Velo+City

Opens Thu., July 17, with a reception and live music from The Extraordinaires and Tavo Carbone, 6-9 p.m., runs through Aug. 14, free, Lisa M. Reisman et Cie, 1714 Rittenhouse Square, 215-735-2781, lisart.com

by Lori Hill

visual art

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Curator Michael Hartman tells a story about a woman in the late 19th century who biked from Chicago to San Francisco with "nothing but a powder box and a pistol." It's these tales from the romantic and bizarre timeline of the bicycle that are the spirit of the exhibition "Velo+City: The Social History of the Bicycle." Opening today at Lisa M. Reisman et Cie, it's a small but substantial show of prints, posters and historical ephemera that will spin any devotee's wheels.

"One of the things we noticed when we went through the collections was observing the impact of bicycle in the 1890s," says Hartman of the social aspect of the show. "We saw the current bicycle design replacing more dangerous designs, and it was now more accessible to everybody." He hopes to reproduce some of the political cartoons of the early years of the bicycle, depicting overweight aristocratic types teetering on their "penny-farthings," and through the later years, when women found independence and freedom in these sweet little rides. Mostly, though, the beauty lies in the vintage prints and posters advertising the latest in bicycle fashion, from French art nouveau to bold German modernism. Everything in the show will be for sale, from museum-quality prints to the more within-reach exhibition poster. Hartman tapped cycle-friendly art cooperative Space 1026's O. Roman Hasiuk to design it.

The show should go over well in our boneshaker-lovin' city. "I think Philly is unique in the U.S.," says Hartman. "It's more supportive of cycling. There's a big community — a bike culture."

Opens Thu., July 17, with a reception and live music from The Extraordinaires and Tavo Carbone, 6-9 p.m., runs through Aug. 14, free, Lisa M. Reisman et Cie, 1714 Rittenhouse Square, 215-735-2781, lisart.com.