Previous Shows

Other Worlds

Featuring graphite and ink work by Greg Brellochs and sculpture and prints by Allen Linder.

opens with reception April 9, from 5 - 8p.m.

Featuring both large and small scale graphite drawings by Philadelphia based artist Gregory Brellochs, as well as figurative sculptures and drypoint intaglio prints by DC area artist Allen Linder. In both Greg and Allen's work we find the allure of mystery and delight in seeing forms emerge from the unknown. Their graphic works in particular capture the essence of fleeting moments, rather than permanence. Dense with detail and intrigue, each of the works in this show is beautiful by virtue of its own exquisite fragility.

continues through May 8

gbrellochs.com

lindersculpture.com

Fabricated Stories

Featuring mixed media works by Dolores Poacelli and David Carrow.

The works of these two artists engage us with their physicality. They are very much fabricated. Dolores "paints" with hand-shaped metals and other materials, while David assembles the artifacts of daily life into sculptures. The juxtaposed elements of each artist's work inspire curiosity and contemplation about the stories embedded in their making.

through March 6, 2010.

Chromatic Alchemy

features paintings by John Clark and Gabriel Turner Byrne

open with reception March 12, from 5 - 8p.m.

Alchemy can be viewed as an elusive bridge between science and poetry, where reasoned search and serendipitous encounter coexist as potential agents of truth. John and Gabriel both revere the science and traditions of their artistic media, yet seek in their own ways, to court chance occurrences and circumstance as offering means to new discoveries.

continues through April 3.

johnclarkpaintings.com

gabrieltbyrne.com

Arabesque Expressionism: Adams & Stuelpnagel

opens with reception Friday, January 8, 2010.

Daniel's interwoven grids and Madeline's jostling ovals, while quite formally different, both engage geometry as poetic structure – against which resonance and variations are framed. Their works often evoke both the textures of intricate Middle Eastern arabesques and free-form verse. Think of Persian textiles flirting with Jackson Pollack murals.

through February 6.

Madeline Adams' website

Daniel Stuelpnagel's website

Sublime Nature

featuring the photography of Mark Fields and Georg Purvis III

opens with reception May 14, from 5 - 8p.m.

This exhibition contrasts two very different ways of seeing nature's beauty. Georg's photographs, many taken in the Adirondacks, dazzle with their tapestries of luscious color. The richness of detail and evanescent light which Mark captures in his black and white Flower prints, bring their own life to freshly cut blooms.

continues through June 5

Mark Fields' website.

Georg Purvis' website

Naughty - Michael Broderick

opens with reception Friday, December 11.

One of the featured artists from 2007's group exhibition, Monsters from Under the Bed, artist Michael Broderick returns to AxD with his first ever solo show. Naughty is a grown-up's take on Jolly Ol' Saint Nick.

Warning: this show is absolutely not for immature audiences.

through Dec 31

hottlead.com

East Meets East

The Autumn Society of Philadelphia explores the impact of Japanese pop culture on contemporary American culture

opens with reception June 11, from 5 - 8p.m.

Cross-cultural references and fertile imaginations carry the day in this exuberant exhibition featuring works by ten members of "The Autumn Society of Philadelphia", a group of artist-illustrators who delight in appropriation and re-invention of pop culture.

artists include:
Jude Buffum,
Matt Cavanaugh,
Ray Chase,
Eamon Doughtery,
Alex Eckman-Lawn,
Joseph Game,
Maryann Held,
Anthony Pedro,
Jaclyn Sinquett,
Tom Whalen

continues through July 3

theautumnsociety.com

Paperboy with Pedestals: Sculpture & Works on Paper by James Groody

Self taught in the cubist style, James Groody approaches his work the way an architect would: artwork must be designed and built. Many of Groody's abstract portraiture collages are inspired by the diverse -and sometimes perverse- personalities he has encountered over his life. These surreal and whimsical collages are not merely a collection of pasted together magazine clippings. James blows up and enhances each composition then reprints them onto archival paper. The effect of this process becomes strikingly clear upon viewing these large format pieces. Groody applies a similar collage style to his mixed media paintings. Expertly crafted cast metal and wood sculptures also on hand round out a show which offers only a small glimpse into the world of this versatile artist.

thru December 5.

Shooting Men: a photographic journey of erotica, sexuality and gender

Vivienne Maricevic has been photographing naked men for over thirty years. 
Featuring 41 of her works, the Shooting Men exhibition chronicles her lifelong journey, beginning in New York City in the late 1970's, a time when Times Square marquees advertising nudity and sex thrived alongside mainstream Broadway theatres. Her passion led her to document exotic male dancers, live sex shows, porn stars, transsexuals, (both male-to-female and female-to-male), transvestites, drag queens, androgynous women, and of course, the male nude. She has captured moments ranging from pensive introspection to displays of potent virility. Her works are in the collection of International Center of Photography, the Kinsey Institute and numerous private collections.


through November 7

www.sheshootsmen.com

Surfacing - Paul Davis Jones

opened Friday, September 11.

Surfacing is a study in abstract layering. Artist Paul Davis Jones applies and manipulates thin layers of oil paint and metallic pigments mixed with glazes. Adding further contrast, certain areas of his canvases are sanded down or scraped away then glazed over again. As a result shapes reminiscent of bamboo stalks, swirls, veils, and grids emerge from the richly colored depths. These elements compete for the attention of the viewer who is free to engage circles floating on the surface, or some ravaged shape below. As Paul explains, “Each painting is like a theatrical production; the star may be downstage center trying to command the attention of an audience member who is captured by a pretty face downstage left.”

For this exhibition, AxD Gallery and Paul Davis Jones are partnering to donate 20% of all sales to help support two vital Philadelphia non-profit organizations: MANNA and The William Way Community Center.

mannapa.org
waygay.org

through October 3.

 

 

Metallic Motion - Nancy Schall

opened Friday, July 24.

Metallic Motion showcases a collection of improvisational compositions by artist Nancy Schall. These textural works, layered with skeins of oil and enamel paints and even occasionally tar, are heavily influenced by dance music. The saturated pigments and shimmering patterns reflect the emotional responses from electronic rhythms and propulsive beats. The endlessly malleable possibilities that abstraction and music provide come together in the fluid choreography of Schall’s work. In recognition of the artist's interest in supporting the mission of the Cardiovascular Institute of Philadelphia, AxD Gallery is donating 10% of all sales proceeds to benefit the Institute.

through August 15.

nancyschall.com

Dog Days of Summer Art Sale

opened August 19.

Nearly 70 original works by over 30 artists are on display. Paintings, photography, prints, sculptures, and mixed media artwork at 40% off listed retail price.

through September 5.

Outgrowths: Carey Netherton

opens with reception Friday, June 5th, 5 to 8p.m.

In this first ever sculptural exhibition at AxD Gallery artist Carey Netherton explores how new life can be bestowed upon an object when coupled with another. Netherton’s main inspiration comes from the notion of bricolage—which is something produced from whatever is readily available. This series of his latest hybrids appear at once whimsical and foreboding; as if they were created with an effortless stream-of-conscious construction. With an expert command of woodworking, welding, and all forms of casting and art foundry methods, Netherton’s process of manipulation and juxtaposition of natural and industrial materials create simultaneous connections and contradictions. As these device-like contraptions defy functionality they serve to question the true function of any object.

continues through July 18th.

careynetherton.com

Velocity: Works on Paper by Peter G.-Ray

in conjunction with Outgrowths - Carey Netherton, Friday, June 5th.

Virtuoso painter Peter G.-Ray returns for his second engagement at AxD. In contrast to his prior show of large canvases, Velocity features his latest paintings -- intimately scaled works on paper. As always, his work defies static, definitive labels. His latest explorations in working with metallic surfaces and epoxy resin has lead Peter to create his most energized work to date. Despite working in an essentially monochromatic palette, the reflective paper support takes Peter’s techniques into an even more otherworldly dimension, playing with distortion and reflections, different at every new angle.

through July 18th.

AIGA Philadelphia "Show Some Love" Design Awards

opened Friday, May 1st.

AxD is pleased to be hosting/exhibiting the winners of the American Institute of Graphic Artists Philadelphia "Show Some Love" Design Awards program during the month of May. Creative agencies of all sizes within the tri-state area submitted work that was juried by a prestigious panel of internationally recognized designers.

Design categories include: Advertising, Book design, Catalogs, Invitations, Logos, Packaging, Video/film, Websites, Photography, Textiles and more.

AIGA Philadelphia, formed in 1981, is comprised of over 700 members. AIGA Philadelphia’s purpose is both integral and complementary to the national AIGA: to provide the highest standards within the profession and the business community and to stimulate interest and understanding of graphic design and visual communication through lectures, exhibitions, periodicals and other activities. The AIGA is the oldest and largest membership association for professionals engaged in the discipline, practice and culture of designing.

through May 30.

aigapda.com/AIGA.org

Assembled Abstractions

Michael Smith & Barbara Klein

opens with reception Friday, March 13, 5 to 8p.m.

At first glance it isn’t obvious that the exhibition Assembled Abstractions at AxD Gallery features the paintings by two Philadelphia artists who have never met. The gestalt of these two bodies of work is a shared one -- the visceral delight of abstract tales told through highly chromatic painted collages. An unabashed joy of color and pattern transmutes the personal reminders of marked time and life experiences of Barbara Klein and Michael Smith into paintings of pure gold.

Beyond the initial impression of a shared language, a closer probing of the nearly three dozen small paintings featured in Assembled Abstractions reveals a great diversity of technique, inspirations and motifs. Michael Smith applies his training as a printmaker to his work which draws him toward lines and patterns he sees in everyday life. Land forms as seen from airplanes, such as the lines of a plowed field, the arrangement of a golf course, playing fields, suburban housing developments, and snaking rivers have found their place in Michael’s painted imagery. His work betrays a cubistic sensibility while often evoking the density of an Eastern Indian miniature.

Barbara’s works are more spare by contrast. Her colors, equally bold, ranging from fuscia, yellow, and aqua, are deployed alongside black and grays to form hard-edge patterns and ambiguous poetic objects. Stripes, dots, amoebic and calligraphic forms all pervade her work. Her works frequently seem as color field miniatures, but are often composed as diptychs or triptychs. Barbara Klein puts an idea down to see where it goes. Her work represents the end result of editing down of ideas that, at the onset, have gone nowhere. Sanding, scraping, and painting-over ideas help her resolve the piece, incrementally, without preconception.

continues through April 25.

a/chroma/scape/s

Paintings by Greg Minah & John Cartwright

opens with reception Friday, January 30, 5 - 8p.m.

a/chroma/scape/s features original paintings by Greg Minah and John Cartwright. The murky negative spaces that play a large role in John Cartwright’s abstract landscapes contrast with the varied colors and non-representational forms seen in Greg Minah’s paintings. Both artists, however, consider what is being concealed to be just as vital to the viewing experience as what can be seen. Their work is deliberately kept mysterious in hopes the viewer will create his or her own meaning.

a/chroma/scape/s continues through March 7.

gregminah.com & jcartwright.com

Cross-Coupling: Annette Cords

Opens with reception Friday, December 12 from 5 - 8p.m.

This solo exhibition features the work of New York artist Annette Cords. Like mosaics of
colorful circuit boards, her intricately layered acrylic paintings explore the beauty of
the ever-evolving interconnected systems that exist between our natural and technological
worlds.

Continues through January 24.

For more info on Annette visit: annettecords.net

Slippages - Bart O'Reilly & Sheldon Drake

Opens with reception on Friday, November 14 from 5 - 8p.m.

 
Slippages features paintings by artists Bart O’Reilly and Sheldon Drake. While their techniques and work differ dramatically, they share similar impulses. Bart O'Reilly’s work is textural and coarse – dense layers of scraped and sanded paints, suggesting the rapid movement of cinematic forms or scenery viewed out the window of a moving train. Sheldon Drake, showing for the second time at AxD, meticulously applies oil paints to expertly crafted wood panels while employing a meditative, "stream-of-unconscious" painting technique. Neither seeks to be prescriptive or didactic but rather, as Sheldon says"...create something that sustains curiosity, never really quite resolves, somehow staying in that perpetual state of becoming".

Continues through December 6.

Organic Mechanics: Deborah Sawyer

In a search for the beauty in America’s decaying landscape of disposable cars artist Deborah Sawyer finds Nature at work in piles of rusting grills and fenders. Much of her multi-media work contains the carefully preserved pieces of "car cadavers" themselves. The imagery for Deborah’s work begins with her photographs of junkyards and landscapes, utilized as reference for her paintings. Deborah regards her painting style as "organic realism". She interprets her enlarged and cropped photographs in explicit detail. The images become mutated by the application of paint in multiple thin, transparent layers, which creates an atmospheric effect. Her paintings and drawings are often combined with rusted metal to create an assemblage of multiple organic patterns.

For more info on Deborah, visit devorah.bravehost.com.

Nina Storey & Matthew Moon Concert

Singer-songwriters Nina Storey and Matthew Moon perform at AxD Gallery on October 18th and was Nina's only stop in Philadelphia during her East Coast tour promoting her new album “So Many Ways from: Me to You”. Matthew was promoting his new single “Don't Change 4 Me”.

For more info on Nina Storey visit: ninastorey.com

For more info on Matthew Moon visit: matthewmoon.com

Symbiote Hybrids: Recent Works by Greg Brellochs

This show featured the latest works of ink and varnish on panels by Greg Brellochs. Free-form organic structures and sprawling landscapes explore space, light, and atmosphere in abstract natural worlds. Brellochs' art isn't concerned with representational Nature, but rather the embodiment of the natural processes responsible for invention and imagination.

For more info on Greg visit www.gbrellochs.com

A Cabinet of Photographic Curiosities

RA Friedman hosted this interactive photography exhibition -- transforming the gallery into the lair of an itinerant photographer. In conjunction with the 2008 Philly Fringe Festival the Cabinet's photo studio offered backdrops and costume pieces, allowing anyone who visited the gallery the chance to volunteer to have their photo taken with RA's stockpile of soon-to-be-extinct Polaroid film.

For more information on the photo studio please visit www.phillymagictheatre.com

AxD Annual

Artwork from from many of AxD Gallery's past shows will be on display in this Summer retrospective. Expect to see work from Marjorie Tether Arendt, Austin Dodson, Peter Hayes, Vincent McLoughlin, Emma Dodge Hanson, Sheldon Drake, Kimberlee Traub, Peter G.-Ray, Christine Stoughton, Tom Whalen, and Chuck van Zyl.

Exhibition runs through August 23rd.

Rock, Paper, Scissors

Allen Linder, James Stella, Chris Resko

This group exhibition features the sculpted marble spheres and free form pen & ink drawings of DC area artist Allen Linder, the cast-paper pulp sculptures of Philadelphia area artist and teacher James Stella, and the asian influenced abstract papercutting art of Philadelphia artist Chris Resko. Together the work of these three artists form a playful synergy at AxD Gallery. Exhibition continues through July 12th.

SKIN: The Photography of Joe Bowman

The SKIN exhibition is a celebration of the male form. Professional photographer Joe Bowman captures both the poetic grace and sexual charges of his nude & semi-nude subjects. Joe's prolific career spans the divergent fields of high fashion, portraiture, and fine art nude photography -- straddling the line between the sublime and erotic.

For more on Joe Bowman go to: joebowmanphotography.com

Up Close & Impersonal: Camera Obscura Photographs of Marcia Treiger and Karen Brown

The two artists in this exhibition use perspectival uniqueness of pinhole cameras to highly
divergent ends. Marcia's intimate color prints of blown glass appear as depicting lush landscapes,
contrasting sharply with Karen's predominantly monochrome transparencies of stark urban
settings, installed as graffitiied, edge-lit, mixed-media sculptures.

For more info on Marcia Treiger: www.marciatreiger.com

For more info on Karen Brown: members.aol.com/leopardstudios

Distillations: New Paintings by John Clark

In his first solo show in Philadelphia, Denver native John Clark exhibits a range of work, including oils, acrylics, and even water itself on acetate, paper and wood panels. From intimate solo sketches to multi-panel room-sized pieces, John's non-representational work evokes feelings of suspensions, floatation and reflection; or atmospheres of various sorts. The varied range of work invites continued visual and mental exploration, as they resist static interpretation.

Visit John's website for more information: www.freewebs.com/johnhankclark

Red Yellow Blue - Vincent McLoughlin

With a palette limited to red, yellow and blue, and using special techniques he developed while living in New York City, Vincent McLoughlin explores the versatility of the primary colors. Acrylics, carefully layered with varying degrees of transparency, are applied to custom made luan plywood panels creating deceptively complex patterns from the simplest of sources.

For more visit Vincent's website www.vincentmcloughlin.com

 

 

VeilingUnVeiling - Peter Hayes & Marjorie Tether Arendt

Although working in very different styles, both artists of this exhibition use the properties or their respective media to conceal, reveal and layer colors and forms. Peter Hayes turns maps and architectural plans into canvases for his acrylic work; Marjorie Tether Arendt’s paintings are inspired by structures and the materials from which they are made, including oils, paper, cardboard, encaustic and wood.

Cut - Peter G.-Ray

Bulgarian born painter and writer, Peter G.-Ray was featured in a solo exhibition at AxD Gallery, his first in the U.S. in over five years. Peter’s work has been exhibited in Canada, the US and Europe. Peter marries acrylics, oils, transparent resins, reflective foil and rolled aluminum in an intensely personal and unique manner.

www.studiopetergray.com.

Creature Double Feature

Building upon the success of the Monsters from Under the Bed exhibition, the show was expanded and extended. Retitled as Creature Double Feature, AxD Gallery added three new artists: Gabriel Byrne, Austin Dodson, and Dave Christman, all Philadelphia-area artists. New works were also added by the four continuing artists: Mike Manley, Tom Whalen, Michael Broderick and Kimberlee Traub.

Monsters from Under the Bed

In conjunction with the 2007 Philadelphia Fringe Festival, AxD Gallery presented a group exhibition of monstrous artwork entitled Monsters from Under the Bed featuring contemporary work by
Michael Broderick, Mike Manley, Kimberlee Traub and Tom Whalen.

The selection of monsters featured in this show ranged from those of professional comic book artist Mike Manley to Tom Whalen’s digital reinterpretation of classic horror and sci-fi staples as well as Kim Traub’s gothic-inspired pen & ink creations and Michael Broderick’s satirical gay monster erotica.

Natural Selection

This two-person exhibition included works from photographer Emma Dodge Hanson and printmaker Christine Stoughton. Both artists examine states of change in Nature, but use different methods. Emma uses a high resolution flatbed scanner to capture detail of fragile pieces of the environment around her – a dried stalk of grass; a small bee hive – in ways traditional photography cannot. Christine takes found objects of Nature – a lotus or caladium leaf – and incorporates them into one-of-a-kind monoprint plates using soy-based inks.  

Sheldon Drake - Paintings and Drawings

The artist's intent is "...to create something that sustains curiosity, never really quite resolves, somehow staying in that perpetual state of becoming". The work in the show merges aspects of color field painting and abstract pattern making. Paintings are executed in oil on panels, generally with exposed exotic wood edges. "Drawings" in the show present imagery similar to the paintings, but are typically monochromatic, using ink on paper.

Among Cenotaphs and Angels: Otherworldly Photographs by Chuck van Zyl

This infrared film photography work was the opening exhibition of AxD Gallery. Photographer Chuck van Zyl is best known for hosting WXPN radio's "Star's End" show for over a quarter century, coordinating “The Gatherings” concert series, and performing his own electronic music. With a healthy curiosity towards all things otherworldly and timeless, Chuck naturally gravitated to this odd type of photography. Historic sites from the 19th century rural cemetery movement really captured Mr. van Zyl's imagination – taking him to most of the significant sites around Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, St. Louis, New York and Chicago. The significance of the photographs transcends the often magnificent landscaping, statuary and architecture that they encompass.  Central to all of the work is a sense of duality – beauty versus neglect, durability versus fragility. Time is experienced very unevenly – sometimes acutely felt as with the ravages of weather and overgrown vegetation and sometimes nullified by enduring expressions of love frozen in stone.

Aiden James

Singer/songwriter Aiden James performed along with special guest Adrianne. Aiden's show at AxD was part of his cross country tour promoting his new album "On the Run".

For more info on Aiden James, visit: myspace.com/aidenjames

For more info on Adrianne, visit: myspace.com/adriannemusic

The Oubliette Ensemble

The Oubliette Ensemble plays their unique brand of neo-medieval music to promote
their upcoming album during the opening reception for Symbiote Hybrids: Recent Works by Greg
Brellochs.

For more info on The Oubliette Ensemble, visit: myspace.com/oubliettemedievalmusic

The Quiet Quartet & Matt Davis

AxD is proud to present the improvisational acoustic jazz of The Quiet Quartet & jazz guitarist Matt Davis on Thursday, September 11th.
For more info on The Quiet Quartet, visit myspace.com/thequietquartet

For more info on Matt Davis, visit mattdavisguitar.com

Dan Blacksberg Presents

On January 3rd 2008, Philadelphia area musician Dan Blacksberg hosted a triple bill of experimental music. The evening began with a solo performance by Bowerbird founder Dustin Hurt on cornet followed by the Ian Fraser Trio, and ended with a performance by the Boston chamber group Hooper Piccalero.
1st set: Dustin Hurt solo (Cornet) 
2nd set: Tim Albro, Jesse Kudler, Ian Fraser Radio trio 
3rd set: Hooper Piccalero

Solo + Solo + Duo

Red Pedal Media, in conjunction with AxD Gallery in Philadelphia, presented four concerts of acoustic improvised music on Thursday nights in October. This concert series was the first of Red Pedal Media, a new production company created by percussionist Jim Meneses. Each evening featured two performers having solo sets followed by a final set together. The line up included:
October 4th:  Jack Wright/Saxophones + Toshi Makihara/Percussion
October 11th: Evan Lipson/Double Bass + Dan Blacksberg/Trombone
October 18th: Elliott Levin/Saxophones + Rick Iannacone/Guitars
October 25th: Mike Pride/Percussion + Jim Meneses/Percussion

Songs from Under the Bed

In conjunction with the 2007 Philadelphia Fringe Festival AxD Gallery hosted the Absinthe Drinkers in September:

"Unbelievable monstrosities unleashed in litpop-monster-vision! Unspeakable beasts summoned forth from forgotten forbidden literary tomes! The Drinkers take a census of things lurking under the bed, in the closet, and outside the window. Poems transmogrified into monster-filled music and visual delights! Plus: see the Absinthe Drinker Sexy Monster Dancers!"