being a Woman Artist Poster. You can get a look at it here. And Jane Dunnewold has produced another excellent video, this one on Women Abstract Expressionists. You can watch that here.
I was not familiar with the work of Mildred Greenberg although I had known her daughter, Susan for many years and at one time we had even worked in the same office. Ancient history. We fell out of touch and the years passed. Then we got reacquainted, this time through my husband. And before the Coronavirus shut everything down, Susan invited us to the opening of a retrospective of her mother’s work presented by InLiquid, a Philadelphia Arts organization, ELECTRICITY: From the Mind of Mildred Greenberg.
Mildred Elfman Greenberg hailed from Philadelphia and much of her early work was produced for the W.P.A.s Federal Art Project during the Depression. Her bio from the British Museum, one of the many museums that have her work in their collection reads as follows. Painter and printmaker. Born as Elfman to Russian immigrant father and American mother in Philadelphia, where lived most of her life. Married Samuel Greenberg. Graduated from Moore Institute of art and Design in 1934; WPA 1940. No work between end WWII and 1974. That’s thirty years without making art. I believe at this time that the family had relocated from Philadelphia to California. It’s my understanding that Greenberg resumed her art career after moving back to Philadelphia in the 1970’s.
Later work
You can read more about Mildred Elfman Greenberg here.
I went to a couple of great exhibits this year before the coronavirus shut the museums. One of them, Off the Wall: American Art to Wear, at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, was especially enjoyable.
While I’ve never been a fashionista, I’ve always loved colorful, striking clothing. I grew up in the 70’s with a mother who thought that Leslie Fay was a fashion icon. Oh, dear. This made for some interesting discussions best left to memory. But a lot of people felt like my Mother.
There has always been art clothing, but usually not for the hoi polloi like me and my Mother who were expected to wear sensible “uniforms” and not stand out. That seemed to change in the late 60’s and early 70’s when brighter colors became acceptable, tie dye was all the rage, and the hand-made movement took off. I think that the American art clothing movement was a product of this, and it has definitely left a mark on what we wear today.
Some of my favorite pieces from the exhibit:
There is a saying somewhere that an article of clothing does not qualify as couture unless a dozen nuns went blind making it. So I was amused to learn that nuns taught Mary Ann Schildknecht how to embroider while she was serving a two-year prison sentence in Italy for hashish trafficking. The result is this astounding top and skirt, above.
I first saw this cape and hat by Susanna Lewis in an issue of Ornament Magazine years ago. Ornament is the best magazine if you are interested in art clothing.
Double click on the pictures to get a look at the full sized versions of this headdress and cape by Debra Rappaport. They are made entirely of found objects.
Knitwear
This is just a sampling of the wonderful articles of clothing displayed in the exhibit. The Philadelphia Museum of Art has put together an exhibition book which you can order here. There’s also a real interesting out-of-print book on the Art to Wear movement, Art to Wear by Julie Schafler Dale. You can order a used copy here. Julie Shafler Dale ran a gallery in Manhattan for a number of years that was known for showcasing innovative crafts and new craft mediums (including polymer) before they made their way into the mainstream. The Julie Artisans Gallery is closed now, but you can read about it here. You can read about the Levis Art Denim Contest and see the winning entries here. If you would like more information on Off the Wall: American Art to Wear, click here and here and here.
Fleisher Art Memorial cancelledl the closing ceremony for its 122nd annual Student Exhibition because of the Coronavirus. That didn’t stop me from taking pictures of some of my favorite entries.
Pottery and Ceramics
Painting
Works on Paper and Prints
Fiber Art and Mixed Media and Mosaics
Sandrine Sheon won the Student Advisory Council award for her ceramic piece, Credit None, Trash Walk, 2019
This is my contribution, Eleanor Rigby’s Secret Jar.
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I’ve started a new semester at the Fleisher Art Memorial but can’t do much in the pottery studio because of my hand (surgery next month). But I went there today anyway to check out the 121st (yes, you read that right) Annual Faculty Exhibition which is in full swing and will be open for another week. Here are some highlights from the show.
There are many other fine works in the show which closes on September 21, 2019. Don’t miss it if you are in South Philadelphia.
I have always loved children’s art. This years’ Young Artists Exhibition at Fleisher Art Memorial is a must see for any Children’s art aficionado.
The Young Artists Exhibition runs through August 2, 2019. To learn more about the exhibition, press here. To learn more about about Ella King Torrey press here.
Two weeks ago, I hopped the Market-Frankford El to the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia in search of the Boston Street Gallery. The Boston Street Gallery is about a mile from the York-Dauphin El stop. I had occasion to visit this neighborhood on a regular basis in another life, but I had not back for many years. It certainly has changed.
I went to the Boston Street Gallery to attend the opening of a show called Lyrical Perceptions which includes work by Wayne Cambern. I met Wayne at the open pottery studio at Fleisher Art Memorial. Like me, he was getting back into pottery after a multi-year hiatus. But his primary interests are drawing and painting. So I jumped at the chance to see his other work when he told me about the show.
The urge to make art has been with me for as long as I can remember. I love color, design and craftsmanship in its many manifestations. I hope this quest to make something that qualifies as art speaks to the viewer. –Wayne Cambern
My big regret in writing this post is that my pictures simply cannot convey the mastery of Wayne’s drawings and portraits. In order to get the full effect, you will have to visit the show which runs until December 1, 2018. In the meantime, I will let the pictures speak for themselves.
We drove across the state last week to attend the opening of Into The Forest. There was so much to look at! And the opening was packed. I’m glad I was able to go back to the gallery the next day and get another look. I was constantly seeing things I hadn’t noticed the night before. What a treat! But I’m afraid I have run out of words about now so here are some pictures from Into The Forest.
You can buy the exhibition catalog which contains a picture of every contribution along with the name and locale of the artists. For more information, press here. But the pictures and the catalog are not a substitute for walking into the forest yourself. The exhibit runs until December 3 and is worth a trip to Pittsburgh.
Ornamento 