A sign in a gallery window says, "Procession Gallery" in black latter on white painted board. Address is 30 S. 2nd St. Philadelphia. — Procession Gallery sign by Henry Murphy. Image courtesy of the writer (Beth Heinly)

Login to your instagram, there’s a new painting gallery in town. Procession Gallery is located at 30 S. 2nd St, a late 19th century storefront, open weekends or by appointment (DM them on Instagram). There’s no website. Their inaugural show opened First Friday in November and closes this weekend December 8th(!). There are still some paintings available to purchase from this lovely group of painters, who are friends and past students of PAFA, curated by Graham Cuddy (Director) who also has paintings in the show. The show’s titled “The Painter and the City,” and I was turned onto the exhibit by two exhibiting painters whose paintings I give many likes to on the gram, Henry Murphy and Ana Grace Neifeld.

A painting shows a train yard with contemporary trains sitting waiting for their turn in the yard, which is filled with telephone and electrical poles with wires crisscrossing. — “Switch Yard” by Ana Grace Neifield. Image courtesy Beth Heinly

The title of the exhibit does not disappoint. There are in fact paintings of the city, specifically Philadelphia where most of these artists live and work. The handwritten title cards throughout the exhibit, some with giant red dots, are a charming touch. True to form, the painterly, en plein air-style works, by necessity are mostly small canvases. The largest work hangs nearly 8 feet long (I lost my title sheet), “Line of Flight” by Henry Murphy, which was such a treat to see as I’ve only seen Henry paint smaller canvases. Graham (the Gallery director) informed me they pretty much “stole” the painting “Line of Flight” from Henry, who has been working on it, on and off for 3 years now. I’m guessing it’s still not done. What I like about it at the moment is catching many of Henry’s smaller works confidently composed throughout the painting against the struggle of mastering a large scale composition. It’s very exciting to see a painter you like working on something.

A large (8 ft. long) painting shows a jumble of humans in an urban landscape that is bleak, colorless, and hearkens back to the Great Depression of the 1920s. — “Line of Flight” by Henry Murphy image courtesy of Beth Heinly

A cropping of a larger street scene painting, this shows a street sweeper, and in back, a road and infrastructure working beside an open manhole, all segmented off by roads, sidewalks, buildings and alleyways. — “Line of Flight” Detail. by Henry Murphy image courtesy of Beth Heinly

A painting shows an urban scene, Logan Square in Philadelphia, with tall residential buildings in the background and the center filled with a lush green space and a fountain, all surrounded by a roadway with one lone scooter driver going around the green circle. — “Logan Square” by Henry Murphy. Image courtesy of Beth Heinly

Most of the painters in the exhibit are bringing back painterly styles of Impressionism-come-Post Impressionism to German Expressionism to French Fauvism to our 2024 Philadelphia city landscapes. These painters know their painting. Expect light captured on canvas as flickering, fluorescent, speckled, foggy, brisk, and the brushstrokes loose and confident. It truly is like taking a walk in the city. There are a couple artists who do not fit so squarely with everyone else. Graham Cuddy has a work in the back of the gallery veering from Impressionism with an interest in Pointillism and OpArt. Another of his works “7/11” aptly applies to the previously mentioned “fluorescent” descriptor. Tali Burry Schnepp’s “From Christians Roof” gets the aforementioned “brisk.” Alex Cohen, another standout painter in the show who hails from Bucks County has a surreal Expressionist palette all their own in their landscapes.

A painting of an urban scene shows buildings in various muted shades and a sky a dark grey blue, with deep shadows cast from e building onto another and in the foreground what looks like an elevated rail with no train on it. — “From Christians Roof” by Tali Burry Schnepp. Image courtesy of Beth Heinly

A dark-hued painting with an intricate diamond pattern sits horizontally on a wall. — Graham Cuddy. Image courtesy of Beth Heinly

Do give Procession Gallery a follow @processiongallery. I expect many more painting exhibits from a close knit community of painters to come from this space, and if the inaugural show promises anything it is that if you find and follow these artists online, you will have a wealth of follows in your future.

“The Painter and The City” Alex Cohen, Ana Neifeld, Angus Ryan, Calli Ryan, Graham Cuddy, Henry Murphy, Holly Dudley, Jake Weiss, Kelly Micca, Moss Collins, Sofie Sierra, Tali Burry Schnepp

If you miss the inaugural show, December 15th 11-5pm Procession Gallery will host a one day Holiday pop-up show with works available at $500 and below that features a number of the artists in their inaugural show, plus many more.

See Beth Heinly’s 3:00 Book comics on Artblog. Read Beth’s “Ask Artblog” advice columns, also on Artblog.

New gallery, Procession, introduces plein air painters with charming, gritty depictions of Philadelphia

By Beth Heinly December 3, 2024

Beth Heinly sees the inaugural exhibit, "The Painter and The City," at Procession Gallery, 30 S. 2nd St. and applauds the plein air works and their brushy fresh takes on the city. Commenting on their painterly styles, she said, "Expect light captured on canvas as flickering, fluorescent, speckled, foggy, brisk, and the brushstrokes loose and confident." The exhibit closes this Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. But coming up on Sunday, Dec. 15, 11am - 5pm, Procession has a one-day Holiday Show with all works priced at $500 or less. Check it out. Links below!