by Lori Hill

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Published: Jul 2, 2007

Gallery Joe

Spring by Samantha Simpson, ballpoint pen on paper (CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

Group shows are the order of the month for July, starting with "INK!" at Gallery Joe. The show of 11 artists, curated by Sarah Holloran, features work chosen for its dedication to ink as a medium, shunning its mere shopping-list and crossword-puzzle workaday uses. Here, ink becomes a force, a voice for its artists' philosophies and notions. Samantha Simpson's ballpoint pen drawings have the feeling of old-timey carnival advertisements, with banners and text revealing innermost thoughts like "I wish my possessions would stop talking about me behind my back." Her Spring reveals a sentiment about aging while a skeleton dances amid foliage and wildlife with illustrative flourishes. Martin Wilner contributes scrupulously drawn books like the circular-shaped Journal of Evidence Weekly. Sharyn O'Mara, Gil Kerlin, Emily Brown, Jacob El Hanani and others have a place in the show, as well, and of course there's the incomprehensibly detailed work of Philadelphia stalwart Astrid Bowlby, who also won a 2007 Pennsylvania Council for the Arts grant for sculpture and installation.

Reception Fri., July 6, 6-8 p.m., exhibit runs through July 28, 302 Arch St., 215-592-7752.

Artists' House

Red Hood by David Palumbo, oil on panel (CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

Another group show, another set of worthy artists, but go if only to see the work of two of my favorite Philadelphia portraitists, Anthony Palumbo and Katherine Fraser. Fraser has said of her work, "Life often strikes me as a string of moments, like a series of film stills, in which we observe ourselves. I paint people experiencing these moments of profound self-awareness and growth; when the rest of the world drops away and we are left bare." Her paintings are poetic and evocative, but never melodramatic. She paints women lost in terrible or at least deep thought, boys in bathing suits or winter hats waiting for something to happen, and absolutely everyone in moments of subtle and warm humanity. While Fraser delights in the delicate interaction between people and rural surroundings, Palumbo is the consummate city portraitist. He paints the indelicate collision of people and urban grit. Crowded wintry streets, dark alleyways and the incomparable scene that is the underground station at 15th and Market — uninviting turnstiles, grimy tiles and all. The title of one of his works, Concrete and Glass, paired with its gentle-looking subject, sums up Palumbo's dichotomous style. Other artists include Brian Schumacher, Daniel Miller and Amber Lia-Koppel, whose work possesses an everyday sensuousness that is surprising and at ease with itself.

Reception Fri., July 6, 5-8:30 p.m., through Aug. 17, 57 N. Second St., 215-923-8440.

And Then There's...

More group power mobilizes at Clay Studio. Graduate students from schools as nearby as Tyler and as far-flung as Arizona State show their work at Clay Studio this month. In the Associate Artists' Group Exhibition, Cheryl Hendershott's tree-headed figure and others take root, while Lorna Meaden's elaborate vessels inhabit the Bonovitz Space. Receptions Fri., July 6, 5-9 p.m., exhibits run through July 29, 139 N. Second St., 215-925-3453. ... The roof of the South Street Whole Foods has played host to Fringe shows and now welcomes a multimedia art event on Saturday in honor of "A Greener Philadelphia," particularly the green roof phenomenon. Three artists will paint a collaborative work, while graffiti and sticker artists will do their thing, all to the sounds of local DJs, including CP's own Local Support icon Jon Solomon. Look for more "Canvas Clash" events every month, courtesy of Freshout Media. Sat., July 7, 3-7 p.m. (rain date July 8, 3-7 p.m.), 929 South St. ... Artist Amy Stevens makes and takes with "Confections," a show of her work at Mew Gallery up through the end of the month. She makes cupcakes from scratch, then takes photographs of them on coordinating backgrounds to tease our palates and our minds. Exhibit runs through Aug. 10, 906 Christian St., 215-625-2424. ... Showing closely framed hands or faces, soldiers alone or with spouses, Suzanne Opton's photographs at the Michener Museum allow viewers to see the strength and vulnerability of soldiers removed from the context of war. Opton took these moving photographs upon their homecoming from Iraq or Afghanistan. Opens Sun., July 8, artist's lecture, Sept. 4, 1 p.m., exhibit runs through Oct. 21, 138 S. Pine St., Doylestown, 215-340-9800.

(l_hill@citypaper.net)

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