July 31-August 6, 2003

first friday focus

Kate Abercrombie, Untitled #4 (2003), 24 inches by 24 inches, gouache on paper and silkscreen on paperbacked fabric.

by Lori Hill

Vox Populi

There's something strangely soothing about kneading dough, or watching someone knead dough. Artist Doug Bohr knows this. Part of his installation at Vox Populi this month is a DVD projection of a young woman pinching, smashing and pushing dough around on a table. Oh, and she spits into it, too -- well, not so much spits as drools. As she pushes her fist into the dough over and over, images are cut into this footage of a woman (the same one?) pushing her fist into a man's bare chest. Maybe there's something cathartic about that, too. Bohr also contributes digital prints to this new members' show: a series called Knotted, with twisted ropes and organic forms wound around each other, and another series called Spill, taken from video, in which what looks like ink spills into a clear liquid, forming beautiful patterns, sometimes clumpy, sometimes thin and thread-like. Kate Abercrombie's squares-on-squares are a combination of gouache on paper and silk-screens on fabric that she's layered according to design and color with great attention to detail. The outer square has the look of openwork fabric or intricate paper cutouts. Inside are darker, denser patterns of flowers that complement the outer square's simple, rather cute nature scenes with rabbits, frogs and animal footprints. Also participating in the show are Charles Hobbs, Rebekah Maysles, Sam Belkowitz and Isaac Resnikoff (who makes papier-mâché and wood constructions of Philly iconography: soft pretzels, Liberty Bell, etc.). But before you even step into the galleries, you'll be greeted by the Vox Populi reception desk transformed into Accu-Doppler-Chopper-Local-News-Reception-Desk-2000-Earthwatch, an installation by New York artist Howie Chen spoofing -- you guessed it -- the lunacy that is local television news.

Reception Fri., Aug. 1, 6-10 p.m. Exhibition through Aug. 31 (Chen piece through Sept. 28), 1315 Cherry St., fourth floor, 215-568-5513.

Pentimenti Gallery

Rebecca Murtaugh has set out to make everyone's gallery-going life easier this summer. No more figuring out these by-chance summer hours, or calling to make an appointment. All you have to do is stand outside Pentimenti and you're treated to a full-fledged show. Her 22 Day Window will be visible 24 hours a day, seven days a week for, well, 22 days. Using bright, decorative Post-it notes, Murtaugh will cover the gallery's front windows in what one can only assume will be a meaningful pattern. She'll also cut through stacks of the notes, creating thin circles to reveal layers and layers of color. These spirals wind down into a tiny open space that's like a peephole into the gallery. Makes you wonder what other wonders could be created with just a few office supplies

Exhibition Aug. 3-25, 133 N. Third St., 215-625-9990.

Space 1026

Between the two of them, photographers Samuel Peltz and Matt Zugale capture scenes from the sublime to the ridiculous. Their shared show at Space 1026 exhibits both. Zugale's composite images have the silent gravity of documentary film or photojournalism, with dead-on stares from subjects and quiet beauty. Whether it's a couple of people getting their hair done or military men steeling themselves for conflict, Zugale's sincerity of purpose shows through. Peltz has manufactured almost-cinematic scenes like something out of a Bunuel-Dali collaboration: hairless pink mice cowering in corners or huddled together as if in conference (not to mention the dozen or so forks sticking up in the background); a couple about to lock lips on a moonlit rooftop while a wheelchair-bound figure huddles next to them; a man tied to a urinal in an immaculately clean bathroom; another unfortunate soul tied to a couch who seems to be straining to keep himself out of the frame, feet flailing.

Reception Fri., Aug. 1, 7-11 p.m. Exhibition through Aug. 26, 1026 Arch St., second floor, 215-574-7630.

And Then There’s…

Former Chestnut Hill gallery owner and longtime painter Mark Raab shows new work at the Manayunk Art Center. Reception Sun., Aug. 3, noon-3 p.m. Exhibition through Aug. 24, 419 Green Ln., rear, 215-482-3363. Robert Hirsch's architectural photographs of monuments great (the Sphinx) and small (a Christmas tree) are on view at the University of the Arts. Exhibition through Aug. 15, Sol Mednick Gallery, Terra Building, 211 S. Broad St., 215-717-6300. Gallery Peng has recent paintings by Dennis Lo, Leslie Wagner and Douglas Witmer. Exhibition through Aug. 23, 35 S. Third St., 215-629-5889.