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"Yesterday and Today' at Sande Webster Gallery
Out from the Academy's shadows
ANNE R. FABBRI
“Yesterday and Today” shines like a beacon of hope among all the lackluster summer gallery shows. Forty alumni of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, from 1840 to 2008, are included in this invitational exhibition, which reflects the Webster Gallery’s special emphasis on African American artists. Look for your favorite artists, a few new names and an amazing variety of approaches, from the traditional, figurative painting that’s usually associated with the Academy to abstract, conceptual work that one would normally ascribe to the Temple University’s Tyler School of Art. If you thought the Pennsylvania Academy meant just one style and one city, banish the misconception. Its alumni are all over the map and making art from every point of view.
Clarence E. Morgan, Class of 1975, was a new name to me, despite his voluminous résumé. I particularly liked his two large, black-and-white abstract panels in acrylic, ink and pencil. They conveyed a wonderful vitality and integrated composition.
Benjamin Ramirez, Class of 2006, has justified his mid-life career change with paintings such as Aganippe, a life-enhancing oil-on-canvas painting that stands out on a wall of high-quality art. Although I understand Ramirez has moved to Mexico, we could use him here and now.
The Ray Saunders painting Pittsburgh captures the hard-edged vitality of that diverse city. Nanette Clark’s cut paper designs, Let’s Cut to the Chase #1 and #2, are contemplative line studies, first-rate in every respect.
Even if you don’t believe in Jesus…
Many of my favorite artists are included, some with lesser works than I would have liked. However, Murray Dessner’s Ritual Light and Louis Sloan’s Spirit are two excellent abstract paintings by fine artists. Ben Kamihira’s Self Portrait with Gray Sweater is so poignant that your heart aches for the loss of this superb artist. Dan Miller’s woodcuts, Axel and Lang, are probing portraits of unique individuals.
Mary Washing the Feet of Christ, by Henry Ossawa Tanner, Class of 1881, is the exhibition’s earliest painting, and it’s a gem: loose brushstrokes, classical composition and figurative gestures of tenderness and solicitude. You needn’t be a believer to feel the love and compassion. Libation, by Pheoris West, seems to be a contemporary version, individualistic with a surging vitality. It’s a powerful painting. You can’t miss it.
A change in attitude
But what’s up with Barkley Hendricks, Class of 1967, now teaching at Yale University? I have the most wonderful mental images of his figurative paintings of hip youths with “attitude” and paraphernalia. He defined an era and brought it to life for future generations. Now what? I couldn’t believe the empty landscapes in beaded gold oval frames: Church Folks View and Old Woman’s Point. Are these sarcastic comments on the Academy tradition? Hendricks’s take on Philadelphia? Or has he just been breathing Yale’s rarefied air for too long? To judge from these works, by now he might even be a registered Republican.
The exhibition is hung salon-style, so you can spend some time thinking about how you would have done it. Everyone has suggestions; picture it your way. The poster is a collector’s item, with photographs of each artist in the show plus reproductions of their work: an historic document worth keeping and framing. Thank you, Sande Webster, for a wonderful contribution to Philadelphia.
To read a response, click here.
ANNE R. FABBRI
“Yesterday and Today” shines like a beacon of hope among all the lackluster summer gallery shows. Forty alumni of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, from 1840 to 2008, are included in this invitational exhibition, which reflects the Webster Gallery’s special emphasis on African American artists. Look for your favorite artists, a few new names and an amazing variety of approaches, from the traditional, figurative painting that’s usually associated with the Academy to abstract, conceptual work that one would normally ascribe to the Temple University’s Tyler School of Art. If you thought the Pennsylvania Academy meant just one style and one city, banish the misconception. Its alumni are all over the map and making art from every point of view.
Clarence E. Morgan, Class of 1975, was a new name to me, despite his voluminous résumé. I particularly liked his two large, black-and-white abstract panels in acrylic, ink and pencil. They conveyed a wonderful vitality and integrated composition.
Benjamin Ramirez, Class of 2006, has justified his mid-life career change with paintings such as Aganippe, a life-enhancing oil-on-canvas painting that stands out on a wall of high-quality art. Although I understand Ramirez has moved to Mexico, we could use him here and now.
The Ray Saunders painting Pittsburgh captures the hard-edged vitality of that diverse city. Nanette Clark’s cut paper designs, Let’s Cut to the Chase #1 and #2, are contemplative line studies, first-rate in every respect.
Even if you don’t believe in Jesus…
Many of my favorite artists are included, some with lesser works than I would have liked. However, Murray Dessner’s Ritual Light and Louis Sloan’s Spirit are two excellent abstract paintings by fine artists. Ben Kamihira’s Self Portrait with Gray Sweater is so poignant that your heart aches for the loss of this superb artist. Dan Miller’s woodcuts, Axel and Lang, are probing portraits of unique individuals.
Mary Washing the Feet of Christ, by Henry Ossawa Tanner, Class of 1881, is the exhibition’s earliest painting, and it’s a gem: loose brushstrokes, classical composition and figurative gestures of tenderness and solicitude. You needn’t be a believer to feel the love and compassion. Libation, by Pheoris West, seems to be a contemporary version, individualistic with a surging vitality. It’s a powerful painting. You can’t miss it.
A change in attitude
But what’s up with Barkley Hendricks, Class of 1967, now teaching at Yale University? I have the most wonderful mental images of his figurative paintings of hip youths with “attitude” and paraphernalia. He defined an era and brought it to life for future generations. Now what? I couldn’t believe the empty landscapes in beaded gold oval frames: Church Folks View and Old Woman’s Point. Are these sarcastic comments on the Academy tradition? Hendricks’s take on Philadelphia? Or has he just been breathing Yale’s rarefied air for too long? To judge from these works, by now he might even be a registered Republican.
The exhibition is hung salon-style, so you can spend some time thinking about how you would have done it. Everyone has suggestions; picture it your way. The poster is a collector’s item, with photographs of each artist in the show plus reproductions of their work: an historic document worth keeping and framing. Thank you, Sande Webster, for a wonderful contribution to Philadelphia.
To read a response, click here.
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