| Why the 'U.S.S. Olympia' matters |
August 16 2010 |
I was shocked to learn that scuttling may be the fate of the cruiser Olympia, Admiral Dewey’s flagship at the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898. It’s the world’s oldest steel warship afloat. It’s also the sole surviving example of a turning point in America’s life as a nation.
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| Charles Burchfield at the Whitney in New York |
July 13 2010 |
For Charles Burchfield, it's not enough to paint a moonlit forest; he wants you to hear the stray birdcalls and feel the whirring of the cicadas on your skin.
“Heat Waves in a Swamp: Painting of Charles Burchfield.” Through October 17, 2010 at Whiney Museum of American Art, 945 Madison Ave. (at 75th St.), New York. (212) 570-3600 or whitney.org/Exhibitions/CharlesBurchfield.
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| 'Late Renoir' at the Art Museum (2nd review) |
July 13 2010 |
The Art Museum’s "Late Renoir" show teaches us two things: All revolutions tend to run out of steam; and after great disasters, people tend to fall back on mental comfort food.
“Late Renoir”: Through September 6, 2010 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th St. and Benj. Franklin Pkwy. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| Kate Kern Mundie’s recent paintings, at F.A.N. |
June 12 2010 |
Kate Kern Mundie’s style hearkens back to the work of the “Ashcan School” of early 20th Century artists.
Kate Kern Mundie: “Recent Paintings.” Through July 24, 2010 at F.A.N. Gallery, 221 Arch St. (215) 922-5155 or www.fanartgallery.com.
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| Stuckey and Cope at Schmidt Dean Gallery |
May 15 2010 |
Tracy Stuckey offers a fantasy image of the New West, where the girls are curvier, the bikinis are briefer and the guns are bigger and shinier. Steve Cope paints gorgeous landscapes with a gimmick added.
Tracy Stuckey: New Work. Through May 29, 2010 at Schmidt Dean Gallery, 1710 Sansom St. (215) 569-9433 or www.Schmidtdean.com.
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| Ahlsted and Bernard at Gross McCleaf |
May 04 2010 |
David Ahlsted's work invites you to indulge in dreamy reveries; Ruth Bernard's work meets you head on and says, "Let's talk."
David Ahlsted, "The Shore, the River, the Barrens and Home," and Ruth Bernard "In and Out." Through May 19, 2010 at Gross McCleaf Gallery, 127 South 16th St. (215) 665-8138 or www.grossmccleaf.com.
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| Soviet posters at Arthur Ross Gallery |
April 20 2010 |
Soviet propaganda may have been heavy-handed under Stalin, but under Khrushchev it lightened up, even mocking Soviet science and industry.
“Laughing Matters: Soviet Propaganda in Khrushchev's Thaw, 1956-1964.” Through June 27, 2010 at Arthur Ross Gallery, 220 South 34th St. (215) 898-2083 or www.upenn.edu/ARG.
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| Randy Bolton’s new prints at Schmidt Dean |
March 23 2010 |
Unlike Picasso, Randy Bolton’s art openly invites engagement. It wants to debate you— or perhaps, to bait you.
Randy Bolton, “New Prints.” Through April 24, 2010 at Schmidt Dean Gallery, 1710 Sansom St. (215) 569-9433 or www.schmidtdean.com.
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| The vanishing art postcard |
February 23 2010 |
These days fewer art museums are offering postcard reproductions of artworks. Whatever the short-term economic reason, society— and the museums themselves— will suffer in the long run.
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| ‘Picasso and the Paris Avant-Garde’ at the Art Museum (1st review) |
February 19 2010 |
Picasso and his friends had one hell of an idea: to explode the image in analytic manner. But eventually, this show reveals, they had to pick up the pieces.
“Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris.” Through May 2, 2010 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th St. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| Fritz Lang’s ‘Metropolis,’ restored |
February 13 2010 |
Fritz Lang’s futuristic 1927 silent masterpiece, Metropolis, isn’t for everyone. But the recent discovery of a missing hour’s worth of footage will help untangle some of the film’s conundrums.
Metropolis. A silent film directed by Fritz Lang (1927). www.imdb.com/title/tt0017136.
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| Eileen Goodman/Scott Noel at Gross McCleaf |
January 19 2010 |
On the surface, Eileen Goodman’s flowers and fruits have little in common with Scott Noel’s nudes. Yet both artists unabashedly celebrate the sensuous.
Eileen Goodman: "New Works"; Scott Noel: "New Pastels." Through January 27, 2010 at Gross McCleaf Gallery, 127 South 16th St. (215) 665-8138 or www.grossmccleaf.com.
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| David Thomson’s ‘Moment of Psycho’ |
December 04 2009 |
Through its first half, David Thomson’s incisive study of Psycho reads almost like a novel. Then Thomson confesses that he’s not all that fond of Alfred Hitchcock’s horror classic, and he contends that Hitchcock himself lost interest about halfway through the film.
The Moment of Psycho: How Alfred Hitchcock Taught America to Love Murder. By David Thomson. Basic Books, 181 pages, $22.95. search.barnesandnoble.com.
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| Treacy Ziegler’s ‘Before An Ocean’ at F.A.N. |
November 14 2009 |
In this large new exhibit, my old favorite Treacy Ziegler seems to be moving from stark rural settings into the surreal world of dreams.
“Treacy Ziegler: Before an Ocean.” Through November 28, 2009 at F.A.N. Gallery, 221 Arch St. (215) 922-5155 or www.fanartgallery.com.
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| ‘Kandinsky’ at the Guggenheim in N.Y. (1st review) |
October 27 2009 |
Wassily Kandinsky’s art is not so much abstract as it is other-directed. It’s about capturing the music of the soul. But when you’re looking at hundreds of his works, sensory overload sets in.
“Kandinsky.” Through January 13, 2009 at Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Ave. (at 89th Street), New York. (212) 423-3500 or www.guggenheim.org/new-york.
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| Gorky retrospective at Art Museum (1st review) |
October 19 2009 |
Arshile Gorky was a resolutely modern artist whose personal approach made every piece an adventure. He missed the mark with me, but he may well hit a home run for you.
Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective. Through January 10, 2010 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| Mystic Seaport: Is recreated history authentic? |
October 13 2009 |
The once decaying maritime and mill town of Mystic, Connecticut has reinvented itself as a tourist attraction: a thriving 1850s seaport chock-full of jolly shanty men and widows of clipper ship captains. Like Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia, Mystic Seaport is best described as a “sweet cheat of history.”
Mystic Seaport. Mystic, Connecticut. (860) 572.5315 or www.mysticseaport.org.
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| James Ensor at Museum of Modern Art (1st review) |
September 14 2009 |
When you see the great Symbolist artist James Ensor “in bulk” at MoMA, you see him in full for the first time— which is to recognize that he represents Symbolism’s angry side.
“James Ensor.” Through September 21, 2009 at the Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd St., New York. (212) 708-9400 or
www.moma.org.
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| Hagen and Newberry at Schmidt Dean Gallery |
September 14 2009 |
In two engagingly idiosyncratic shows, Susan Hagen offers teenage figurines while Tina Newberry inserts herself into America’s colonial past.
Susan Hagen: “Teenager Project”; and Tina Newberry: “New Paintings.” Through October 17, 2009 at Schmidt Dean Gallery, 1710 Sansom St. (215) 569-9433 or www.schmidtdean.com.
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| Carlo Russo still lifes at F.A.N. Gallery |
September 06 2009 |
Carlo Russo’s still life paintings exude a cool elegance that’s well worth experiencing. He gets more mileage out of simple objects than any painter I’ve seen.
“Carlo Russo: Recent Paintings.” Through September 26, 2009 at F.A.N. Gallery, 221 Arch St. (215) 922-5155 or www.fanartgallery.com.
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| Sweeney and Martenson at Gross McCleaf |
September 01 2009 |
Two new shows at Gross McCleaf Gallery demonstrate the ways in which a particular locality— in this case, Maine and Philadelphia— can inspire artists.
“Paintings of Maine” by Douglas Martenson, and “New Pastels,” by Joseph Sweeney. Through September 16, 2009 at Gross McCleaf Gallery,127 South 16th Street. (215) 665-8138 or www.grossmccleaf.com.
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| A few kind words for 'genre' films |
July 25 2009 |
Like Rodney Dangerfield, genre films— Westerns, say, or crime films, horror films, musicals or screwball comedies— get no respect from critics. Yet the various genres of poplar film constitute a nation’s great family tree book of national fables.
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| ‘Skyscrapers’ at the Art Museum |
June 25 2009 |
Are skyscrapers “documents of progress,” as the Art Museum’s new show suggests? That notion short-changes the almost religious awe in which these modern ziggurats were held not very long ago.
“Skyscrapers: Prints, Drawings and Photographs of the Early Twentieth Century.” Through November 1, 2009 at Berman Gallery, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Ben Franklin Parkway and 25th St. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| ‘Spectacle’ at the Art Museum |
June 25 2009 |
“Spectacle” is all about looking—but who is photographing the photographers?
“Spectacle: Photographs from the Collection.” Through September 7, 2009 at Stieglitz Gallery, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Ben Franklin Parkway and 25th St.. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| Charles Newman oils at F.A.N. Gallery |
May 16 2009 |
Not every artist can view the world through Edvard Munch’s eyes, or Picasso’s. Charles Newman’s oils present an unadorned image of what the artist sees.
“Charles Newman: Recent Paintings.” Through May 30, 2009 at F.A.N. Gallery, 221 Arch St. (215)922-5155 or www.fanartgallery.com.
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| Gregory Prestegord's Philadelphia paintings at F.A.N. Gallery |
April 07 2009 |
Gregory Prestegord’s Philadelphia is a town where the vacant lots outnumber the factories. Is he a despairing artist, or an artist who celebrates a despairing city?
Gregory Prestegord: “Recent Paintings.” Through April 25, 2009 at F.A.N. Gallery, 221 Arch St. (215) 922-5155 or www.fanartgallery.com.
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| Martha Armstrong at Gross McCleaf |
March 07 2009 |
Martha Armstrong’s new exhibition at Gross McCleaf shows where she has been and where she is going— namely, from Expressionism to abstraction and back again. Her journey offers a nice emotional contrast to the drier, more intellectual vision of Cézanne.
“Martha Armstrong: Up to Now.” Through March 14, 2009 at Gross McCleaf Gallery, 127 South 16 St. (215) 665-8138 or www.grossmccleaf.com.
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| ‘Cézanne and Beyond,' at the Art Museum (1st review) |
February 20 2009 |
"Cézanne and Beyond” lets you in on a little secret—Impressionism’s Lonely Man had his admirers. Based on the evidence at the Art Museum, the pre-eminent Impressionist painter apparently inspired many of them to outshine the master himself.
“Cézanne and Beyond.” Through May 31, 2009 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th St. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| ‘Grand Scale: Dürer and Titian’ at the Art Museum |
January 31 2009 |
These works of Dürer and Titian take viewers to a level of existence that they could never hope to experience on their own. This was art that was meant to evoke awe, pity and terror in the eye of the beholder. It was not Muzak Art.
“Grand Scale: Monumental Prints in the Age of Dürer and Titian.” Through April 26, 2009 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th St. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| John Winship paintings at F.A.N. Gallery |
December 16 2008 |
John Winship redoes the photograph, adding a touch of mystery to the enigma. You enjoy this show in proportion to your feeling about nostalgia.
John Winship: Recent Paintings. Through December 27, 2008 at F.A.N. Gallery, 221 Arch St. (215) 922-5155 or www.fanartgallery.com.
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| Félix Fénéon Teaches You How To Write |
December 14 2008 |
The art critic and anarchist Félix Fénéon was above all a man who understood that brevity is the soul of wit. His collection of three-line novels, circa 1906, is an exercise in style that belongs on every bookshelf.
Novels in Three Lines. By Félix Fénéon; translated by Luc Sante. New York Review Books, 2007. 208 pages; $14. www.amazon.com
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| Naomi Chung at Gross McCleaf Gallery |
November 04 2008 |
Naomi Chung is an artist of considerable ability who breathes new life into the tired formulae of Impressionist landscape art.
Naomi Chung: New Works. Through November 26, 2008 at Gross McCleaf Gallery, 127 S. 16 St. (215) 665-8138 or www.grossmccleaf.com.
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| Kate Javens at Schmidt Dean Gallery |
October 28 2008 |
The ancient Assyrians’ bull- and lion-headed sculptures were figures of mythic power. Kate Javens does much the same thing, but her creations are at rest, threatening no one.
“Father Ram and the Green Darner,” new paintings by Kate Javens. Through December 5, 2008 at Schmidt Dean Gallery, 1710 Sansom St. (215) 569-9433or www.schmidtdean.com.
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| James Castle retrospective at Art Museum |
October 19 2008 |
Born profoundly deaf, James Castle reached out with his eyes and trained his hands to reproduce what they saw. What he achieved with any scraps he could find represents a triumph as moving as Helen Keller’s.
“James Castle: A Retrospective.” Through January 4, 2009 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th St. and Benjamin Franklin Parkway. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/328.html.
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| Joan Becker and others at Gross McCleaf |
October 07 2008 |
Joan Becker’s eight large images of people, mostly couples, have a certain timeless quality. Like those couples sculpted on Etruscan sarcophagi lids, these are “in repose,” even when tapping away on their laptops.
"Nature/Human”: Works by Joan Becker and others. Through October 27, 2008 at Gross McCleaf Gallery, 127 South 16 St. (215) 665-8138 or www.grossmccleaf.com.
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| Thomas Chambers paintings at Art Museum |
September 27 2008 |
Thomas Chambers was an itinerant artist who traveled Jacksonian America’s back roads, offering his works for sale in second-rank cities and prosperous towns. Yet his images corkscrew their way into your brain and remain there.
“Thomas Chambers, American Marine and Landscape Painter.” Through December 28, 2008, at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th St. (215) 763-8100 or http://www.philamuseum.org .
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| André Breton’s ‘Martinique’ |
September 02 2008 |
Humphrey Bogart may have outwitted the Nazis on screen, but the real world of the Caribbean, circa 1941, was more depressing. André Breton’s slim volume is an intriguing memento of a hectic stopover in the tropics.
Martinique: Snake Charmer. By André Breton; translated from the French by David Seaman. University of Texas Press. 96 pages; $19.95. w
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| The Harmony Society, revisited |
September 02 2008 |
Alchemy was supposedly consigned to the dustbin by the Age of Enlightenment. But a group of prosperous 19th-Century Pennsylvania Pietists revived it— not for wealth, but for eternal life. Too bad they were undone by a female lab assistant.
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| Liberal arts, Balkanized |
August 12 2008 |
Tenney L. Davis was a noted chemist who took pleasure in attending lectures on non-scientific subjects like aesthetics. Today he’s forgotten, which says something about how far along the road of compartmentalizing knowledge we have traveled.
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| Mayakovsky and the Russian soul |
August 12 2008 |
At a time when Russia is beating up on the Republic of Georgia, it helps to know that Vladimir Mayakovsky, the brawling boisterous laureate of Russian Futurism, is as Russian as Pushkin.
Night Wraps the Sky. By Vladimir Mayakovsky; translated and edited by Michael Almereyda. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2008. 304 pages, $27.00. www.amazon.com
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| Red Grooms in Yonkers |
June 08 2008 |
Red Grooms approaches art with the pure creative joy a four-year-old feels playing with Lego blocks.
“Red Grooms: In The Studio.” Feb. 9-May 25, 2008 at Hudson River Museum, 511 Warburton Ave., Yonkers, N.Y. (914) 463-4550 or www.hrm.org.
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| ‘Fashioning Kimono’ at Art Museum |
April 29 2008 |
The last generation of Japanese to wear the kimono as an everyday garment sent the custom out with a bang, and with surprising Western influences as well.
“Fashioning Kimono: Art Deco and Modernism in Japan.” Through July 20, 2008 at Perelman Building, Joan Spain Gallery, Philadelphia Museum of Art. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| Gregory Prestegord at F.A.N. Gallery |
April 11 2008 |
Gregory Prestegord’s city scenes get right down to business. He doesn’t do the sort of work that you have to stare at and stare at, trying to decipher its message.
“Recent Paintings” by Gregory Prestegord. Through April 26, 2008 at F.A.N. Gallery, 221 Arch St. (215) 922-5155 or wwwfanartgallery.com.
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| 'Cecilia Beaux' at Pennsylvania Academy |
March 08 2008 |
Cecilia Beaux was a society painter in a buttoned-up society. These vanished men and women stare out at us with all the seriousness of Roman funerary portraits. But Beaux, or at least her patrons, seems to have recognized the value of understatement.
“Cecilia Beaux: American Figure Painter.” Through April 13, 2008 at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Hamilton Building, 118-128 N. Broad St. (215) 972-7600 or www.pafa.org.
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| Juan Soriano at Art Museum (1st review) |
February 19 2008 |
As the subject of the bottom-half of an all-Mexican double feature at the Art Museum, the theatrical Juan Soriano more than holds his own against the majestic Frida Kahlo.
“Fragile Demon: Juan Soriano in Mexico, 1935 to 1950.” Through May 11, 2008 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th St. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| ‘Frida Kahlo’ at Art Museum (1st review) |
February 19 2008 |
The passage of time and changing canons of taste have elevated the iconoclastic Mexican artist Frida Kahlo to the realm of celebrity. But do we really understand her any better?
Frida Kahlo. Through May 18, 2008 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th St. (215) 763-8100 or
www.philamuseum.org.
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| Lee Miller photographs at Art Museum (1st review) |
January 27 2008 |
Lee Miller was not one of the world’s great photographic artists, but she was an artist capable of producing works of surprising resonance. Everyday life bored her; it took a world war to bring out her best work.
“The Art of Lee Miller.” Through April 27, 2008 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benjamin Franklin Parkway and 26th St. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| ‘Rooms and Voices’ at Gross McCleaf |
January 19 2008 |
Interiors— with and without people— are the subject of this intriguing show, which offers us private dramas and not-quite-empty spaces.
“Rooms and Voices.” Through January 29, 2008 at Gross McCleaf Gallery, 127 South 16 St. (215) 665-8138 or www.grossmccleaf.com.
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| ‘There Will Be Blood’ |
January 15 2008 |
Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood demonstrates what happens when Life’s Little Pieties fail to measure up. Whatever it is that makes humans human, the protagonist Daniel Plainview lacks. Neither wealth nor good works will solve that problem.
There Will Be Blood. A film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. At the Ritz Five, 214 Walnut St. (215) 925-7900 or www.ritzfilmbill.com.
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| Renoir landscapes at Art Museum (3rd review) |
January 07 2008 |
To paint a landscape is to ape God in the process of creation. But Renoir was content to reproduce what he saw. He was a tourist, albeit a happy one.
Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883. Through January 6, 2008 at Philadelphia Museum of Art. (215) 235-7469 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| Antonio Mancini at Art Museum (2nd review) |
January 07 2008 |
Antonio Mancini was one of those poor fools touched by the gods, then left to stew. He and his fellow minors—minor painters, minor poets, minor composers—may not define an age, but they add richness and flavor to that age.
“Antonio Mancini: 19th-Century Italian Master.” Through Jan. 20, 2008 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Galleries 153 & 155, Benj. Franklin Pkwy. & 26th St. (215) 684-7500 or www.phi
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| Cassidy and Worthington at Schmidt Dean |
December 18 2007 |
Two mind-bending shows at Schmidt Dean Gallery balance each other nicely: Scott Cassidy’s work invites active comment from the viewer while Samuel Worthington’s images lull you into a dreamy meditative state.
Scott Marvel Cassidy, “New Work” and Samuel Worthington, “Mordencage Prints.” Through February 3, 2008 at Schmidt Dean Gallery, 1710 Sansom St. (215) 569-9433 or www.schmidtdean.com.
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| Jamestown 1607, reconsidered |
November 20 2007 |
Why did America’s original 1607 Jamestown settlement fail? Not, as were taught in school, because the settlers sat around smoking and drinking.
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| Medieval books at Arthur Ross Gallery |
November 20 2007 |
A new exhibit takes us back to a time when books were highly valued commodities, painstakingly transcribed by hand, illustrated by artists in bright colors and sometimes even embellished with real gold.
“Treasured Pages. Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts from the Free Library of Philadelphia.” Through January 6, 2008, at Arthur Ross Gallery, University of Pennsylvania, 220 South 34th St. (215) 898-2083 or www.upenn.ed
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| Felice Frankel at Haverford College |
November 17 2007 |
Even when she deletes the Petri dish from her photograph of a yeast flower, Felice Frankel’s photographs are all about discovery and learning. Science never looked so inviting.
“Envisioning Science: Photographs by Felice Frankel.” Through December 2, 2007 at Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery, Whitehead Campus Center, Haverford College, 370 Lancaster Ave., Haverford. (610) 896-1287 or www.cantorfitzgeraldgalle
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| Zhukov and Gury at F.A.N. |
October 06 2007 |
In the long shadow cast by Renoir, examples of landscape painting, plain and fancy, are on display at F.A.N. Gallery.
Serge Zhukov and Al Gury. Through October 27, 2007 at F.A.N. Gallery, 221 Arch St. 215-922-5155 or www.fanartgallery.com.
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| Identity crisis in Salem, Mass. |
September 29 2007 |
A relatively inexperienced minister named Samuel Parris was woefully out of his depth in dealing with a communal psychological crisis that hit Salem Village in 1692. His descendants in “Witch City,” like Philadelphia’s tourist boosters, can’t seem to decide whether to embrace their past or reject it.
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| National Gallery tour— Part 5 |
August 04 2007 |
All of Rococo art was a celebration of the high life and the holy life—both represented with great brio and style. I sometimes think latter generations have hated Baroque and Rococo Art because they made life seem so much better than it actually is.
National Gallery of Art, Fourth St. and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. (202) 842-6799 or www.nga.gov.
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| National Gallery tour— Part 4 |
July 28 2007 |
It took an anonymous 15th-Century painting to stop me in its tracks with a vital truth about art, history, and life itself: namely, that our store of knowledge does not remain constant, nor does it endlessly expand. Rather, like the tide, it advances and falls back.
National Gallery of Art, Fourth St. and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. (202) 842-6799 or www.nga.gov.
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| National Gallery tour— Part 3 |
July 21 2007 |
Continuing his idiosyncratic tour of the National Gallery, Andrew Mangravite wonders: What makes a painting Impressionist? ? If it looks Impressionist, does it matter that the artist didn’t set out to create an Impressionist work?
National Gallery of Art, Fourth St. and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. (202) 842-6799 or www.nga.gov.
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| National Gallery tour— Part 2 |
July 14 2007 |
Where other painters are content to offer us a representation of life, Leonardo da Vinci strives to capture reality itself. Plus other insights from Andrew Mangravite’s continuing idiosyncratic tour of the National Gallery of Art.
National Gallery of Art, Fourth St. and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. (202) 842-6799 or www.nga.gov.
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| Critic’s tour of the National Gallery— Part 1 |
July 10 2007 |
Our critic, “amazed and delighted” by his first visit to “The Nation’s Picture Gallery,” offers his own idiosyncratic tour.
National Gallery of Art, Fourth St. and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. (202) 842-6799 or www.nga.gov.
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| 'Foto’ at National Gallery of Art |
July 10 2007 |
If an image is worth a thousand words, this collage of images constitutes a moving history lesson, in which the vanished European world of 1918 to 1945 comes alive again.
“Foto: Modernity in Central Europe, 1918-1945.” Through September 3, 2007 at the National Gallery of Art, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. (202) 842-6799 or www.nga.gov.
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| Carlo Russo paintings at F.A.N. Gallery |
June 08 2007 |
Carlo Russo doesn’t blow you away with painterly touches. He just gives it what it needs to get the job done.
“Recent Paintings” by Carlo Russo. Through June 30, 2007 at F.A.N. Gallery, 221 Arch St. (215) 922-5155 or www.fanartgallery.com.
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| Marlene Rye’s paintings at Gross McCleaf |
May 19 2007 |
Unlike most woodland scenes, Marlene Rye’s employ hot colors to engage rather than lull the viewer.
Marlene Rye: New Paintings. Through May 25, 2007 at Gross McCleaf Gallery, 127 S. 16th St. (215) 656-8138 or www.grossmccleaf.com.
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| ‘Four Play’ at Lineage Gallery |
May 12 2007 |
“Four Play” offers twisting perceptions of the real from a quartet of artists (plus a few guests). These pieces arise not from visual stimuli but from ideas, concepts, wordplay, jokes.
“Four Play.” Through May 20, 2007 at Lineage Gallery, 21 N. Second St. (215) 928-0980 or lineagegallery.com.
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| Japanese Masters at Art Museum |
May 01 2007 |
Ike Taiga and his wife Tokuyama Gyokuran may have painted life as a dream, but when their brushes touched the paper, every stroke was life-or-death. You come away with the conviction that this 18th-century couple sat with and studied each subject until it became a part of them.
“Ike Taiga and Tokuyama Gyokuran: Japanese Masters of the Brush.” Through July 22, 2007 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. 215-763-8100 or Thomas Chimes at the Art Museum (first review) |
February 24 2007 |
Thomas Chimes has attended various schools in his artistic evolution, but none quite as fruitful and amusing as the College of Pataphysics.
“Thomas Chimes: Adventures in Pataphysics.” Through May 6, 2007 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Ben Franklin Parkway and 267th St. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| Alida Fish at Schmidt Dean Gallery |
February 06 2007 |
As with the sideshows of old, whose professed intent was educational, Alida Fish lovingly recognizes that people like looking at strange things.
Alida Fish: From the Cabinet of Curiosities. Through March 3, 2007, at Schmidt Dean Gallery, 1710 Sansom St. (215) 569-9433 or www.schmidtdean.com.
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| Daniel Garber at PAFA and the Michener |
January 30 2007 |
Daniel Garber's work reminds us anew that there's something to be said for beauty in art. Far from trying to capture life on the run, Garber slowed life to a halt with his simple but carefully worked out poses.
Daniel Garber: Romantic Realist (1897-1925).
Through April 8, 2007 at Pennsylvania Academy of the Arts, 128 N. Broad Street (at Cherry). (215) 972-7600 or www.pafa.org.
Daniel Garber: Romantic Realist (1930-1955). Through May
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| Lesa C. Lim at F.A.N. Gallery |
December 16 2006 |
Lesa Chittenden Lim combines draftsmanship and color to create ethereal landscapes fit for poets to dream in.
Lesa Chittenden Lim, “Paintings.” Through December 23, 2006 at F.A.N. Gallery, 221 Arch Street. (215) 922-5155 or www.fanartgallery.com.
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| Fritz Dietel at Schmidt Dean Gallery |
December 09 2006 |
Fritz Dietel’s work simultaneously celebrates vision and craftsmanship, nature and art.
Fritz Dietel: Recent Work. Through Jan. 20, 2007 at Schmidt Dean Gallery, 1710 Sansom Street. (215) 569-9433 or www.schmidtdean.com.
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| Nelson Shanks at the Union League |
November 13 2006 |
Nelson Shanks is “a man for whom the visible world exists,” and his new exhibition at the Union League will demonstrate the reason why.
“Nelson Shanks: Mastery and Meaning.” Through December 17, 2006 at the Union League of Philadelphia, 140 South Broad St. Open to the public Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and by appointment. 215-851-8793 or www.unionleague.org/masteryandmeaning.
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| Goya's 'Los Caprichos' at Arthur Ross Gallery |
November 07 2006 |
If you realize how seldom you’ll have the chance to view a complete set of Goya prints, you’ll run, not walk, to the Arthur Ross Gallery, where a complete early edition of “Los Caprichos” is on display.
“Francisco Goya y Lucientes: ‘Los Caprichos’.” Through January 7, 2007 at the Arthur Ross Gallery. 220 South 34th Street. 215-898-2083 or www.upenn.edu/ARG.
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| Art Museum's 'Mexican Printmaking' |
October 24 2006 |
In the wake of the gilded glories of “Tesoros,” the Art Museum completes the story with a look at art for the masses. It’s a testimony to the collective genius of Mexican artists amid war and revolution.
“Mexico and Modern Printmaking.” Through January 14, 2007 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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| Annemarie Heinrich photos at Arthur Ross Gallery |
September 18 2006 |
Glamour photography is sometimes the victim of artistic snobbery. At the Arthur Ross Gallery, the late Annemarie Heinrich, grande dame of Argentine glamour photography, gets the recognition she deserves.
"Argentine Photographs by Annemarie Through October 15, 2006 Arthur Ross Gallery, 220 South 34th Street. (215) 898-2083 or www.upenn.edu/ARG.
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| 'Tesoros' at the Art Museum |
September 18 2006 |
Spain's empire in the New World lasted 300 years. “Tesoros” asks and answers the age old-question: Who conquered whom? You see "Tesoros" if only to realize how one-sided the North American view of New Spain as a dreary wasteland of gold-hungry Spaniards and enslaved Indians really is.
“Tesoros: the Arts in Latin America: 1492-1820.” Through December 31, 2006, at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. (215) 763-8100
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| Julien Levy's photographs at Art Museum |
July 05 2006 |
The gallery owner Julien Levy collected works by some of the greatest names in photography. But ultimately the photographs he assembled demonstrate the mystery and magic of the ordinary. This show offers countless examples of unforgettable imagery.
“Dreaming in Black and White: Photography at the Julien Levy Gallery,” through September 17, 2006 at The Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th Street and the Parkway. 215-763-8100 or www.philamus
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| Max Mason's 'Baseball' at Gross-McCleaf |
July 03 2006 |
Mason plays the game the old-fashioned way— full of longing, regret, piss and vinegar. But there’s no sense of urgency, and his images’ contents lack the gravity that Mason’s heavy style imposes upon them.
“Baseball,” a new exhibit of art by Max Mason. Through July 5, 2006 at Gross-McCleaf Gallery, 127 South 16 Street, Philadelphia. 215-665-8138 or www.grossmccleaf.com.
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| Treacy Ziegler at F.A.N. Gallery |
May 08 2006 |
Welcome back to Zieglerville, where the predominant mood is one of perpetually hushed and dreadful expectation.
“When We Got Home,” New Paintings by Treacy Ziegler. Through May 27, 2006 at F.A.N. Gallery, 221 Arch Street, (215) 922-5155 or www.fanartgallery.com.
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| Art Museum's Wyeth show |
March 28 2006 |
At age 25, I was impatient with the sage of Chadds Ford. Thirty years later, the Art Museum’s exhibition lets us see the way Wyeth's ultimate vision emerges.
“Andrew Wyeth: Memory and Magic.” Through July 16 at Philadelphia Museum of Art Dorrance Galleries, Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street, March 29-July 16, 2006. (215) 235-SHOW or www.philamuseum.org.
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| David Brewster at Gross-McCleaf |
May 15 2006 |
In the juxtaposition of David Brewster and Mary Putnam, we find nothing less than two different approaches to apprehending the world around us. Putnam preserves it; Brewster dissolves it.
David Brewster, "Roiling Light," through June 5, 2006 at Gross McCleaf Gallery, 127 S. 16th St. 215-665-8138 or www.grossmccleaf.com.
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| PAFA's 'Art in Chicago' |
February 13 2006 |
| A great big Norton Anthology of an art show that will introduce you to many fine artists you may never have heard of, from a city that took Surrealism to heart as New York never did.
"Art in Chicago: Resisting Regionalism, Transforming Modernism." Through April 2, 2006 at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Fisher Brooks Gallery, Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building, 118 N. Broad Street. (215) 972-7600. www.pafa.org.
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| Nan Goldin's 'Fantastic Tales' |
February 01 2006 |
| “Fantastic Tales”: Photographs by Nan Goldin. At Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts through Feb. 12, 2006. 118 N Broad St. (215) 972-7600. www.pafa.org
The "hostess of a noisy party" offers a dispassionate analysis of passions at work.
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| Jacob van Ruisdael and the Romantic Impulse |
December 19 2005 |
"Jacob van Ruisdael: Dutch Master of Landscape" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, through Feb. 5, 2006.
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| The Art Museum Gets Its Munch |
December 19 2005 |
| “Mermaid,” and other paintings by Edvard Munch. At the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Dec. 31, 2005.
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| Surrealism: A Light That Failed |
January 01 2006 |
| Second thoughts about the Art Museum’s Dali show
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