A couple more Eakins could be heading out of Philly

"We're not a museum. We're not in the business of art education. That's what Thomas Jefferson University president Robert L. Barchi said in November in explaining the university's decision to sell Thomas Eakins' The Gross Clinic."

In spite of the fact that the sale of The Gross Clinic sort of blew up in their faces, according to the Philly Inquirer, "Barchi says that the school intends to deaccession two other pieces in the multimillion-dollar collection: Its remaining Eakins works, Portrait of Benjamin H. Rand and Portrait of William S. Forbes."

In fact Barchi stated that "We do not intend to sell any of our artworks other than the Eakins paintings, even if approached."

You can view a slide show of some of the art at Jefferson in this this website and you can read the excellent Inquirer report by Peter Dobrin, the Inquirer Culture Writer here.

Frida Kahlo Coming to Philly

Sometime in mid February 2008 (and running through May) at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, "the first American exhibition solely dedicated to Kahlo’s work in over a decade... will explore the relationship between her art and her life by examining hauntingly seductive and often brutal self-portraits in addition to works that amplify her sense of her own identity."

The show is coming to Philly from the Walker Art Center, where it was curated by Michael Taylor; from Philly it will travel to SFMOMA. I am a little disappointed that this show is not traveling to any DC area museum (it would have been a perfect blockbuster for the Corcoran or for the NMWA).

Lenny Campello is one happy camper. Read here how I became an addict of her work when I was 19. Below is "Seven Fridas," a huge drawing that I did in 1980-1 while at the University of Washington School of Art (click on the image for a larger version of the drawing).

It depicts Kahlo in seven incarnations as Nordic, Moslem, African, Punk (hey! it was 1980), Native American, Vulcan and Beatle. It is currently in the collection of Seeds for Peace.

"Las Siete Fridas (The Seven Fridas)"
Pen and Ink Wash, F. Lennox Campello, circa 1980-1981
Most recently, in 2005 I curated a worldwide call to artists for an "Homage to Frida Kahlo" exhibition hosted by Art.com with the sponsorship of the Cultural Institute of Mexico and the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City.

Thus my interest and happiness!

PMA to open new galleries

In early September 2007, the Philadelphia Museum of Art will open the new Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building, which will house expanded galleries and state of the art study centers in an art deco building acquired by the Museum and then renovated and expanded by Gluckman Maynor Architects.

Next Week: Tomás Rivas opens in DC

The very talented and award winning Chilean artist Tomás Rivas' first DC area solo exhibition, "Left to my Own Devices," opens next week (April 5) at Douz and Mille and there's also a round-table discussion on April 25 from 6:30-8:30 PM. Details here.

The opening reception is Thursday, April 5, 2007 6:30pm - 8:30pm and it is at the space formerly occupied by Numark Gallery in DC. A full color catalogue will be published at the conclusion of the exhibition, featuring essays by David Gariff Ph.D., Lecturer, National Gallery of Art; Robin Rhodes Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Notre Dame; and my good friend Laura Roulet, Independent Curator, with an introduction by the hard-working Rody Douzoglou, who is the "Douz" in Douz and Mille.

New art blog

I think.

DC area "performance artist F.W. Thomas" has a blog (new to me) at fwthomas.blogspot.com detailing coming multimedia performances and other random thoughts.

I am told that at the next performance (Monday, April 9, 2007 at DC's Warehouse Theatre and Galleries) they will be circulating a petition banning any further use of the Queen/Bowie collaboration "Under Pressure" as the soundtrack to any commercial, television show, movie or public radio segment. This alone is worth the visit!

Vist the blog often!

Opportunity for recent Art grads

Introductions is Irvine Contemporary’s annual summer show of works by recent art college graduates in the Washington, mid-Atlantic, and East Coast region.

For Introductions3 this year, Irvine has posted a web page with application instructions and information to assist artists with submissions for the show. The gallery tries to see as many thesis shows and do as many studio visits as possible, but they clearly can’t see everyone and they want to open the process to as many artists as possible.

Visit this website for information on submitting work for the show. This year the selection committee will include Washington area collectors as well as the Irvine Contemporary crew.

Airportism

I'm usually not a big fan of airport art, which I've dubbed "airportism" in the past, and which is usually generalized by tame, usually abstracted public art that tries really hard to avoid the figure at all costs.

The theme of flying is usually a common one -- and that's understandable, and artists can only go so far with it.

And yet... at the Philadelphia International Airport, between terminals C and D, on the main concourse there's an installation by Nancy Blum, titled Butterfly Wall (will be there through June 2007) that is a welcome and interesting departure from the usual blah flying geese or paper airplanes sculptures that one sees all over American airports.

"Butterfly Wall" is a work made up of 80 butterflies cast out of China clay with incised and raised patterns on the wings. The color is painted on the back and it is then reflecting onto the wall space. The pattern of the wings have been adapted from Islamic architecture, adding an interesting and unexpected visual element. Each butterfly is approx. 12 to 14 inches in height.

If you're around the Philly airport and have some extra time on your hands, swing by and take a look at this refreshing change for airportism. Nancy Blum is represented in the area by Pentimenti Gallery in Philadelphia.