March 14, 2018

Happy 3.1415926 or Pi Day! If there’s ever a day to explain away ordering an entire pizza for yourself, it would be today. So, I say, take full advantage! While you’re doing that, I’ll tell you a little bit about what’s going on in the arts this week and next week.

This Friday, Church Street Gallery will debut a new exhibition of Margo Allman’s work entitled, “Drawings and Small Paintings.” Allman studied at Smith College and Moore College of Art and Design and has created work for over half century.

Allman’s paintings, which are influenced by a background in printmaking, focuses on pattern based, geometric composition. Specifically, Margo has concentrated on ovular shapes in her recent work. She experiments with the overlapping of ovular patterns, as they move in and out, forwards and backwards in space. Her paintings and drawings move with a deliberate and unavoidable force, reminding me of blown up microscopic images of blood cells coursing through veins. The oval, which historically, is related to the feminine as it resembles the egg and feminine curvature, is a deliberate choice for Allman whose featured piece in this article is titled, “Ovoidal Life Force”. This is a show you don’t want to miss! She has shown at the Delaware Art Museum as well as the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Join Church Street gallery for their reception at 5pm on Friday, March 16th in West Chester, PA. Runs through April 7th.

Delaware Art Museum kicked off their current exhibition, of Modern African American Art from the Museum Collection yesterday. This exhibition, which follows right behind Black History Month, features work from black artists all over the country between 1937 – 2017. Featuring work by: Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, Aaron Douglas, Norman Lewis, and Edward Loper, Sr., as well as recently acquired examples by Humbert Howard, Malvin Gray Johnson, Robert Neal, and Beulah Ecton Woodard. The two Jacob Lawrence prints in this exhibition are a particularly big deal, as he is one of the most well known black artists of the 20th century.

Lawrence’s flat, colorful compositions incorporate elements of modernism (and its children, fauvism and cubism), as well as African art. The bright, and simple paintings focus on the everyday. By elevating the simple subject matter of work life, and home  life and the commute, in between, Jackson creates the narrative of a working class black person. As racist aggression is an element of the everyday for the black population, several of his paintings also illustrate their oppression at the hands of the police, or the white population. His work is particularly poignant as our society continues to break down systemic racism. This exhibition runs through the summer and ends September 12th.

Next Wednesday, Delaware Contemporary will feature their next installation of the On Art speaker series. Make a date to listen to John Breakey, co-artist of the current exhibition, “The Nature of Color” (alongside Scott Alan McClurg). Join Delaware Contemporary for this presentation next Wednesday, March 21st from 5:25 to 6 p.m. and stay after for the Open Studio workshop from 6 to 8 p.m. On Art and the Open Studio workshops occur every third Wednesday of the month.

The gallery at Bookplace in Oxford, PA is hosting an exhibition of Joshua Schaefer’s paintings through April 8th. This cozy, second hand bookshop models itself after more social spaces like a French cafe, or an English Pub without the booze. Pop by on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, peruse over 12,000 pre-read books, and take in the work at their gallery.

The Hill School Center for the Arts in Pottstown, PA debuts its upcoming exhibition “PA Made of Steel” on March 23rd in their Boyer Gallery. This exhibition features paintings by Klaus Grutzka, as well as steel sculptures from local sculptors Karen Delaney, Katee Boyle and David Haines. The exhibition was curated by Karen Delaney formerly of Chester County Art Association. Take a peek at this exhibition at their reception on Friday, March 23 from 7 to 9 p.m. or Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Exhibition runs through May 24th.

Next Week tune into Art Watch Radio on WCHE 1520 AM as artist Andrew Snyder hosts – fellow artists Jon Cox and Roger Mustelish, as they talk about the West Chester University dual artist show in John Baker Gallery. Until next week!