I’ll echo what Libby said below, that is, when running around Old City the other day to look at art, I too had the feeling that many works were treading water. It’s like there’s a spark missing these days from work appearing in Philadelphia. Everything’s all very well done but …is it me or has somebody popped the balloon?
That said, I did get excited when I saw Romi Sloboda’s Korean-influenced prints and collages at LaPelle. (image, left, is “Offering Jar,” mixed media, collage on canvas) Beautiful and full of dignity, the mixed-media prints and collographs had a decorative edge. But in their accomplished play with materials and their obvious adherence to old-world art-making (most of the images were of jars), they were seriously contemplative. Technique alone made me want to get up close and keep looking (what looked like hand-made paper was worked both sides and occasionally had collage elements like string).
Then there was a series of small works on mylar that was a complete surprise. (image, right, “Grass and Shadows Black Variation” silkscreen, collage)
Not only did these works not adhere to the eastern motif, but with their edgy, agitated ambiance, they were contemporary as today’s news. Nice range in a solo show.
