NEWS
Gallery News #1 – Letter to the Editor from Sharon Ewing, Director, Gross McCleaf Gallery
I am writing in response to the commentary that accompanied Artblog’s news post regarding Bridgette Mayer’s announcement of a conversion from a public gallery to a private gallery and project space. I admire Bridgette Mayer’s energy and innovation and wish her well in her new endeavors but I have thoughts I would like to share regarding the role of publicly accessible commercial art galleries in Philadelphia.
It was stated in your commentary that “maybe the 21st Century model where gallerists forgo spaces, become nomadic, and work as curatorial managers on behalf of artists will prove healthy for both the artists and the gallerists.” I would like to address the ‘maybe’ and remind us of what will be lost should traditional, ‘white-box’ gallery public spaces no longer be a part of the Philadelphia art scene. Commercial galleries, such as Gross McCleaf, provide the public with the opportunity to see art and to meet artists. This accessibility takes the form of consistent hours when the galleries are open and convenient, central locations with exhibitions that change on regular and reliable schedules. The galleries provide openings and receptions where the public has an opportunity to meet and talk with exhibiting artists. An appointment is not required to enter.
A commercial gallery is not a museum. It is a space where work by living, practicing, and active artists is experienced by collectors, artists, visitors to the city, students, and any other type of art lover. A public gallery is many times a primary point of interaction for people to see original contemporary artwork in person and to envision the possibility that this kind of experience could be continued by bringing artwork into their homes or offices. The gallery allows the opportunity for people to experience a work of art in person rather than be mediated by photography and computer screens. Supplementing this direct experience, galleries provide a staff that is available for conversation and information. There is no admission charge for the shows at commercial galleries and art lovers who benefit from the opportunity to engage the works may then become customers, but a purchase is not required. In a city that supports five art schools, the opportunity for artist and art students to see original artworks by mentors and peers and to discuss, question, and support one another is both desirable and necessary. To this end, the public/commercial gallery is an important component of a healthy and vital arts community in Philadelphia. Its presence should not be taken for granted or underappreciated and its absence would surely be felt.
Respectfully,
Sharon Ewing, Director/OwnerGross McCleaf Gallery
127 South 16th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
215-665-8138
Gallery News #2 – New Latino Art Gallery RACSO FINE ARTS in South Philly –
Artblog Board member, Gilda Kramer and husband Sam Adenbaum discovered a new gallery I am excited to hear about and to pass along to you in case you don’t know of it. RASCO Fine Arts shows Latino artists works and is a passion project of the owner, explained Lillie Carabello, gallery rep, in an email:
RACSO Contemporary Arts has been open a little over a year now. We exclusively represent Latin American artists. The gallery owner, Oscar Villamil, wanted to enhance the perception of the Latin American artist. This venture has been part of a community outreach. He is an interior architect and this is his passion. — Lillie Carabello
RASCO FINE ARTS Gallery is at 1935 East Passyunk Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19148-2225. Here’s a little more information in the Passyunk Post. The August exhibition, opening Aug. 6, 4PM – 9PM, includes new works by Jose Ortiz Pagan and Ada Trillo, and works by other gallery artists.
Wonderful News – Pepon Osorio nominated by President Obama to National Council on the Arts!
President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:
Janette L. Dates – Member, Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Mary Ellen Barbera – Member, Board of Directors of the State Justice Institute
John D. Minton, Jr. – Member, Board of Directors of the State Justice Institute
Joseph R. Donovan, Jr. – Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia, Department of State
Pepón Osorio – Member, National Council on the Arts
John A. Herrera – Member, National Credit Union Administration Board
Grant T. Harris – Member, United States Institute of Peace Board
Mighty Writers aims for Guinness Gold!. Says Tim Whittaker, Executive Director,
Our big DNC event is Tuesday, July 26, 10am, on the steps of the Art Museum, where we plan to set a new world record for most kids ages seven to 17 writing in the same place at the same time. ….. More from the website:
Our topic, “If I Were President…”
The date: Tuesday, July 26 at 10am.
Where: The steps of the Art Museum.
Two simple requirements: You have to be between the ages of seven and 17.
And you have to sign up here.
Mighty, or what!
Artblog favorite artists in summer shows #1 – Pap Souleye Fall in gorup show at New Boon(e) – reception tonight, July 19, 4 – 6:30 PM
The Tyler School of Art Summer Painting and Sculpture Intensive (SPI/SSI) ispleased to announce its 2016 Summer Group Show titled, Powdered Mass…
Powdered Mass will be up from July 18th to July 21st.Opening Reception will be July 19th from 4:00-6:30 PM. See Facebook event page for New Boon(e) address and more.
This exhibition is the culmination of the seven-week program and features work made during that time.
This year’s SPI/SSI class was culled from the largest group of applicants in the program’s history and their work includes drawing, installation, painting, performance and sculpture.
Artists in the show are: Marissa Boyer, Sally Caruso, Andrew Cerami, Pap Souleye Fall, Noah Huber, Olivia Jia, Bingyu Jiang, Emily Kraus, Cara Miller, Sam Ritter, Amy Rosenberg and Reese Takkunen.
Artblog favorite artists in summer shows #2 — Gabrielle Patterson in RAW Artists show at the Trocadero, tomorrow, Wednesday, July 20.
Gabrielle was one of Artblog’s Artist and Social Responsibility students in 2015. She graduated from UPenn in 2015 and continues to live and work in Philadelphia. She is an awesome up and coming artist. Here’s more information on the exhibit she is in: RAW:PHILADELPHIA PRESENTS REVEAL — WED JUL 20TH @7:00PM EDT — THE TROCADERO THEATRE [1003 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. Tickets are $20 presale or $25 at the door. Get a ticket here.
Artblog favorite artists in summer shows #3 — Blaise Tobia and Virginia Maksymowicz, who brought us the T+M Gallery (recently closed) in the Vox building, are showing work in Italy. More from T+M:
Blaise Tobia, will be having a solo show, “La Scomparsa d’Italia/The Disappearence of Italy,” at ARCI Arcobaleno in Rome, Italy, opening September 12, 2016 through October.
Blaise will also be teaching a two-week intensive course in Rome for Drexel University called, “Recording Rome.”
Virginia Maksymowicz, will be having a solo show, “Sovrimpressioni Architettoniche/Architectural Overlays,” at SACI Gallery in Florence, Italy, from September 5 to October 16, 2016. <http://www.saci-florence.edu/exhibition_details.php?id=233>
A feature article about Virginia’s work just came out in the July/August issue of Sculpture Magazine.
Help the Icebox Project Space and Marginal Utility’s David Dempewolf and Yuka Yokayama fund the Aug/Sept. blockbuster show, Unlisted, in the Icebox, which brings together artists and curators for an in-depth look at art making today.
Please join us for a BBQ fundraiser as we prepare for our Aug-Sept exhibition, Unlisted. There will be plenty of food and drinks with a sliding scale admission of $7-$40. MENU TBA.
Rumors of a dunktank too.
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Unlisted, Aug- Sept, The Icebox Project Space
Organized by Yuka Yokoyama, David Dempewolf, Ryan McCartney, and Tim BelknapThe Icebox Project Space and Marginal Utility are proud to present Unlisted, a unique art fair setting that focuses on curation through a thoughtful interplay between 13 spaces arranged by Philadelphia based curators, gallerists and artists.
Each of the 13 spaces will present a small autonomous exhibition that converses with its direct neighbor as well as the entire Icebox space, expanding out to a broader consideration of the current climate of Philadelphia’s established and growing arts communities. Complete information at the Facebook event page.
OPPORTUNITIES
Current openings at PAFA Complete information here.
Dean of Enrollment
Retail Manager
Admissions Counselor
Art Educator
Art Historian
Call for Figure Models
Development Events Assistant
Digital Reference Photography Instructor
Seasonal Admissions Associate(s)
Social Sciences Instructor
Open Call – Flat File program at TSA Brooklyn
TSA New York (Brooklyn, NY) presents an opportunity for artists to participate in the fourth year of our annual Flat File Program. The 2016-2017 program will run for one full year, from December 2016 through November 2017. The program will kick off with an event in our gallery in December 2016 comprised of works selected from the new season’s flat file.
Individual works from the Flat File Program will be selectively highlighted throughout the year in the gallery, on our website, through social media (Facebook/Instagram) as well as shared as part of our press releases with our mailing list; the Flat File will also be accessible to gallery visitors for browsing. Works included in the Flat File Program will be available for purchase throughout the year on our website. The Flat File will be on view during the heavily trafficked 2017 Bushwick Open Studios weekend, concurrently with our regularly scheduled exhibition.
Save the Date – Live-Streamed Symposium on Artists’ Interventions in Museum Collections — Oct. 27, 2016
One-day symposium at the Cobra Museum of Modern Art (Amstelveen, NL) in collaboration with the University of Amsterdam, Thursday 27 October 2016
Key-note speaker: Paul O’Neill (Director Graduate Program, Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, New York)
Critically investigating of the phenomenon of artists’ interventions in museum collections, based on various case studies.
The Cobra Museum of Modern Art organizes a symposium on the tendency within the curatorial field to engender dialogue between contemporary art and museum collections. Within the Netherlands for instance the Cobra Museum in recent years established the ‘Cobra Open Collection Programme’ (COP), within which various artists have been invited to respond to the material and immaterial heritage of the Cobra group. Among others, the Museum de Hallen regularly works with a similar approach. The symposium aims to create the opportunity for museum professionals, independent curators, art critics, art historians and artists critically to explore the new readings and interpretations that are opened up by such approach, as well as the potential downsides.
Paul O’Neill, Director of the Graduate Program, Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College (New York) is the key-note speaker. In his lecture ‘To Recollect, to Research, to Educate or to Revise: Artists Turning a Museum into an Exhibition’, he takes his recently inaugurated project ‘We are the Center… for Curatorial Studies’ at the Hessel Museum of Art as a starting point to discuss various aspects of the phenomenon of artists’ interventions in museum collections. Although perhaps a now popular tendency, we are not highlighting a new phenomenon. Christa-Maria Lerm Hayes, Professor in the History of Modern and Contemporary Art at the University of Amsterdam will therefore address the topic from a historiographical point of view.
Hilde de Bruijn, curator at the Cobra Museum introduces the Cobra Open Collection Programme. Maria Pask and Frederique Bergholtz explore their project ‘A Way of Making’ (Cobra Museum, 2014), while the Danish artists’ duo Bank & Rau present a visual contribution that creates insight into their working process for the installation ‘Brutal Vitality’, currently on view. Independent curator and author Anik Fournier critically analyses some of the works that came into existence in the framework of the Cobra Open Collection Programme. Poet, writer and artist Maria Barnas discusses her recent work experience involving the collection of Museum de Hallen, as well as her intervention into the (book) collection of the Rijksakademie.
There is plenty of time for Q&A with artists and participants. Last but not least Christiane Berndes (Head of Collections, Van Abbemuseum) and Anke Bangma (Curator Photography and Contemporary Art, National Museum of World Cultures) function as critical respondents at the end of the day. The programme ends with a drink and performance in the installation of Bank & Rau.
The symposium will be live streamed, which includes the possibility to participate in the Q&A. You can make use of hashtag #makingcurrent
Reservations: http://www.cobra-museum.nl/nl/tickets.html
