Ah, this week marks 2018’s first official trailer for the spring season with Tuesday and Wednesdays 70 degree weather and spots of sun! Although I’m usually an indoor cat, I found myself sprawling on the lawn at Longwood Gardens yesterday, trying to soak in some vitamin D, knowing I’ll probably have to store it for another month and half before spring weather really takes effect. While we’re waiting with baited breath, there’s plenty for indoor cats to do, art wise.
Starting off with one of the more springy offerings for the First Friday March 2nd is Station Gallery’s group show. This exhibition features Ed Bronstein, Sherrill Cooper, and Barbara Straussberg, each of whom bring a prismatic palette and brisk, breezy approach to their compositions. This is a group show where all pieces play nicely. Barbara Straussberg’s abstract paintings, which remind me of Helen Frankenthaler, look the way I feel experiencing these first warm days of spring. The colors jump off the canvas, and intermingle against the soft white negative space, with deliberate strokes.
Sherrill Cooper’s figurative work moves swiftly through time and space with thick, confident strokes. Couples dancing on the beach, children playing in the surf- these pieces strike a chord of nostalgia. Ed Bronstein’s paintings, which focus much more on the East Coast cityscapes, capture the warmth of a city on summer’s edge, particularly with his piece, “Boys on a Bench,” which paints a picture of two school children hanging out by the river on one of the first days of their spring break. Join Station Gallery on March 2nd from 5 to 8 p.m. for their wine and cheese reception. Show runs through March 29th.
This Friday, Delaware Contemporary hosts the opening reception for The Nature of Color featuring Scott McClurg and John Breakey. The reception runs from 5 to 9 p.m. and is part of Wilmington’s Art Loop event. For those of you who are not aware, The Loop is Wilmington’s First Friday initiative hosted by the arts community. The self guided tour takes you through a variety of Wilmington neighborhoods to view art in participating venues and arts organizations and is sponsored by the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs and private partnerships. The Nature of Color runs through March 31st.
The Palette & The Page will host the reception for their upcoming show, “Synthesis,” on March 2nd from 5 to 8 p.m. Sculptor and Mosaic Artist Amy Bruckner joins book sculptor Jodi Harvey. The title is fitting, as these artists transform existing objects through their art. Synthesis runs through March 31. If Amy Bruckner’s beautiful mosaic violins look familiar, she studied under Philadelphia mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar of Philadelphia Magic Gardens fame.
Jodi Harvey’s book sculptures are so intricate and absolutely magical, it’s easier to believe she created the book around her original sculptures than to imagine that she actually crafted these pieces out of ordinary books. Enjoy acoustic music by Joe Paulus, and check out writer Cathy Gohlke, as she will be in attendance for a signing for her new book, “Until We Find Home.” She will also be in the studio on Saturday, March 3rd at 10:30 a.m. for a writers talk. As per The Palette & The Page website, “Cathy Gohlke is the two-time Christy Award-winning author of William Henry is a Fine Name and I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires, which also won the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Book of the Year Award and was listed by Library Journal as one of the Best Books of 2008.”
While we’re on the subject of books, head over to Bookplace in Oxford for their show “Any Body.” A departure from the plein air landscapes, and bucolic paintings of the Brandywine Valley, Oxford features all nude figurative work in this exhibition. The style of this exhibition is reminiscent of the more traditional work produced at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. The bookstore has ties there, as Dan Miller, the most senior member of the PAFA faculty has exhibited with Bookplace for the last fourteen years. So if you’d like to get your fix of classical figurative drawings, please take in this show! Bookplace is open Friday 1-4, Saturday 10-5, Sunday 12-5 and by appointment. at 2373 Baltimore Pike in Oxford, PA. Enjoy the unseasonably warm weather. Until next week!
About Caroline Roosevelt
Caroline Roosevelt is a writer and artist based in Kennett Square, PA. She received her B.A. in Art History from Connecticut College and a Post Baccalaureate certificate from Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. She has previously written art coverage in Seattle, WA and Philadelphia, PA. She currently co-hosts Art Watch radio on 1520 WCHE.
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