:: Philadelphia Events, Arts, Restaurants, Music, Movies, Jobs, Classifieds, Blogs :: Philadelphia City Paper
Bookmark and Share
ARCHIVES . Articles

July 20-26, 2006

Arts Agenda : Last Chance

Last Chance

Catch It or Regret It


Fourth Annual Bike Part Art Show

Runs through July 21, Nexus Gallery, 137 N. Second St., 215-629-1103

Bikers can be spacey—weaving in and out of lanes, running red lights, taking up the whole road. It's not that they all have a death wish; they're just deep in thought, constructing artistic visions as they anger those around them. This show reaps that creative output: Witness recycled bike parts transformed into sculptures, handbags, chain-ring clocks and freaky dolls. One message, set against parking ticket wallpaper, sums it up: "Ain't got to pay no meter."

Clodhopper

Runs through July 24, 222 Gallery, 222 Vine St., 215-873-0750

You'll find a lot of bronze skateboards in this Jake Henry installation, along with skulls, scary birds and abandoned or wrecked versions of what were once considered technological marvels. In Bird No. 1, an owl watches you with its iridescent gold eyes, while a snake slithers near its claws. Walls painted with blue and orange tempera add life to the gloom.

Surf & Turf

Runs through July 30, Pennsylvania Art Conservatory, 1824 Chestnut St., 215-564-2100

These 19th- and 20th-century seascape and harbor paintings reflect the many moods of the era when they were painted: peaceful, turbulent, dark and restless. George Frederick Bensell's Cows Watering is a radiant painting of Philadelphia, where the light picks up the glitter of the water and the silhouette of the pink autumn trees.

 
 
ADVERTISEMENT