Here it is almost December and the inbox is flooded with new shows opening, many of them with small works or art priced to move for the holiday season. Buy art not war. I’ll tell you about a few but check the inliquid site or newsletter for comprehensive and accurate listings.
Staten Island digression
But first a real estate story from Staten Island that came in yesterday. Tattfoo Tan, Malaysian-born, New York artist whose art appeared in both a group show and in a solo exhibit at Peng Gallery in the last year wrote to say that he and his wife/partner were profiled for a story in the NY Times. Read. It’s a sweet story with nice pix of the big space they live in in Staten Island. And there’s a nice multi-media piece where you can hear the artist and his wife speaking about their space. Tan says he’s having another show at Peng in 2006, and we’ll let you know when that’s scheduled. See what we said about his Peng exhibits here and here and here’s my Weekly short review. (image is the Tans in an x-mas e-card they sent me.)
Openings, Openings, Openings
It’s in the Water
…from John Freeborn, 222 Gallery has a new group show “Something in the Water” opening Dec. 2 with many Space 1026 names on the list. But hold your hats, there’s not one woman in the show, according to the e-card I got. Hey guys, what gives with that? Maybe it’s a fishing and hunting show? Even so, we girls have something to say about that. I love many, many of these artists but I wish somebody had put a few ladies in the mix.
Here’s the lineup for the show: Jeff Wiesner, Nick Derosa, John Freeborn, Adam Crawford, Adam Wallacavage, Joe Frantz, Isaac Lin, Ben Woodward, Andrew Jeffrey Wright, Jim Houser, John Lange, Dave Delaney, Brian Lynch, Don Khaler, Jesse Geller, Dan Murphy.
Print Center: emerging and obscura
Richard Torchia‘s solo exhibit “Sun Pictures and Other Broken Images” opens Thursday, Dec. 1 at the Print Center. (opening is 5:30-7:30 pm) It’s been a while since the artist/curator has shown his own work (he’s too busy organizing all that great programming up at Arcadia U). So this will be a nice chance to see what he’s up to.
In addition, the Center’s organized a companion show that sounds excellent: “On My Own: Recent Philadelphia Graduates.” Featured are Craig Mateyunas, Althea Murphy-Price, Zoe Soslow and Sarah Stolfa. The artists will talk about their work at 5 pm before the opening. We’ve sung the praises of a couple of these young’ens and you can find their names in our artist’s index. I’ll link it up for you later.
Bambi postcard art show
The recently-opened gallery and retail space Bambi, run by Candace Karch and Rachel Braun at 1817 Frankford Ave. in Fishtown is having a great-sounding cheap-art show opening Friday: Postcards for $5. Opening is 6 pm-9:30 pm. Check out Bambi’s fun pink-framed website with the nodding-headed Bambis on board. And speaking of affordable, Bambi carries a line of Takatomo Tomita‘s cast resin figurines, $45 per. More info: 215.423.2668
Speaking of First Friday, hey
Many, many things will open. I’m looking forward to seeing the jewels in the Becker Gallery crown, those small enamel on wood objects by David Goerk that appear every so often and make me salivate. The artist’s reception is Sat. Dec. 10, 5-8 pm. But my information is that the work will be up Dec. 2, First Friday. (image is Goerk’s “Farm” 2005, encaustic and enamel on wood)
I’m also dying to see the muscular prints of Peter Gourfain at Projects Gallery opening First Friday with the Northern Liberties Dance Band playing at 9 pm. Gourfain is a friend/mentor/teacher of Paul Santoleri, who, by the way, also shows at Projects and right now has one of the best painting and drawing installations ever at the Painted Bride. (I’m biased as you know, I wrote the brochure essay). Santoleri, whom I ran into at the Romania Reconsidered exhibit told me by the way that he’ll be having a First Friday opening at the Bride with music and, he hopes, projections of images on the walls. Santoleri is working on a new mural at 49th and Woodlands in West Philly. That would be two 100 ft. long walls, he said, with landscape from Utah! (Utah? he spent some time there) Definitely a drive-by opportunity. (image is Gourfain’s “Smoke (A Hammer),” a linocut print)
And that doesn’t account for what’s already open (Spector‘s fantastic drawing show; the great abstract works by Sean and Enrico Riley at Pageant and more).
And, wouldn’t you know, there’s more..new…openings…the next week and the week after that! Uncle!! We’ll try to tell you about it in another post.
