NEWS
Sad news – Ellsworth Kelly died, at age 92. Nice appreciation in the NY Times by Holland Cotter. Kelly was commissioned to do a sculpture for the new Barnes on the Parkway. And did you know Kelly was a birder and so is Cotter.
Milwaukee Art Museum News – MAM updates its galleries – with significant funding from local government. Way to go, Milwaukee!
PA Academy Fine Arts News – Re the Norman Lewis retrospective, which Andrea Kirsh told you about, PAFA is offering FREE admission on Sundays to celebrate ‘Procession’!
Whitney no more, It’s the Met Breuer – And they have programming for you, starting in March, 2016:
Major thematic survey, Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible, of unfinished works of art from the Renaissance to the present day
Monographic exhibition of Indian modernist artist Nasreen Mohamedi
Rarely seen, early photographs by Diane Arbus (opening July 2016)
Mid-career retrospective of the contemporary painter Kerry James Marshall (opening October 2016), with a complementary “artist’s choice” installation of works from the Met collection
Newly commissioned architectural photographs of four Marcel Breuer buildings (opening fall 2016)
Continuous in-gallery performances by resident artist Vijay Iyer, a newly commissioned sonic experience by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Luther Adams, and an all-day staging in the Met’s three locations of the U.S. premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s unfinished composition Klang
Philadelphia-Pittsburgh News – The Center for Emerging Visual Artists (CFEVA) collaborates with Pittsburgh Center for the Arts for a 2015 Pittsburgh/Philadelphia Exchange Exhibition, Feb. 1-Mar. 18, 2016. The show, at CFEVA’s gallery, is photographic works by Pittsburgh Center artist Joy Christiansen Erb.
Alexander Stadler curates a Philadelphia Art Alliance exhibition and pop up shop, Gepetto
Stadler, designer and owner of stadler-Kahn gallery and shop (if you haven’t been, you should go) guest curated the show “HomeWork: Asimina Chremos and Erin Endicott,” work in thread that requires intense concentration to make. Stadler, himself a maker of beautifully-designed and exquisitely-crafted scarves, blankets and rugs, knows from intense concentration in producing works of art.
The Pop up Shop, Gepetto, up through Jan. 3, includes…jewelry, including work by Gretchen Diehl, small felted sculptures by Heidi Bleacher, textiles by Alyse Bernstein, hand printed pillows and tote bags by Tim Eads and Liz McIlvaine, housewares and accessories by Masters of None, toys by Dona Dalton, one-of-a-kind holiday ornaments, scarves and socks designed by Alex Stadler, limited edition chocolate bars, and more.
OPPORTUNITY
Installation artists – Call for installations for the first annual Phoenixville Art Show at The Art Gallery at Franklin Commons. The theme is recycling; the show is June 11-12; $500 stipend; proposal deadline is Feb. 15. Very specific requirements for installations, so be sure to view the Call to Artists and email fc.curator@gmail.com with questions.
Via Gregory Walker of The Brothers’ Network – Program Administrative Assistant, Africa Regional Office, London, Open Society – More information here
ICA Open Video Call – Philadelphia-area artists and filmmakers, submit your videos to this open call and get the opportunity to screen your work in the ICA Ramp! This year’s jurors are artist Alex Da Corte; artist and filmmaker Tiona McClodden, Executive Director, Harriet’s Gun Media; and Bree Pickering, Executive Director, Vox Populi. Free to apply – Submissions due Jan. 4, 2016. Application is here.
Art in the Open 2016 – Call for Artists – City Parks Association, Center for Emerging Visual Artists, and the Fairmount Water Works are pleased to announce that the call for submissions is open from now through January 15, 2016! Apply here The outdoor exhibition appears in May, 2016 along the banks of the Schuylkill River. More information
ARTIST NEWS
Colin Keefe, co-director of Mt. Airy Contemporary, has a solo show, Methods for Breeding Urban Systems at Robert Henry Contemporary 56 Bogart St., Brooklyn NY 11206, Jan. 8 through Feb. 21, 2016 Opening reception: Jan. 8, 2016, 6-9pm
CURATOR NEWS
From Sarah Archer, former Curator at the Philadelphia Art Alliance
I’m delighted to announce that my new book, Mid-Century Mistletoe, will be out next fall from The Countryman Press and W. W. Norton & Company! All things Christmas (from 1945-1970) will be lovingly explored. Have you ever wondered how the Yule Log began its impressive TV career? Why someone would design an aluminum Christmas Tree? Or buy one? If How the Grinch Stole Christmas is actually a Cold War-era critique of American consumerism? Wonder no more.
Here’s where you come in: Over the next year, I’ll be sharing some sparkly gems from my research on Instagram and Tumblr. While you’re home for the holidays, browsing vintage shops, or reading up on holiday customs, if you stumble upon something wonderful and you’d like to see it online, send it my way! Be sure that it’s fair use to post whatever you send, include caption info and your Instagram username so I can tag you properly and give you credit.I wish each of you peace, love, and good design in 2016! More at Sarah’s Instagram.
