Also this issue: El Vez X-Mas Show -Jesse Delaney Holiday Stress, Holiday Blues: How to Cope -Kristina Weise Peek-A-Boo Revue -Juliet Fletcher Philly Dance Africa/ Mogauwane Mahloele -Mary Armstrong

December 5-11, 2002

mixpicks

Friends Celebration

by Juliet Fletcher

Have you ever leaned back against the wall of your spacious loft apartment and wondered, "What would Ross do?" And: "What exuberantly colorful artwork would Rachel hang in the new baby's room?" The answer (at least to the second bit) comes, astonishingly, from Philly: Works by Jeff Schaller, a local artist originally from Connecticut, have been given the prime-time honor of gracing the Friends set. Schaller, who specializes in producing art nouveau images using encaustic technique -- mixing beeswax with pigment to create intense color and texture -- has kept much of his work close to his (adopted) home: He's responsible for the mural at the Berks SEPTA station, and he received an award from the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1998. For an artist, his exposure's about to sky-rocket: About 18 million viewers will tune in tonight to see his Modern Living hanging in Central Perk, and Questions and Answers adorning Emma's nursery. Since, in reality, Schaller's canvases don't hang in coffee shops but in discerning galleries, Bernadette Lawler, who represents Schaller's work, is hosting a little celebration tonight at her gallery, Mixed Company, in honor of his success. With many of his canvases on display, alongside refreshments courtesy of Georges de Boeuf, Petit Four and City Tavern, imagining yourself nonchalantly standing on the Friends set will be part of the fun. Just be careful who's listening when you refer to him as "The One With the Painting by Jennifer Aniston's Head."

Thu., Dec. 5, 7-9 p.m., Mixed Company, 60 N. Third St., 215-629-5509 for reservations.