Visual Art

Pepón Osorio's "Trials and Turbulence" at ICA

by Robin Rice

Fall 2004 is shaping up to be among the best, with thoughtful exhibitions representing artists of many mediums, eras and passports.

"Diane Burko: Earth Water Fire Ice"
Painter Burko enlarges her study of volcanoes by concentrating on the landscape of Iceland which, with over 500 active sites, is the volcano capitol of the world. Vast, contradictory, bleak, fierce, these panoramas, like Burko's earlier ones, are based on photographs taken from the air.
Through Sept. 30, Locks Gallery, 600 Washington Square S., 215-629-1000.

"The Poetry of Clay: The Art of Toshiko Takaezu"
Takaezu's full-bodied tiny-mouthed vessels are iconic examples of the direct poetry possible in clay. Her PMA exhibition also includes weavings and works in bronze.
Through March 6, 2005, Philadelphia Museum of Art.

"W.T. Williams: Eye on America"
Williams' paintings interweave decorative cliches with terrific skill, wit and a slightly ominous detachment.
Through Sept. 30, Rodger LaPelle Galleries, 122 N. Third St., 215-592-0232.

"Xiang Yang"
Xiang Yang's three-dimensional embroideries link commercial images across opposite sides of cheap plastic containers and address issues of transparency, containment and display. In the front gallery, Rebecca Westcott shows appealing, unpretentious oil and acrylic portraits.
Through Oct. 2, Spector, 510 Bainbridge St., 215-238-0840.

"The Hanging Garden"
Henry Bermudez, Frank Hyder and Paul Santoleri painted a forest mural for the Mural Arts Program above the Center City exit on southbound I-95. A random collaborative 30-foot-long installation of the painters' prints and drawings is the centerpiece of an exhibition at Hyder Gallery.
Mural dedication Oct. 17, 4-6 p.m., exhibition through Oct. 17, Hyder Gallery, 629 N. Second St., 267-303-9652.

"A Periodic Table"
Gregory Nangle selected this group of top contemporary artists working in glass. It includes Hank Adams' psychological portrait busts, Timothy Blum's virtuoso Pop-ish installations, Beth Lipman's three-dimensional recreations of Dutch still life and Walter Zimmerman's visceral laboratories of horror.
Through Oct. 30, Wexler Gallery, 201 N. Third St., 215-923-7030.

"Trials and Turbulence: Pepín Osorio, An Artist in Residence at DHS"
Pepín Osorio sums up his three-year residency at the Philadelphia Department of Human Services with a pair of environmental installations. Osorio's institutional critique recreates a family courtroom and the experience of a boy lost in the construction of a new housing development.
Through Dec. 12, Institute of Contemporary Art, 118 S. 36th St., 215-898-7108.

"Olafur Eliasson: Your colour memory"
Internationally acclaimed, Berlin-based Danish artist Eliasson manipulates the perception of color, drawing attention to the subjectivity of vision.
Through Jan. 9, 2005, Arcadia University Art Gallery, 450 S. Easton Rd., Glenside, 215-572-2131.

"Echoes: Celebrating 75 Years of Rodin in Philadelphia"
The delightful Rodin Museum and surrounding gardens are always inviting. Inside, re-installed sculptures on the theme of human love celebrate the museum's 75th anniversary and offer a reason to revisit the work of Auguste Rodin (1840-1917). Portraits in the museum include Camille Claudel, Honore de Balzac, Victor Hugo, Joseph Pulitzer, Pope Benedict XV. Call for information about anniversary celebrations.
Ongoing, Rodin Museum, 22nd St. and The Parkway, 215-763-8100.

"Winifred Lutz: findings"
The most meticulous and generous of artists, Winifred Lutz's site-specific work has been exhibited in Europe and Asia, as well as North and South America. For some 35 years Lutz has worked with handmade paper. Paper-based work incorporating unusual elements like stones and avocado hulls will occupy both galleries at Gallery Joe.
Through Oct. 30, Gallery Joe, 302 Arch St., 215-592-7752.

"Nancy Hellebrand: Water, Vapor"
There's an abstract, expressive intensity to Hellebrand's expansive photographic studies of clouds and sky.
Through Oct. 3, Rosenfeld Gallery, 113 Arch St., 215-922-1376.

"Heartland: Paintings and Drawings by Bo Bartlett, 1978-2002"
Bo Bartlett has been remarkably successful with large, luminous, figurative allegories, in a vein identified with graduates of PAFA. He's a good choice for the Academy's runup to its 200th anniversary in 2005.
Sept. 18-Nov. 14, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 118 N. Broad St., 215-972-7600.

"Allan Freelon"
American Impressionist and graduate of the Tyler School of Art, Allan Freelon was nationally recognized as a painter, editor of the literary journal Black Opals, and the first African-American member of Philadelphia's Print Club (now Print Center). However, his work fell into obscurity following his death in 1960. A new exhibition includes paintings borrowed from private and public collections.
Sept. 19-Nov. 28, Woodmere Art Museum, 9201 Germantown Ave., 215-247-0476.

"African Art, African Voices: Long Steps Never Broke a Back"
Some 200 examples of art from the sub-Saharan cultures document music and movement, masks, jewelry, cast gold weights, clothing and furniture. Videos and photographs will also add a sense of context to these vivid works drawn largely from the Katherine White Collection of the Seattle Art Museum.
Oct. 2-Jan. 2, 2005, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th St. and The Parkway, 215-763-8100.

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