Philadelphian, Zoe Strauss is a conceptual artist and photographer. She is well known for her striking, honest and often unnerving photographs of America that she describes as “the beauty and struggle of everyday life.” Those photos all being part of an annual installation under an interstate in Philadelphia.
Her career skyrocketed with the inclusion of her work in the 2005 Whitney Biennial and more recently with her second solo exhibit at Bruce Silverstein Gallery in NY and the release of her first book, America through Ammo Books.
This video uses new footage and footage taken during the production of If You Break the Skin You Must Come In, the feature length documentary directed by myself for the Institute of Contemporary Art about Strauss in which she was interviewed by teenagers in the Philadelphia foster care system. The video explores the intent behind Strauss’ annual installation under I95 and her relationship with her subjects.
O’Neil’s method of creating his works is similar to that of musicians sampling sounds to create their compositions. O’Neil appropriates images, often times using amateur photos or images from instruction manuals as sources. The reproduced image is then washed with new color to create monochrome layers juxtaposed with other images. O’Neil’s method is reflected in the title of his first solo exhibit at K&W, ‘Collect. Consume. Rebuild.’ These colorful and emotional paintings have a storytelling quality that relates a narrative, yet still remain poetic, allowing the viewer to determine their interpretation.
‘Collect. Consume. Rebuild’ opens May 8 at Kelly & Weber Fine Art.
Rubens Ghenov on his folkloric drawings, intertwining symbols from his native Brazil to that of his current residence in the US. Done in charcoal and ink, Ghenovs work develops into narrative as he explores his own faith and connection to spirituality.
Kukuli Velarde references the pre-Columbian imagery of her native Peru to explore issues of colonization, as well as personal issues such as aging. Known and respected as a ceramics artist for works like her Isichapuitu series, which involved 74 variations on a 2,000 year-old Huastecan statue, Velarde now lives at Norris Square in Philadelphia, where for the last few years she has been exploring herself as a painter—a thing she once thought she would never do again. kukulivelarde.com, Saatchi Collection
Hester Stinnett makes monoprints combining the personal notes of her mother suffering from dementia with a handwritten manuscript of Joseph Conrad made just before the writing of his greatest novels. ‘Transcriptions’ opens in March, 2008 at Kelly & Weber Fine Art.
Sculptor and printmaker, Norm Paris addresses the act of looking to leisure icons to save us all with work including the sculpture installation ‘Michael Jordan, Save the World’, 23 Jordans attempting to catch 24 falling bombs.
Sculptor/Ceramicist, Doug Herren on his upcoming show at Kelly & Weber Fine Art. Doug talks about the industrial influences that he uses to expand upon his ceramics and pottery background to create large vessel forms in bright acid colors.
Ryan Widger talks about his process oriented photo series shot during his Fulbright fellowship in Stockholm, Sweden and his images of disruptions within the mundane.
Painter, builder, community activist, Ira Upin talks about making his large, modular paintings in his recent series ‘Random Thoughts’ and his life in Northern Liberties, Philadelphia since ‘77
