Oasis

This morning I found myself spending some time with Miranda and thinking about the change of seasons and exhibitions. (Miranda is the wonderful blog put out by the ICA Philadelphia which is worth perusing if you have the time.) Rachel Pastan, the voice behind Miranda, reflected on the upcoming fall and change of seasons. Which, I hate to get ahead of myself -I can hardly believe it’s August, but it does seem as if summer is ending early. Perhaps due in part to the wicked heat we experienced already this year one feels as though the season is passing. My time at the DCCA will unfortunately be ending soon and this will be the first year of my life that a return to the classroom is not eminent. I’ve found myself with an odd desire to name this blog before I go. As though that will somehow make transitions more palatable. But Miranda is already taken and I find myself a bit jealous, a bit lost.

Things are also in transition here at the DCCA. Obscured by signs reading “Installation in Progress,” Stephen Ruszkowski has been hard at work de-installing NEW the 2010 Members’ Juried Exhibition that has dominated several galleries all summer. And, after a very successful season, Summer Camp has ended as well, returning the volume level to one more typical of an art museum. Both of these things contribute to my increasing sense of nostalgia I suppose. Then I remind myself there will always be something new here to look at and that is what I really love about art, about the DCCA. Even better, I don’t have to wait for it. James Brantley’s work is a recent addition, as is Oasis a collaborative exhibition put on by Delainey Barclay and Jane Quartarone in the Elizabeth Denison Hatch Gallery.

The title is very fitting and the work very enticing amid the heat and change. Barclay’s Humidity Garden hits you as soon as you enter the room. The organic palette and simple lines shared by the two create something of a retreat in space. Melting ice is an element of Quartarone’s sculptures that I have yet to see, although I have high hopes I will witness it tonight during Art on the Town. In the meantime a couple of small post-it notes tell the viewer they’re in the presence of a “work in progress.” I’m happy with that.

The summer really never lasts long enough. August is here already which means Art on the Town will be this Friday. With a few exceptions the DCCA will be showcasing an entirely new group of exhibitions from this time last month. James Brantley’s representational cityscapes are on view in the Beckler Family Members’ Gallery. His paintings exude a quiet balance of energy and stillness. In many of the works buildings become landscape, as they seem to recede endlessly into a flattened meeting with the horizon where emotive skies take over. The palette most often reflects dark browns and grays, as well as other darkening hues appropriate for depicting city dwelling. Contrasting color then becomes a welcome relief as well as part of focus of the work. In some, like On the Corner, the sky displays the colors of the changing day, the brief hour or two where it becomes truly captivating. Other skies are calmer and the light comes from within the buildings in a seductive allusion to the seldom-depicted inhabitants. The juxtaposition of land and air creates the atmosphere in these pieces enabling varied sensations about the tranquility of metropolitan living.



James Brantley will be here on Friday for the exhibition opening and will give an informal gallery talk at 6:30. Of course, Art on the Town is always an opportunity to see the artists’ studios here, including Delainey Barclay and Jane Quartarone whose collaborative exhibition, Oasis, is also on view through the end of the month.

There will also be live music with guest musician Shaun Dougherty at 6 pm.
Hope to see you there!

Summer months are often the hardest time to draw a crowd, especially a crowd situated so close to, yet so far from, the beach; but we did! Last night Members’ Evening at the DCCA drew in a diverse group to join us for this family-oriented event. Kids rushed through the galleries trying to identify the works different image details were taken from as part of a scavenger hunt designed by Jane Chesson and the education department. Just like any other day, prizes were given to all those who completed the hunt. And with crafts, fresh cotton candy, and icees available there were lots of treats to choose from.



Other, more experienced visitors, enjoyed the company, a few drinks and a great spread of food. Susan Isaacs spoke about the works on view, leading a large crowd through the galleries. My husband and son joined me for quick bite to eat, a beer for one and an apple on a stick (which is what my almost two year old child called the cotton candy) for the other. He loved the pixel-lapse photo booth and Joseph Barbaccia’s bright Eight Currents installation. It was a great night out of the heat amid art-lovers, supporters and makers!



Right now set-up is in progress for a Double Take: A Green Fashion & Art Event which will take place tomorrow night from 6-10pm. Presented by Pieces of Me Entertainment; the event will feature a runway presentation showcasing recycled clothes, group performances, an organic wine tasting and more! Nike will be hosting its Reuse a Shoe program at the event. They’re hoping to collect 200 pairs of old Nikes! Donations of all gently used shoes and clothing will be accepted.

Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door, $40 for VIP, price includes reserved seating, complimentary drink and gift bag!

This Sunday, July 25th is the last day to see New: 2010 Members’ Juried Exhibition, featuring over 30 contemporary artists. Come add your picture to 1000+ taken in Steven Silberg’s pixel-lapse photo booth. You’ll get a free copy to take home with you and will become part of the archive at:
http://www.pixel-lapse.com/dcca

Art on the Town

Friday night was the monthly Art of the Town here at the DCCA. The evening began with a presentation by Carrie Dashow and the kids

she’d worked with from the Latin American Community Center, The Geographers. An enormous globe shaped piñata hung from the ceiling in the lobby; covered in maps of Wilmington and the kids’ native countries as well as assorted flamboyant adornments it added a youthful feeling to the galleries. Sitting at a table near the door I was able to observe the excitement and surprise expressed by new arrivals at witnessing such an unexpected event. The piñata

itself was a “portal” to send one into Mesatly, a world created by the collaborative. The construction of the piñata was clearly more meticulous than anticipated, as it was quite a feat to break it open. After a few initial attempts the girls shied away for the most part but the boys eagerly stepped up for multiple turns with an ever increasing allotment of strikes per go.

Finally, almost reluctantly, it submitted pouring confetti, candy and tokens created by the children onto the lobby floor. The kids wasted no time making sure all of the candy was accounted for. When they were finished the small tokens they’d made, a heart, a milk carton etc. remained amid the heaps of confetti on the lobby floor (much to the dismay of those responsible for sweeping it up). The objects were things of value to the kids that they wished to take with them into the future. With the portal breached the entire group moved to the nearby installation they’d created for a more thorough presentation of conceptions motivating the creation Mesatly. Stop in to see more, the work will be on view until July 23. (Above:Installation View and Detail)

Shortly after a group of us moved to the E. Avery Draper Showcase where Joseph Barbaccia discussed Eight Currents, sculptures about harmony and balance in life. The works present timeless dichotomies, suffering vs. happiness, gain vs. loss, praise vs. ridicule. Crowded into the now blue room he took center stage as he introduced the work and the motivating mythology. Quickly it turned into a question and answer forum that he eagerly guided. The organically shaped pieces are covered in what must be thousands of sequins that create a beautiful, reflective, almost scaly surface. Several of the kids had joined the discussion and when it came time for questions one boy, one of the most enthusiastic participants in the fall of the piñata, could hardly contain his question. On Ridicule, which is comprised of green and purple sequins, he spotted one red one and wanted to know why. Barbaccia, clearly excited by the observation, said it is an homage to a Japanese tradition of deliberately denying perfection in order to avoid offending the gods. He went on to say there is one sequin in every piece that is out of place, which of course prompted every one of us to begin looking again from new angles. (Ridicule and Loss, Installation View)

For most the night was clearly full of familiar faces, with excited greetings, hugs and kisses. With the children from LACC and their families, as well as those who came just for Art on the Town, there was a sizable gathering, but the atmosphere remained very familiar and intimate, and certainly energized!

Members’ Evening is next Thursday! With food catered by A Moveable Feast, cotton candy from Thyme Catering, and exciting artworks it promises to be a fun, family friendly event. Everyone who has left his or her name for the drawing for a Free Membership at the end of the month is invited to attend for free! Hope to see you there.

Art on the Town

Free Art!
Free AC!
Free Parking & WiFi!
Don’t forget tonight is Art on the Town at the DCCA! This means we’ll be open late! Tonight will feature openings for Joseph Barbaccia and Julio da CunhaIf. If you haven’t been here before tonight’s a great night to come see what we’re all about. The exhibition space is free and open to the public. The artists’ studios will be open as well for a chance to look at the process behind their work. We’ll be serving wine at prices you just can’t beat!
Hope to see you there soon and often!

If you can’t make it tonight don’t worry, we’re here full time and always participate in loop night sponsored by the City of Wilmington. Here’s a quick link to our calendar for information about other upcoming events:
http://www.thedcca.org/events.html

The Most Important Meal

Stephanie Kirk’s Breakfast Serial-Pink seems an elaborate meal reminiscent of Amy Steven’s luscious pastry photographs while also referring to more deeply embedded traditions of artists like On Kawara who focus on repetition and daily routine. In actuality the meal is fairly simple and the stage well set. The image speaks to the universality of practices while highlighting a tendency to decorate, to glamorize. One could say of all art it is a documentation of human experience. One would be correct. And rather dull. But there is something about the personal chronicling that seems almost compulsive in a media driven culture where the Internet in all its marvels unifies us and makes it possible to know what strangers across the globe may have had for breakfast (if that is what one hopes to know). These images reflect a personal space and an intimate solitary routine documented without a lust show the world her personal life. Taking a picture of a daily practice entails more time than might be imagined. The routine separates the participant from the moment and the repetition of action and habit become a consideration all their own. The progress of the series documents Kirk’s reaction to the contamination of local water supply as she switches to paper plates and bottled water until the problem resolves itself.

Of the series Kirk says, “Breakfast is my favorite meal. I enjoy making it and eating it. I take time to read the detritus that builds up from mail delivery. These images are from Breakfast Serial, a series of images that I took over a year of making breakfasts. The breakfasts don’t vary much except to note the various seasons. I sit at the same place at the table and generally use the same placemat.”

To read the rest of her artist statement and see more of the series visit:

http://www.skirkphotos.com/

Crash, Hush...

Last week I had the opportunity to speak to Linda Celestian about her experience here as a studio artist and about Crash, Hush…, the show she most recently hung here at the DCCA with Kyle Ripp. Crash, Hush… features a dark diptych reminiscent of the ocean at night. One feels the intensity of movement and sound in the midst of abstraction. Linda’s previous work was rooted in nature; from her experiences spending childhood summers living on boat, to the collection of pods and other oddities she stores in her studio to this day. Linda is very articulate about her imagery and emphasizes new methodology she employs, that entails pouring and pushing paint in ways she hadn’t previously. Abstraction has taken over during her time in the studio here and while her work still stems from a natural source she pointedly moves away from mimicking nature to find a balance between its inspiration and her own. For the current show her work is moving even farther from her natural boundaries to include sound and sculpture. An unimposing CD player with headphones stands in the center of the room. Putting them on reinforces the imagery already at play in the space as an uncanny woman’s voice seems to be calling out of a depth for one. In contrast, the sculpture is light, embodying a different experience of the elements. Though her studies originally focused

on fibers and fashion they have not been present in her contemporary work. I feel, given Linda's passion for the new materials and the resulting work, The Ocean’s Whisper to Me, this will not become a solitary instance of sculpture in her greater oeuvre.

Visiting her studio space one is confronted with a series of dichotomies; old and new, realism and abstraction, and warm vs. cool palettes. All of the work she’s showing now presents cool blues, greens and grays. Unseen work in her studio (all on the right-hand side) exhibits intense reds and oranges. There’s a relatively small painting, possibly my favorite piece, hanging in the hall outside of her studio. The palette is very similar to Crash, Hush… but with the intrusion of a somehow romantic rust color that moves the work to great new places. The show will be up through the end of the month, so hurry in to see it.

To see more of her work online, or to arrange a studio visit yourself go to:

http://www.lindacelestian.com/

She has really beautiful bracelets for sale through the store link on her homepage!

Voices in the Gallery

On one of my first days here I wandered the galleries and found myself standing for quite some time in the midst of Gabriela Bulisova’s documentary photo series The Option of Last Resort: Iraqi Refugees in the United States. The poignant works speak for themselves while many of the individuals portrayed struggle to do so. But if it didn’t one can hear the voices of the refugees, young and old, men and women, trying to locate their displacement. I could talk about the beautiful technical manipulations and compositions that clearly articulate a disenfranchised, disillusioned populace but that seems to trivialize it. I stood alone in the E. Avery Draper Showcase on a mark, quite similar to a stage marking, beneath the clear plastic half-sphere that amplified the speaker at that location and muffled it to a degree once one went not too far in any direction. The voices came one after the next talking of threats, rapes, escapes. I tried to locate a beginning and an end, but that blurred it more. As I listened I turned and focused on Bulisova’s prints, unframed and pinned to the wall, each voice seemed to belong to each face or to provide a surrogate where features were blurred. The temporal nature of the hanging combined with the universal title, Iraqi Refugee, attributed to such divergent images made the moment more unsettling. If I stepped off my mark the voices became harder to hear, the accents more difficult to sort through and I started losing them before I left the room. One image in particular I returned to waiting and wanting the figure to find resolution but it refused. I read later that after helping the American effort the woman depicted relocated to Michigan where she’s employed at a grocery store hoping one day to be reunited with the man she loves and of whom her parents disapprove. Knowing this now does not make the work better. Reading synopses of personal histories, that without fault fail to tell the whole story, does not compare to Bulisova’s sensitive, unaffected rendering of her subjects and the experience of being in their midst.

Sadly these photos no longer occupy the space; the tragedy and thrill of contemporary art. To see more of The Option of Last Resort visit:

www.metrocollective.org/home


Joseph Barbaccia's Eight Currents can be seen there now through August 29. To preview his work visit:

http://www.thedcca.org/Galleries/draper.html

Art In the Open

Recent Artist in Residence here at the DCCA, Ben Volta is participating in ART IN THE OPEN PHILADELPHIA. The event is happening now through Saturday, June 12th on the Schuylkill River Banks along the path under the Market Street Bridge, with a special reception on Saturday from 3-5.

Ben Volta is a Philadelphia educated artist who is building a reputation for himself exhibiting education-based collaborative works throughout the region. He is the recipient of numerous Arts in Education Grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, is a member of Tim Rollins and K.O.S. in NYC, and is a fellow at the Center for Emerging Visual Artists in Philadelphia.

In 2009 Ben Volta and the young people from the Margaret S. Sterk School for the Deaf collaborated on a DCCA Art & Community Visual Arts Residency project that explored assigned and chosen identity. The result was an impressive installation featuring abstracted self-portraits made with a combination of hand drawn visual elements, mixed media objects, and computer generated digital images. We hope to see Ben back at the DCCA soon!

Polygon Blooms is a collaboration between Ben Volta, educator Jerry Jackson and students at Grover Washington Jr. Middle School. The project will be exhibited at Art in the Open Philadelphia in addition to the work of over 30 other artists.

Looks like Friday will be the best weather for the event so go sooner rather than later!

To read more about Polygon Blooms visit:

http://polygonblooms.blogspot.com/

And to learn more about Art in the Open visit:

http://artintheopenphila.org/

Welcome to the DCCA

Trevor Reese, hope to see you soon, 2008

Wood and fresh fruit

As a recent graduate from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts I am very pleased to be spending my summer interning at the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts. Over the last few decades much, if not too much, has been said about the spaces art comes to occupy. Revelations that were critical years ago become a little tired despite their relevance. Somehow though, for me this space transcends many of those concerns. The unfinished ceilings are high enough not to interfere with viewing, but their status reflects the contemporary nature and motivation of the space. The galleries are not numerous or large, but their layout and variation gives one a sense of privacy while viewing and somehow the space seems to keep giving as one turns corner after corner expecting to come to the end but not. Somehow an intimacy is created for the work that contrasts with the flamboyant freshness. One can come here and see unknown works by unknown artists. But the relevance, the variety is so palpable and the space becomes a part of it. In the lobby there’s a large installation part sculpture part game. For a dollar one can make art, be art, support art, whatever fits your mood.

I’ve been asked to start this record of my time here. I want most of all to convey my appreciation and admiration for this space and the people who make it happen. I want to propose a discussion about art as a means to share this space with those who haven’t made it all the way here yet, and hopefully compel a few to stop in, share your thoughts, and take something home with you (did I mention Alternatives, the museum store…?). So for the next few months I’ll be sharing my impressions of the work, people and events here at the DCCA. Hope to hear from you.