First Friday @ Rodger Lapelle Gallery

The Rodger Lapelle Gallery was one of my first gallery stops in Old City when I first visited from New York in 1994. Mr. Lapelle was very generous with his time and sent me across the street to Pentimenti where I had my first exhibition in Philadelphia. At the time I was doing representational paintings of body parts. You might not be able to tell that from my current work but I have a love for the painted figure in art.

This show that opens on First Friday includes artists: Eclaire, Cohen, Kinsella, Traub, Poole, McDonnell/Cortosi and more. You can learn more about the exhibition and each artist's work on the Lapelle site. As you will see, the show has work that ranges from very graphic (above from Karen McDonnell/Anthony Cortosi) to very classical, like the excellent work of painter Patricia Traub (top).

I am going rotate images from other artists in the show, so stop back.

They Get Me in Italy

le jardin de la poupee, a blog from Italy, posted my video Unearthing (I know, their title is in French). And I got a nice comment on Youtube from trujilla1, also from Italy.

While growing up, all my uncles, my grandfathers and my father had gardens, and some were pretty big. I had a love/hate relationship with gardens because there were times when it was all work, and as a child I would rather have been playing like the other kids instead of working. But there was nothing better than breaking open a fresh watermelon or taking sweet corn off the stalk and enjoying it right there in the field. I still keep a small vegetable garden in my yard and can't wait to start harvesting the first fruit.

Anyway it seems they get me in Italy, go figure.

Next up at Sage Projects

The current show Colorevolution runs trough Sunday, May 3.

Next up is Tenuous Magic Parts which opens Sunday, May 10, with the reception from 5-7. More details on the Sage Projects site.

COLORevolution Extended, Open on First Friday

Colorevolution will be extended through Sunday, May 3rd at Sage Projects, 333 South. This also means we will be open on First Friday until at least 8pm. $3 parking is available when you ask for a validation ticket.

Above, hybrid painting/scupltures on the upper level by David Foss.

Tim McFarlane in the Vault

Above, a photograph from This Moment, a piece Tim McFarlane painted on the walls of the Vault Room at the Bridgette Mayer Gallery. The work in the Vault will be on view through the month of May, The painting exhibition closes tomorrow, Saturday the 25th, so hurry up and catch it.

I taped Tim back in 2004, see the oldie but goodie videos below.

Part 1
Part 2

Corporate Collection

I am happy to announce that my painting, Untitled 739, a 64 x 96 inch piece, has been purchased for the collection of a corporate headquarters here in Pennsylvania. This is the second large piece that I have been fortunate enough to have included there. And, I want to thank the people that worked so hard on this project.

Open Studios May 2-3

915 Spring Garden artists will open their doors to the public on May 2 and 3 from noon to 5 pm. This is the 28th year that the public have been invited to visit the artist's studio to see what they are working on.

Above, collage by Giuseppe Riviera. Watch the first video made for Romanmovies back in 2004 featuring Giuseppe in his studio at 915.

Part 1
Part 2

Picasso @ Gagosian

When I say the word "cubism" I think of something old and corny. Picasso reminds me how wrong I am, just look at this painting for the MOSQUETEROS show at Gagosian, 522 West 21st Street, NY. You can see the show until June 6, 2009.

Watch Charlie Rose: A conversation about "Picasso: Mosqueteros" with Bernard Picasso and John Richardson.

More Inspiration - Stefan Löffelhardt

Artist Stefan Löffelhardt of Germany does some particularly interesting things with materials and space. Some of the images when in thumbnail size look like landscapes, or seascapes. But blown up they are actually photographs of colored plastics side by side. Other pieces hang and he also includes structural elements made of wood, foil and a multitude of other nice materials.

I originally saw the work at Contemporary Art Daily, which I have added to my links. I recommend going back through their archives.

From the Archives

I added an Archive section to my personal website with works made since 2001. Above, Untitled 410, 24 x 32 inches, mixed mediums on wood panel, 2004 by Vincent Romaniello.

Inspiration - Graham Rich

From the isendyouthis site...

Graham Rich lives and works on the River Exe. His voyages since 1985 are the subject of his art, just as art is the context of his sailing. The driftwood spewed up on the banks is, appropriately, the remains of boats, fragments of fish boxes, and storm damaged trees.

The PDF is well worth downloading, it has the amazing story behind this work. More images here on faslondon.com.

Kathryn Pannepacker @ MAD

Print/In Process: Artist Talk with Kathryn Pannepacker
Thursday April 16, 6:30 pm
Free with Thursday evening
pay-as-you-wish-admission
Museum of Arts and Design

Romanmovies on Kathryn Pannepacker (2004)
Quicktime versions
Part 1
Part 2
Youtube versions
Part 1
Part 2

Art at the Table

Scramble for Africa, by Yinka Shonibare, 2003, 14 figures, 14 chairs and table, mixed media, 52×192 x 110” as seen on Bomb.

Nic Coviello Evolving

This short video, shows the first phase of Nic Coviello's piece for the show COLORevolution at Sage Projects. Using the exhibition title as inspiration, Nic conceived of the idea of doing a wall painting that evolves throughout the course of the show. Stop by this Tuesday, April 14th from 12 to 6pm, to see Nic working on his piece. He made this movie to document the work in progress.

Play Movie

Unearthing: A True Story

Play Movie

Alonzo Davis and Ron Starr

Above, Close to the Beltway, from the "Passageway Series." mixed media collage on bambo, 72 x 50 x 5 inches by Alonzo Davis.

Alonzo Davis and Ron Starr
The Sande Webster Gallery
2006 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
May 8, 2009 - June 1, 2009
RECEPTION - Friday, May 8, 6-8 PM

Mecca Normal @ Nexus

Marisha Simons @ AI

Life Springs Eternal
Marisha Simons

"Life Springs Eternal" is an installation of hand screen-printed silk that celebrates spring and the adaptability of our natural world. It spotlights plant and animal species that are endangered in Pennsylvania.

The Art Institute of Philadelphia
1622 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia
April 8 - June 12
Reception Thursday, April 9, 5 to 7pm

Work at Sage Projects

The new show at Sage Projects opened Sunday. There was quite a nice turnout. The Project Space show is titled COLORevolution with artists, Karen Baumeister, Paul Behnke, Nic Coviello, James Erikson, and Michelle Marcuse. On the upper level the other 5 members of Sage have installed paintings, cut paper, sculpture, assemblages and works that defy labels. The show will run through the end of the month.

Above are some of the pieces that make up my part of the exhibition. The assemblages are made of cast-off materials, the painting are made using acrylic paint and gesso with take-out food trays as the supports.

J. Morgan Puett

Artist, J. Morgan Puett, lives and works in Pennsylvania and New York. Above, Wholesale to The Trade Only, 1985–1997. Installation at Alexander Gray Associates Gallery, 2006.

Below, new show at Space 1026.

Temple Sculpture @ The Ice Box

While helping Nic Coviello take his show down at Nexus we heard strange sounds emanating from the Ice Box down the hall. We had to see what was going on and walked through the show that opens tonight from 4-6 pm. It is billed as sculpture but there are a number of videos and there are photographs and passages of painting here and there.

The exhibition as a whole is greater than its parts. We all know that the Ice Box is the best space in town next to the ICA for contemporary art, so it has an advantage right away over the tiny gallery spaces so common in Philadelphia.

The anchor for the exhibition is a huge piece in the far left corner that goes from ceiling to floor. It seems like a tower with a bright sky made of flat, blue colored paper. I can't remember every artist's name but do remember that it was a collaborative piece by three artists.

There was an ice cream truck that I just saw at the Fleisher Challenge with slight variations. Piles of gravel (how many times can artists do this?), a larger than life figure, and a nice traditional abstract sculpture as you first walk in the door made by a recent grad. In fact, I would say that a large number of the 29 artists picked from the 100 considered for the show, graduated since 2000.

Sorry I don't have the artist's names, but when I got home and looked for information online the only name I uncovered was that of the curator Sarina Basta, curator of the Sculpture Center, Long Island City, NY. I did recognize a few artists but since I can't name everyone I would rather not mention any.

If you are in the neighborhood stop and take a look.