PAA Press Round-up: Where we’ve been on the web

Where have you read about the Art Alliance this week?

The past few weeks have been all a buzz with excitement, so here’s a whirlwind look at some of our latest press coverage.

Philly Mag’s Hugh E Dillon photographed some of the esteemed guests at our fabulous fundraiser, Spring at the Mansion, last week, as did Glamorosi - be sure to check them out. Shannon Rooney, also from Philly Mag, outlined some of the renovation projects we hope to embark on from our fundraising efforts.

Recently the New York Post boldly declared that Philadelphia is for art lovers, we agree of course! They also stated:

Rittenhouse Square’s Philadelphia Art Alliance presents a world premiere — and totally genius — exhibition, “Emily Spivack: Sentimental Value,” in which the artist displays items she won on eBay with their intriguing backstories and sellers’ anecdotes (251 S. 18th St., philartalliance.org).

In April, Rittenhouse Park itself became a permanent, interactive installation via the 99-cent iPhone app “The Empty Air,” which uses GPS to trigger musician Michael Kiley’s textured sound designs and an original song.

The Wall Street Journal interviewed Spivack  about her forthcoming exhibition, which they describe as:

…a treasure trove of sartorial history, personality and heartfelt writing. And in May, a collection of garments that she’s purchased will be exhibited in her first solo show at the Philadelphia Art Alliance.

The exhibition and website and website are organized so that the eBay sellers’ original descriptions are displayed alongside the articles of clothing, recreating the experience of finding them online (read the full interview here).

There’s been some great anticipation for our new Summer exhibitions which open next week, and we can’t wait to unveil them!

Announcing the Parlor Shop at the Philadelphia Art Alliance!

We teased you last month with this news, and now we’re proud to announce the grand opening of the Philadelphia Art Alliance’s new shop: The Parlor Shop. The Parlor Shop is on the first floor of the Philadelphia Art Alliance, just to the right of the entrance. This room, formerly known as the Wetherill Room, used to be a Parlor back when the building was the Rittenhouse residence of the Wetherill family at the turn of the 20th Century. Now it’s the perfect spot to browse and pick up some beautiful locally crafted gifts, including fine ceramics, handmade jewelry, and unique soft furnishings. The shop is volunteer-led, and proceeds from sales go to the artists and crafters, with some support going to back into the Art Alliance. This allows us to continue our excellent programs here in Philadelphia’s French Quarter. If you like contemporary arts and crafts, and love buying locally made artisan products… well that’s just another reason to visit us in our beautiful mansion space, isn’t it?

The Parlor Shop is open regularly Thursdays through Sundays, 12-5pm. We’re having an Open House reception next week, on Thursday May 16th, 5-7pm. You can get more details and RSVP on Facebook.

Three exciting exhibitions coming to the Art Alliance Summer 2013: A Quick Glance

Summer’s going to be bright and beautiful here at the Art Alliance! We are absolutely thrilled to give you a glance at our upcoming summer exhibitions, opening May 17th here at the Philadelphia Art Alliance.

Each exhibition takes innovative and surprising twists on the theme of textiles, exploring their craft, form and their sentimental value.

What stories live inside your closet? Emily Spivack’s Sentimental Value finds stories and narratives in unusual places: eBay listings. Spivack explores the emotive and sometimes very personal histories of ordinary (and some extraordinary) objects that find themselves for sale on the famous website. This show provides a fascinating insight into what clothing and personal objects mean to us, both financially and emotionally.

LTextile is “a survey of New Textiles from Lithuania” organized with the Academy of Arts in Vilnius. Eight contemporary and award-winning artists will capture the history of Lithuanian textiles. The history is as vibrant as the textiles themselves, depicting an era of traditional patterns inspired by nature, Soviet restrictions on art and expression, and the creative outpouring since restrictions were loosened in the 1990s. The exhibition will reflect the past, as well as weave a new future for Lithuanian textiles.

Do you know what links old fashioned quilts and old fashioned movies? Sabrina Gschwandtner’s Sunshine and Shadow is a thought-provoking combination of the art of quilt-making and  the art of film-making. Her stunning quilts are made from old 16mm films to create backlit wall-hangings filled with color and detail. These pieces are imbued with the histories of both artforms and the women who made them…all of which are surprisingly intertwined (see more here).

You’ll be pleasantly surprised by these colorful, inspiring shows, which open on May 17th and run until August 18th 2013. 

What’s happening this First Friday in Rittenhouse Square?

Can you believe it’s May already? Celebrate the Spring weather this week by checking out our selection of events happening in and around Rittenhouse Square this First Friday, May 3rd.

5PM-7PM AT THE GROSS McCLEAF GALLERY

OPENING RECEPTION FOR:

Flight Patterns, a solo exhibition by Trudy Kraft.

Trudy Kraft’s Flight Patterns #12, Mixed media on paper, 40 x 25.5 inches

Kraft’s dreamy mixed media artworks are inspired by a range of influences, including “folk, aboriginal, and Far Eastern art”, Hinduism, Buddhism, and travels to exotic places. This exhibition, Flight Patterns, is centered around birds and imagery of flight, which “challenge the viewer to experience her paintings for both their decorative and meditative properties”.

Trudy Kraft studied at the Moore College of Art here in Philadelphia, and at the Arts Students League in New York City. This is her fourth solo exhibition.

Her work brings to mind textile work and tapestries, and are created using a mixture of media, including watercolors and gouache.

The exhibition runs from May 1 – 31, 2013
Image: Trudy Kraft, Flight Patterns #12, Mixed media on paper, 40 x 25.5 inches.

Memory, Place, and Identity as Filter: Streams of Painted Consciousness

This exhibition, with works by three artists from PAFA here in Philadelphia, asks “Why do some experiences keep their vivid quality while others change and fade?” The series of works show memory as an abstract place, leaving viewers “to ponder the space between what is known and what is imagined”.

Joan Turner, The Garden, Found object assemblage, 7.25 x 8 x 8.25 inches

Amanda Bush is a painter from South Mississippi. She uses oil and acrylic to recreate ethereal landscapes inspired by her memories of the South.

Joan Turner studied at PAFA and UPenn, and creates fantastical dream-like oil paintings and assemblage to explore “the implications of multiple realities of cultural identity”.

Leigh Werrell is an oil painter from Durham, North Carolina, and graduated from PAFA in 2012. She says “The narratives in my pieces are mainly derived from memories of my childhood experiences of interacting with nature…”

Metropolitan’s Sidewalk Series

6PM-9PM AT THE METROPOLITAN GALLERY 250

ART AND ICE CREAM SOCIAL

This First Friday event is part of the Metropolitan’s “Sidewalk Series’, which is a new exhibition dedicated to artists in greater Philly who share their time between working on their art and working in the culinary industry.

This Friday’s event will feature limited edition Sour Cherry, Sea Salt & Dark Chocolate Cookie-flavored ice cream from Little Baby’s Ice Cream, as well as a performance by local folk duo the Sun Flights.

You can find out more and RSVP on Facebook.

What’s Been Going On? Recent Events at the PAA

If you didn’t have a chance to come out for the exciting events that were taking place at the Art Alliance this April, don’t panic. Enjoy these photos from recent events, and make sure to join us in May!

On Tuesday, April 16, Norma Minkowitz gave a Craft & Culture lecture about her work as a sculptor. One of her pieces, Child of the Night, 2009 was particularly interesting. She described it as when a young child wakes up during the middle of the night and is frightened by his toys because of how they appear in the dark; the shapes make monster-like figures. For this sculpture, Minkowitz used fibers and mixed media.

The audience enjoying Norma’s lecture

Minkowitz showing and discussing her artwork

On Friday, April 19, the talented Ariane Alexander-Liao performed five beautiful pieces on the piano accompanied with art by Constance Braden, which made for a unique and exciting recital. The artwork was created in response to the specific piano pieces performed by Alexander-Liao, adding a visual component to the musical experience that left the audience in awe.

Below, Alexander-Liao discusses the pieces included in her performance

On Wednesday, April 24, the sixth installment of CaveCast was held here at the Art Alliance with guest DJ Vincent Smaldone, aka DJ Image, addressing the subject of Turntablism. DJ Image discussed his history as a DJ and also showed some videos of old school DJ artists, which proved to be enlightening and interesting. It was a treat for the crowd, who got to participate in a discussion with DJ Image about the art of scratching and to try their hands at it!

With the help of an audience member, DJ Image demonstrates how to scratch

Left to Your One Device Winners announced!

Left to Your One Device Winners announced!

We set the challenge and you responded by slicing, drilling, sticking, needling, sawing, scoring and animating, and now the winners of our Left to Your One Device competition have been chosen.

The competition asked you to take inspiration from our current exhibition The Tool at Hand, where artists created pieces using one tool. We received some wonderful videos from artists and creatives, and you can watch the winning submissions here on our website. We hope you’ll enjoy them as much as we did.

You can also check out the profile of one of our entrants by Peter Crimmins, arts and culture correspondent for WHYY.

This Thursday April 25 at 6pm selected entries will be on display alongside the Tool at Hand exhibition, and the winners will be awarded prizes including experiences at Nextfab, the Clay Studio, Artists & Craftsmen, and more. There will also be a musical performance by pianist Ariane Alexander-Liao, who is coming back to the Art Alliance especially.

This is also the final weekend to see our Spring 2013 exhibitions, The Tool at Hand, along with Molly Hatch’s ceramic exhibition, Reverie. If you haven’t ventured on down to our galleries here in Rittenhouse Square to see them yet, then be sure to come on over by April 28^th. We’ll see you soon!

This Wednesday is CaveCast 006: A night of Turntablism

This Wednesday April 24th is the sixth edition of our popular CaveCast events, and this one is going to be a smash. Vincent Smaldone, aka DJ Image, will be here at the Art Alliance with our host Brian Cassidy to discuss the art and science of Turntablism.

If you already know what Turntablism is, you’ll know that DJ Image is a bit of a local legend. He scratches his way around the US from his base in Central PA, and has already told us he “can’t wait to come to the cave and talk turntable skills!”

If you’ve never heard of Turntablism, fear not. You’ve probably already heard examples, such as DJ Shadow and RJD2, on television or radio. The first popular release to use Turntablism techniques was Rockit by the eminent jazz composer Herbie Hancock.

So what is Turntablism exactly? It’s the impressive technique of using a record player as an instrument. Skilled DJs use turntables and vinyl to create brand new music. They scratch in time, mix, match, mash and juggle new beats, and really show off their talent by improvising live on stage. It takes acute rhythm and reflexes to pull off a great live set.

Philadelphia has played a key part in this art of DJing, so where better to learn about it than here at the Art Alliance, with local DJ Image to show us the beats?

For more information and to RSVP, click over to Facebook. We can’t wait to see you on Friday at 9pm.

Suggested donation is $5, BYO Records & Beer, and we’ll have drinks available from our sponsors Narragansett and Spodee.