Art Live: Love is in the air

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"Drift" by Dennis Beach at The Art Trust

In February we celebrate love, and several venues are featuring works about love this month. The Art Trust Gallery at Meridian Bank in West Chester opens this Friday Feb. 7th with a new exhibition that is all about a love for nature. “Shades of Gray” features artists Leah Wells, Roderick Hidalgo and Dennis Beach. Wells is obviously inspired by nature and our connection to it. Her tonal photographs of shadowy figures and forests are ghost like and will haunt you long after you view them. Although Beach is known for his brightly colored sculpture and paintings, for this exhibition, he is showing works in gray scale. His works aren’t obviously inspired by nature. But take a longer, closer look and you’ll make the connection. About his inspiration Beach said, “I edit, simplify, and bring out the essential elements from the everyday observation of nature.” Whether the work is 2D, 3D or kinetic, it’s the physicality of making it that keeps him motivated to create.

"Landscape II" by Roderick Hildago at The Art Trust

Hidalgo use actual bits from nature to create his works. He combines organic compounds, powdered pigments, beeswax, and liquid resin to create art that evokes life in all forms. About his work, Hidalgo says, “The marrying of these mediums is the beauty. The pieces themselves are like little habitats, almost as if the canvas becomes a living entity.” The exhibition title is also a play on “50 Shades of Grey” the title of an erotic romantic book.  A reception for the artists is from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Visit: http://www.thearttrust.org for more details.

An interesting show about love for home opens with a reception on Feb. 7th at Community Arts Phoenixville (CAP). “Home is Where the Heart is” is an international collaboration between local artist Gillian Pokalo and Icelandic artist Anna Maria Cornette. Pokalo, a printmaker, began working on the project in 2018 when she and Cornette facilitated workshops for women immigrants in both Keflavik, Iceland and Phoenixville, PA to create works using screen printed imagery to represent what home means to them. Pokula and Cornette organized the show working with CAP and Alianzas, a grass roots organization that provides advocacy and resources to Phoenixville’s immigrant population. For more information visit: https://www.communityartsphoenixville.org/gallery

"Portrait" by Jeff Schaller at Teresa Haag Gallery - I Heart Art Exhibition

At Teresa Haag Gallery in Phoenixville, the “I ❤ ART” exhibition is all about sharing stories about the love of creating art, and how artworks inspire love in the world. Fifteen artists are being featured including Maryanne Buschini, Teresa Haag, Amy Phillips-Iverson, Rachel Romano and Jeff Schaller. Schaller is showing portraits of his wife and they are stunning. Romano is showing paintings of women with luscious lips. The exhibition runs through Feb. 29th. A special Couples Collage workshop is being held on Feb. 15th from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. For all the details, visit: https://www.teresahaag.com/.

"Wish Garden" (detail) by Rachel Romano at Teresa Haag Gallery

Other events opening this week: In Malvern, the Philadelphia Water Color Society’s Board Show at Gallery 222 in Malvern opens on Wednesday, Feb. 5th. Meet the artists at a reception on Thursday, Feb. 6th from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

The Chadds Ford Historical Society is hosting its 12th annual “Paint Out Chadds Ford” Plein Air art event from Feb. 6th to Feb. 8th. Artists will brave the cold to paint daytime scenes around the Brandywine Valley. The “still wet” paintings will be framed and hung in the Visitor Center on Saturday, Feb. 8th when the Society will host a reception for the artists from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. For all the details and to purchase tickets visit: http://www.chaddsfordhistory.org/events-programs/paint-out-chadds-ford/.

In Wilmington, DE, Art Loop takes place on First Friday Feb. 7th and the Delaware Contemporary is hosting receptions for three new shows from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. “Midnight Mass”, a majestic installation by Amie Potsic, “Focal Points: Women Advancing the Aperture”, a group exhibition showcasing photographers whose work centers on themes of illusion, perception, and perspective, and, “Atmosphere”, a selection of paintings by John Breakey inspired by the great space above us. For details visit: https://www.decontemporary.org/.

In Greenville, DE, a winter group show opens at The Station Gallery on Friday, Feb. 7th with a reception from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The new show features oil paintings by Gay Freeborn, Maryanne Jacobsen and Kate Mundie. Visit: http://www.stationgallery.net/ for more information.

And, last but not least, in Villanova, the Academy Of Notre Dame De Namur is hosting its 47th Annual Fine Art Show and Sale through Sunday Feb. 9th. Open each day from noon to 4:00 p.m., it features over 100 artists presenting 1,000 works of art.

Whatever you do this week, support the arts!!

 

 

 

 

About Constance McBride

A native of Philadelphia, Constance McBride lived in Arizona for 16 years, where desert observations made a transformative impact on her work as a research based visual artist. Passionate about contemporary art, she was actively engaged in the local arts community. She served as a board member for several art organizations, managed an artist collective/gallery space, curated and juried several exhibitions and wrote for two arts publications in Phoenix. She taught ceramics at Shemer Art Center and Museum and exhibited her work both locally and nationally. McBride returned to Pennsylvania in 2018 and resides in Chester Springs with her husband and two dogs. In West Chester, she serves as a board member at The Art Trust Gallery at Meridian Bank and teaches ceramics at Chester County Art Association. She also teaches at Clay on Main in Oley, PA. She is a member of American Craft Council, Philadelphia Sculptors, and Women’s Caucus for Art, Philadelphia Chapter.

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