COVER STORY .

Visual Art


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Published: Sep 16, 2009

Down to Earth

Continuing on a hot-topic thread of sustainable art (remember this summer's 100 percent recyclable "A Rake's Progress"?), the Schuylkill Center now presents an "Edible Landscapes" group show in which nature's value trumps art: In Stacy Levy's Kept Out, a bright-blue fence dissuades deer from influencing the natural landscape (by eating it); Philly artist Knox Cummin's rooftop sculpture doubles as a giant — working — rain catcher.

Through Nov. 23, Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, 8480 Hagy's Mill Road, 215-482-7300, schuylkillcenter.org.

Jim Henson's Fantastic World

Completely worth the car trip, this Smithsonian/Jim Henson Legacy-sponsored show features 100 drawings, cartoons and storyboards by America's most beloved Muppeteer. Also on view will be snippets of Henson's video work and photographs of the man in his element — with Kermit in hand, of course.

Through Nov. 29, Michener Art Museum, 138 S. Pine St., Doylestown, 215-340-9800, michenerartmuseum.org.

Marie Ulmer: Tell All

After her 92nd birthday last month, it's about time someone threw lifelong Philadelphia artist Marie Ulmer a really fabulous party. The perfect hosts: Bambi Gallery's Candace Karch and Proximity Art's Janel Rivera Frey, who've gathered paintings and drawings from Ulmer's vast, oft-ignored collection.

Sept. 24-Oct. 14, Anderson Hall, University of the Arts, 333 S. Broad St., bambiproject.com.

New American Voices

Surprisingly educational, "New American Voices" displays the work of five Fabric Workshop artists-in-residence and teaches us — through short documentaries placed throughout the exhibit — how they got from brainstorm to finished product. We're particularly fond of Marie Watt's Engine Cave, made entirely of felt and big enough to wander through. (Who knew that felt's the oldest form of fabric?)

Oct. 2-Nov. 22, Fabric Workshop and Museum, 1214 Arch St., 215-561-8888, fabricworkshopandmuseum.org.

Tell-Tale Heart

Art in the Age is hopping on the seemingly never-ending Edgar Allan Poe bandwagon in October, but we must trust their instincts (after all, the Old City darling's Abraham Lincoln exhibit was a smash). Don't forget, either, that November marks AITA's one-year anniversary, so wear your party hat to the Nov. 6 opening of "Impermanent Bliss" — we're told a major fête is in the works.

Oct. 2-Nov. 1, Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, 116 N. Third St., 215-922-2600, artintheage.com.

Philadelphia Open Studio Tours

It's nice to know that, regardless of how bad the economy gets, Philly's artistic community always keeps its collective door open. Sponsored by the Center for Emerging Visual Artists (CFEVA), POST invites strangers to take walking tours of the city, stopping in to artists' private studios to peep their latest creations. Just don't forget to mind your manners, you hear?

Oct. 3-4 (east of Broad) and 10-11 (west of Broad), noon-6 p.m., free, various locations, 215-546-7775, cfeva.org.

Arshile Gorky

The first stop on a three-leg transatlantic tour, the Art Museum's retrospective will feature a 178-work set of the Armenian-born, American-bred abstract artist's influential collection of paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures. Watch for Gorky's progression from straightforward (The Artist and His Mother, 1926-36) to surreal (Dark Green Painting, 1948).

Oct. 21-Jan. 10, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Ben Franklin Parkway, 215-763-8100, philamuseum.org.