First Friday Focus: A fresh art start to 2015
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
While Jan. 2 is the first Friday of 2015 as well as of the month, many galleries don't kick off new exhibitions until Jan. 9 or so. But there's still art to be seen around Old City particularly. After you've signed up for that gym you're really going to make use of this year — really, seriously, you're sticking with it — be sure to swing by.
OUTERWEAR GAME STRONG: Mervyn Vowles, who painted this piece, “Six More Weeks,” is among the artists exhibiting at Artists’ House’s “Young Visions” show, opening this week.
Mervyn Vowles
Mervyn Vowles
While Jan. 2 is the first Friday of 2015 as well as of the month, many galleries don’t kick off new exhibitions until Jan. 9 or so. But there’s still art to be seen around Old City particularly. After you’ve signed up for that gym you’re really going to make use of this year — really, seriously, you’re sticking with it — be sure to swing by:
Artists’ House, “Young Visions”
Five recent graduates from PAFA and other area art schools will showcase their paintings and sculpture this month. We know, “art-school work” is usually a tired euphemism for “not so great,” but these artists’ proximity to school years don’t discount their talent. In fact, they’re that much more impressive. Mervyn Vowles’ detailed, subdued portraits; Theresa Aluise’s abstract sculptures, which she says reveal “personal moments of horror” but “[try] to point out the humor of the situation,”; the lush colors and figures by Kala Hag-opian, co-founder of the female art collective Chroma Dolls — this is work that’s mature, focused and a breath of fresh air. Fri., Jan. 2, regular Friday gallery hours 1:30-5:30 p.m., call for First Friday hours, Artists’ House, 57 N. Second St., 215-923-8440, artistshouse.com.
3rd Street Gallery, “Assemblage: Art”
Less is typically more in gallery spaces, but sometimes a show with broad appeal is a smart idea — there’s a greater chance a viewer will connect with an artist or a piece if there is more than just one style of art on view. In this show, 14 artists’ work will allow visitors to take in works across several mediums. Among them will be Kathleen Babb’s vibrant landscapes, the trippy mixed media of Franz Fox and the abstract work of painter Jacqueline Ferretti, who says she’s influenced by the Tom Waits poem “Seeds on Hard Ground”: “Can I get up off the mat/ Like a wrestler that has been beaten, beaten/ Can I get up and come roaring back?” Fri., Jan. 2, 5-9 p.m., 3rd St. Gallery, 45 N. Second St., 215-625-0993, 3rdstreetgallery.com.
Other old city happenings
Wine and champagne at Pinot Boutique: For $5, continue your New Year’s Day toasting with five tastings from a few local wineries. Pinot will also be serving champagne. Fri., Jan. 2, 6-10 p.m., Pinot Boutique, 227 Market St., 215-627-9463, pinotboutique.com.
Memphis Hat at Settle Down: Bluesy-jazzy Memphis Hat plays gratis, plus free beer, too. Settle Down realty company is also selling raffle tickets to raise money for the Meredith Elementary School in Queen Village. Fri., Jan. 2, 5-9 p.m., Settle Down Philadelphia, 34 N. Front St., 215-253-3439, oldcitydistrict.org.
