Radlands

Opening reception Fri., July 31, 6-10 p.m., free, through Aug. 16, Pure Gold Gallery, Piazza at Schmidts, 1050 N. Hancock St., puregoldgallery.wordpress.com..

by Sherri Hospedales

After a road trip last summer to Badlands National Park in South Dakota, Philadelphia artists Matthew Gribben and Sheldon Abba were inspired to construct a tepee like the ones they saw on their adventure (pictured). But it's become so much more than that. By the opening of "Radlands," an art show honoring American Indian culture with mixed media, installation and photography, the DIY tent will have morphed into a 14-foot magical structure painted black with glow-in-the-dark features. Gribben and Abba re-created a realistic campsite, complete with faux fireplace and landscape photography, and recruited good friend and freelance illustrator Dewey Saunders to help. Best of all, visitors can enter and explore the psychedelic tent. "It's not just a show," says Gribben, who's keeping the contents of the tepee somewhat under wraps. "It's a full experience."

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Opening reception Fri., July 31, 6-10 p.m., free, through Aug. 16, Pure Gold Gallery, Piazza at Schmidts, 1050 N. Hancock St., puregoldgallery.wordpress.com.