First Friday Focus

Lori Hill's First Friday Hit List

by Lori Hill

Standing Luke in Caution Tape, by Sidney Goodman, oil on canvas, 2007

► Wexler Gallery

Refusing to file herself under any one mode of art making, Vivian Beer works the whole room. She has a drink with the designers, mingles with the craft community and shares canapés with the sculptors. More power to her, because her ability to move seamlessly from one to another enables her to create contemporary, singular works that she says allude to the important "anthropomorphic qualities of furniture." She crafts the smoothest, most delicate lines from industrial materials like steel and automotive paint. For inspiration she turns to objects and concepts like flags, corporate logos, feathers and the tides. The artist believes the works develop a life of their own, and by the looks of some of her chairs, they lead very curvaceous, adventurous lives indeed. 

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Marilyn Kirsch approaches her work from a healthily uncertain place. In an artist's statement she says, "At times there seem to be recognizable images in my paintings, but these images lack definite boundaries and oscillate between possibilities. I am interested in the tension that occurs when perception is not absolutely clear." Her abstractions do appear to be structural, almost as if there are edifices caught in an uncomfortable haze. Other times, it's more worthwhile to consider the textural qualities and the ways Kirsch plays with color values. A few works bear the ironic title Photographic Memory; it's hard to believe the works are capturing a clear picture of a moment in time. Sometimes, though, the less exact our memories are, the sweeter they become. Opening reception Fri., Jan. 2, 5-8 p.m., through Feb. 28, 201 N. Third St., 215-923-7030, wexlergallery.com.

► Projects Gallery

Two important Philly arts organizations are rocking their 25th anniversaries this year, and to celebrate, Projects Gallery is hosting "Urban Organic," a show that honors both the Center for Emerging Visual Artists (CFEVA) and the Mural Arts Program (MAP). For a quarter-century, CFEVA and MAP have provided opportunities for artists to support themselves with their work. Eight artists affiliated with both organizations — Joseph Brenman, Vincent Desiderio, James Dupree, Jane Golden, Qimin Liu, Pedro Ospina, Josette Urso and Sidney Goodman (whose Standing Luke in Caution Tape is pictured, below) — were chosen for the celebratory show. Each has created murals around town and each has carved a career out of what were once grass-roots efforts to promote local art and artists. MAP's Brian Campbell and CFEVA's Amie Potsic co-curated the show, selecting works that straddle the urban and the natural. The city's rife with such opportunities for contrast, and the works highlight its beautifully complicated nature. One of Philadelphia's most iconic and moving murals, Goodman's Boy with Raised Arm, is represented in a photograph. Its attendant text from Walt Whitman — "I am large, I contain multitudes" — captures both the mood of the city and the spirit of the exhibition. Opening reception Fri., Jan. 9, 6-9 p.m., through Jan. 31, Projects Gallery, 629 N. Second St., 267-303-9652, projectsgallery.com.

► Vivant Art Collection

Most artists don't like to be labeled — it's tough and even stifling to see yourself pigeonholed. Jim Bloom, though, doesn't seem to mind. For his new show at Vivant Art Collection, "Them," the impressionistic, contemporary mixed-media artist is comfortable with the label "outsider." Unhindered by formal training, the Philadelphia-based artist lends a new eye to old tropes and makes you smile at the same time. Bloom's view of American culture is lightheartedly cynical: His take on "desperate housewives" and other categories of our population mix humor with a good, hard examination of where we live now. Opening reception Fri., Jan. 2, 5-9 p.m.; artist's reception, Sat., Jan. 17, 4-7 p.m.; 60 N. Second St., 215-922-6584, vivantartcollection.com.

► And Then There's ...

Jane Irish's new show at Locks Gallery continues her exploration of the Vietnam War and its repercussions, this time in a series of vases in the style of 18th- and 19th-century French porcelain. She has adorned the works with the poetry of Vietnam veterans and others. Opening reception Fri., Jan. 9, 5:30-7:30 p.m., through Feb. 21, 600 Washington Square S., 215-629-1000, locksgallery.com. ... Rodger LaPelle's "Small Mysterious and Precious Works" show continues, tempting us with the tiniest of treats and most enigmatic of creations. Through Feb. 1, 122 N. Third St., 215-592-0232, rodgerlapellegalleries.com.

(l_hill@citypaper.net)