News

Historical Society of Pennsylvania President and newly-appointed Director of the National Portrait Gallery, Kim Sajet.

This week brings major accolades for Kim Sajet, currently the president and CEO of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and now the director of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.

A Portland gallery with a Philadelphia flavor opens: Amy Adams and John Ollman of Fleisher/Ollman Gallery have teamed up to open a new gallery in Portland, OR. Adams and Ollman, founded to showcase 20th century self-taught American artists and contemporary artists for Portland, opens with an exhibition of two and three-dimensional works by Philadelphia artist Bill Walton. The show is on view from March 1–April 27, 2013.

Between this, the recent Belknap/McCartney exhibition at the icebox, and repurposed beater bikes on the sidewalks, it seems like trash, our city’s unfortunate stock in trade, is getting its 15 minutes of fame. The Taxonomy of Trash, a new project by Tim Eads, launches tonight at 6pm at the Art Alliance; check their site for event info. They’ve also gotten themselves mentioned on the Animal NY site.

Stick ten candles in a vegan cupcake for the Green Line Cafe: it’s the West Philly’s beloved coffeehouse’s 10th Anniversary! Founders Douglas Witmer and Daniel Thut invite you to a party on Friday, February 15 from 4-8pm at its flagship location at the corner of 43rd Street and Baltimore Avenue. Coffee and birthday cake are on the house while supplies last, along with door prizes and a slide show of the history of the Green Line. Patrons can also help decorate a giant birthday card, and, for those who are history- and neighborhood-minded, throughout 2013 add their own photos and memories and interact with the Green Line’s web-based anniversary projects on Instagram and website. More special “10th Anniversary” events are planned for later in the year.

Opportunities

Sweating at the thought of putting your teaching artist statement out into the world? No fear – the Bartol Foundation has you covered with a Marketing Working Group-Teaching Artist Statement workshop on Thursday, February 21 from 9:30-12. Led by Michelle Angela Ortiz, Program Manager of the Bartol Foundation (and experienced Teaching Artist), participants draft a teaching artist statement that reflects a unique point of view and ‘product,’ and offers ample opportunities to work through a template, draft a statement, and then collaborate with peers for feedback. Bring a laptop or just some paper and a pen. To register click here.

Artist News

In addition to the raft of NYC shows previously mentioned, Steven Baris has another one, a three-person show at DM Contemporary in New York, opening February 15. SUBURBIA REVISITED includes work from his Exurban Archipelago Project, which we wrote about last year.

Alex Paik, Prelude and Fugue (Triangles and Dots), 2012, gouache, colored pencil, marker, paper, 9"x9"x2". — Alex Paik, Prelude and Fugue (Triangles and Dots), 2012, gouache, colored pencil, marker, paper, 9″x9″x2″.

Alex Paik, a founders of Tiger Strikes Asteroid, celebrates the opening of his first Chelsea show on Thursday, February 14, titled Fun & Whimsy at Nancy Margolis Gallery.

Jaime Treadwell had some warm words for us in a recent interview with Blue Canvas, where he spoke about his work and Philly’s status as “New York’s sixth borough.” This is a designation I think we can all agree is quite nice.

"Woodpeckers," by sculptor-turned-painter Ann Chabhandour. — “Woodpeckers,” by sculptor-turned-painter Ann Chabhandour.

Ann Chahbandour, whose otherwordly and entrancing work has had us captivated for ages, is one of the exhibitors in “Encountering Nature,” a new show at Towson University’s Center for the Arts gallery. The show is up today, and runs through April 5.