Some Philly Galleries

Last weekend I finally had some free time and once again I dropped by some of the excellent Philadelphia galleries located in a big cluster around North Second Street, in an area apparently once the center of the universe for restaurant supply retailers, none of which I visited, although next time I will pop into one of them and see if they will sell me a Jaccard machine, which is the real secret as to why steaks always taste better and are super tender in restaurants.

You never know whatcha gonna learn by reading MiddieArtNews do you?

Anyway, I spent quite a long while chatting with the fair Christine Pfister, owner and director of Pentimenti Gallery, who was getting ready to head down to Miami, where she will be at the Bridge Art Fair (booth 206). She was more than generous with both her time and sharing her knowledge of Philly's art scene. It was easy to discover that this is one of the key independent commercial fine arts galleries in Philadelphia.

Also saw Nexus, which is moving and will reopen January 2007 at the Crane Arts Building. Also spent some time in Muse Gallery, which is a nice co-op, at Artists' House, where I really liked the paintings of Anthony Palumbo, who also shows in the DC area at Principle Gallery in Alexandria.

One final quick pop in to the curiously named Third Street Gallery, which is also on Second Street next to Muse Gallery, and which also appears to be a nice co-op, and then ran out of time.

AOM and ArtDC

In part because they did not find a physical space in 2006, Artomatic has linked up with ArtDC.org to create a virtual Artomatic for participating galleries and performance venues to see the work of Artomatic visual artists and performers.

Details here.

Gross Protests

Philadelphians protest the sale of Eakins' Gross Clinic.

Details and pictures here from artblog.

Moore College Looking for new Curator

Moore College of Art and Design is looking for a new Senior Curator/Director of the Galleries. Interested applicants should forward their resume, statement of background and qualifications and salary requirements to:

President Fernandez
Moore College of Art and Design
20th Street and The Parkway
Philadelphia, Pa. 19103

William J. Marrazzo to Lead Effort to Keep Gross Clinic in Philly

The Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts announced today that WHYY President & CEO William J. Marrazzo will "convene and lead a committee of national cultural, civic, and community leaders to broaden the public’s understanding of the social and artistic importance of Thomas Eakins’ 1875 masterpiece, The Gross Clinic, and to ensure it stays in Philadelphia."

According to the news release, "Marrazzo will convene the group, members of which will be announced in the next few days. The members will be national and regional leaders who share the view that The Gross Clinic should remain in Philadelphia, the city in which it was painted."

"I am honored to have been called upon to facilitate the process of generating a dialogue," Marrazzo said. "I feel passionate about the importance of this artwork, and the richness of its history and importance to the city. For me, it is a surrogate of what a mature American city stands for. Projects like this committee represent what it takes for a community to become the next great American city by encouraging civic engagement about a city’s history, and what it means for the present and the future."

WHYY is the leading public broadcasting station in the greater Philadelphia region, and they also offer the Arts & Culture blog called The Sixth Square.

On Thursday, November 30th at 10PM, WHYY will air its documentary from 2001: Thomas Eakins: Scenes From Modern Life.

Lucien Freud Rules in YBAland

German-born British representational painter Lucien Freud has been voted as Britain's favorite artist "in a survey of the UK artistic community."

According to the BBC story:

"He beat the likes of Rembrandt and Van Gogh - who also made the top ten - to become the artists' favourite artist.

Other modern day giants such as Howard Hodgkin and David Hockney also featured in the poll, carried out by The Great Art Fair.

But so-called Young British Artists such as Tracey Emin, Chris Ofili and Damien Hirst were overlooked.

Hirst, who won the Turner Prize in 1995, garnered only one vote from the 500 artists polled, while Emin and Ofili failed to get a single nod, although 70% of the top ten artists are still alive."

How else does one say to those YBA's: "You are so yesterday!"

The Top 10 Artists, according to the survey were:

1. Lucien Freud
2. Howard Hodgkin
3. David Hockney
4. JMW Turner
5. Antoni Tapies
6. Rembrandt
7. Jack Vettriano
8. Barbara Rae
9. Frank Auerbach
10. Van Gogh

The real bad boy of British art, the plebian ex-miner and self-taught Scottish painter Jack Vettriano (apparently the world's best selling artist), who is both despised and ignored by the British art establishment while he laughs all the way to the bank and gets great publicity for his work as a result of their dislike of him and his work, made the list once again, this time as the 7th place artist.

Vettriano might as well not exist in the eyes of British museums and the hot curators of the upper crust of the British arts cabal, and yet this somewhat harsh man seems to have touched not only the nerve of the British art establishment, but also the pocketbooks of both art collectors and poster-buyers all over the world, including the US.

I think of Vettriano as the planet's counterbalance to Thomas Kinkaid. They are both hugely popular with the public, but while Kinkaid delivers saccharine scenery ad nauseum, Vettriano delivers an immense range of work that has proven to be both popular and often edgy, as his darkly sexual work testifies.

If an American museum curator had the balls to give the world's best selling artist his first museum show, it would not only be immensely popular, but also create an amazing storm of publicity, arguing and debate as American elitists join forces with their Brit counterparts, while the public votes with their attendance records. It would also plant the opinion that museum are public spaces, not the playground of the rich and snobby.

I can almost smell the gunpowder of debate between those who say that he's nothing but a glorified illustrator, and those who say that he's a sexist pig, and those who say that he's a "fill in the lines" painter, and those who say he's just an ex-miner who has never been educated, and those who pay millions for his paintings at auction, and the Hollywood illuminati, who curiously enough, are some of his biggest defenders and collectors.

But I daydream, as I know not of a single museum director, or curator, who even looks in the direction of where the Vettrianos of this world exist.

The Great Art Fair, the UK's largest art show, will be held at London's Alexandra Palace from 30 November to 3 December, 2006.