News

Roberta's shot of the Gee's Bend Quilters from 2008, now proudly included in a Craft in America episode. — Roberta’s shot of the Gee’s Bend Quilters from 2008, now proudly included in a Craft in America episode.

A shot Roberta took of the Gee’s Bend Girls at the PMA got a second life recently when Craft in America were captivated enough to use it in an episode, which aired this week, focusing on the topic of industry. The picture in question, showing the Gees Bend quilters singing at the PMA in their quilt exhibit a number of years back, was spotted by a sharp-eyed artist who saw the Gee’s Bend ladies singing at an exhibition and thought it would fit the episode perfectly.

Good tidings from former Philadelphia Art Alliance curator Sarah Archer, who’s been holding down some great writing for Hyperallergic! Get up to speed with her take on the Whitney Biennial.

Whether or not you’re looking to add to your collection, the next BAM Art Auction is coming and it’s worth checking out. Held in collaboration with Artsy and co-chaired by Carrie Mae Weems (also a donor), Beth Rudin DeWoody, and Mark Diker, visitors can expect to take in work by Maira Kalman, Alex Katz, Louise Lawler, Mickalene Thomas, Dustin Yellin and many more. You can check out the online auction now through May 5 on Artsy and the Artsy iPhone app, or through the interactive digital kiosks in the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House lobby and the BAM Fisher. The works can be viewed in person from May 3 to 5 at Whitebox Art Center, where the auction concludes on May 5 with a closing party and performance from 7 to 10pm. Wrapping up spectacularly, Artsy plans to install an Audra Wolowiec sound installation and a digital projection to display all live bids in real time as collectors from around the world participate in the auction online and on mobile devices.

The first student-curated exhibit at PAFA debuted last week, asking the students of “Museums: History and Practice,” to bring “The Spaces They Inhabit,” to life. Twenty-seven student artists total, led by art history professor Jennifer Zwilling produced amazing work for this show, which opened April 18. It’s up through June 22, 2014.

Opportunities

Don’t let the eventual heat discourage you from applying for a solo exhibition at NAPOLEON, to be mounted in July 2014. The show opens on the most patriotic of First Fridays, July 4, and closes July 25, with an opening reception on Friday, July 11. To apply, prepare a written proposal (300 words), a CV, an artist statement, and 5 images or 2 videos all saved as a single PDF. If you’re including video work, please include a hyperlink in the .pdf to youtube, vimeo, or other video hosting site. The chosen artist is responsible for all display materials, installation (June 30 – July 4 and deinstallation (July 26-27). A helpful look at the gallery dimensions and floor plan is on hand. Email materials to napoleon.philadelphia@gmail.com and title the email with your name and “July Show Submission 2014.” There is a $20 application fee via PayPal upon receipt of materials.

(e)merge Art Fair, a bustling international event in Washington D.C., has issued a call for entries, due May 30. Last year’s foot traffic saw more than 5,500 art supporters and works by 150 artists from 30 countries, to give you a sense of its scale. The 2014 edition of (e)merge takes place October 2 – 5, 2014 in Washington, DC, and includes the Phillips Collection’s Emerging Artist Prize, artist-run galleries, panels; and private off-site curatorial tours at Washington, D.C.’s major museums, plus a selection committee including Ai Weiwei, Mika Yoshitake,and Jeffreen M. Hayes. Applications are due Friday, May 30, 2014; successful applicants receive exhibition space in the fair’s Artist Platform at no charge, plus a complimentary day-pass to the fair.

And bringing it back home: a new call for proposals from Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site is out, with a deadline on June 18 for its 2015 season of site-specific artist installations. The maximum funding is $7,500 per project.

Artist News

New work by Douglas Witmer. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Catch Douglas Witmer in Off Line and On Mark, a show at Parallel Art Space in Ridgewood, NY. He’s featured alongside Alain Biltereyst, Katrin Bremermann, Erin Lawlor, Lael Marshall, Don Voisine and Michael Voss. The show runs from May 24 — June 22, 2014, with its opening reception, Saturday, May 24, 6-9pm.

2 from UDel – MFA students are out in force this spring. Featuring work by Coreena Affleck, Ashley Barber, Oscar Guerra, David Krevolin, Daisy Quezada, Michael Roche, Ian Sampson and Marian Stasiorowski, University of Delaware just opened an exhibition of eight MFA students. First up, A Place of Insight, curated by Austin Thomas, is open for business from May 4–May 18, 2014 at Pocket Utopia in NYC, with an opening reception on May 4, 6–8pm. The exhibition runs through Sunday, May 18, topped by a gallery talk Monday, May 5, 6pm with Sharon Louden, editor, Living and Sustaining a Creative Life, essays by forty living artists and Troy Richards, Associate Professor of Art at the University of Delaware. Then, there’s You Deserve To Be Happy at Little Berlin back home, from May 16 (opening reception from 5:30-9 PM)–May 29, 2014.

Abigail DeVille has landed new representation, this time in Paris and Brussels! Her new gallery, Michel Rein, places her alongside Saadane Afif, LaToya Ruby Frazier and Didier Faustino, among many exceptional others.