Exhibition
Here and Now
Prints, Drawings, and Photographs by Ten Philadelphia Artists
Eastern Interior, 2010 Isaac Tin Wei Lin, American Ink on photograph 21 1/4 x 27 inches (54 x 68.6 cm) Private Collection
When
Sep 10, 2011 – Dec 4, 2011
Where
Berman and Stieglitz Galleries, Ground Gloor
Tickets
About
The works featured in this exhibition are a lively, arresting, and timely celebration of ten Philadelphia artists, ranging in age from 25 to 50, who are currently making art on paper.
Each of these artists is represented by a small group of works demonstrating the strength and diversity of talent that exists in the city today. In some of the work, elaborate details and layering of materials predominate, as well as inventive artistic techniques and processes. In others, there is an underlying seriousness of purpose, as several of the artists explore new as well as traditional ways of confronting the dilemmas of today's world.
Subjects, therefore, may vary from the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib to the proliferation of trash in the environment, from concern for architectural heritage to the gritty everyday life of the city's streets. Some disquieting issues are faced directly, while others are addressed with edgy humor or are ironically masked by great beauty.
The ten artists on view are Astrid Bowlby, Steven and Billy Blaise Dufala (who operate in collaboration), Vincent Feldman, Daniel Heyman, Isaac Tin Wei Lin, Virgil Marti, Joshua Mosley, Serena Perrone, Hannah Price, and Mia Rosenthal. Some of them are also known for their work in other mediums, such as installation, video, sculpture, and painting. Collectively, they represent an important facet of the remarkable work being produced in Philadelphia today.
Preview the Exhibition
Inspired by the walls in Isaac Lin's studio, curator Innis Shoemaker commissioned the artist to create a similar wall in the Berman and Stieglitz galleries for Here and Now. Lin, who shows with the Fleisher-Ollman Gallery, chose canary yellow as a foundation color field.
He started painting the black first with a 2-inch brush, then switched to a 1-inch brush for the red, blue, and light blue.
All of the markings are painted freehand.
Lin composed the marks to be everywhere on the wall, trying to disperse the colors equally and create a defined space and place.
In addition to contextualizing the four works by Lin on view in the show, the painted wall serves as yet another frame for them--helping to focus the viewer's gaze on the photographs.
Lin used airbrushing to selectively create white spots on the wall's surface.
Says Lin, "When painting the all-over type of abstract paintings, I focus on the ideas of emptiness and fullness, creating a pattern through repetition by hand, practice, primary colors and calligraphy, overwhelming multiplicity and meditation."
Lin's goal was to alter the visual space of the gallery and the presentation of his work.
Lin adds the finishing touches.
Isaac Lin's finished painted wall, before being hung with four of his painted photographs.
Curator
Innis Howe Shoemaker, The Audrey and William H. Helfand Senior Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs