Mike Hale

Patricia Ingersoll

Artist Reception: February 4, 5 – 7 pm
First Friday: February 3, 6 – 8:30 pm

LGTripp Gallery is pleased to present recent works by Patricia Ingersoll and Mike Hale in their first solo exhibitions at the gallery.

It starts with a blank surface. From there, colors and lines take form as they are added to the surface. Whether applied in a calculated progression or in a way as to let outside forces take control, the resulting images differ in control and balance. The visual energy in Patricia Ingersoll’s paintings is most vivid at their core, while Mike Hale’s lean horizontal canvases are unlikely and fortuitous impasses to propelling forces.

Patricia Ingersoll engages in a process of mapping and diagramming organic elements, later deconstructing the image through spontaneously adding and removing parts. Grid lines define a three dimensional space within which the subject exists. Emanating from a central focus, static explosions reveal the underlying structure and details of the elements. Even though the image has outward momentum, the viewer’s eye is drawn into the ‘’nucleus.” In her work, Ingersoll explores the complexity of the individual discordant aspects and yet achieves a balance in which you are seemingly at the center.

For the past 35 years, Patricia Ingersoll has exhibited her work from Maine to Pennsylvania. A former member of the Nexus Gallery and the Charles More Gallery in Philadelphia, PA, she was a 2009 Fellowship recipient from the VA Center for the Creative Arts in Auvillar, France and received an individual artist Fellowship from the Independence Foundation in Philadelphia. She was just awarded an Honorable Mention for Works on Paper at the Art of the State in Harrisburg, PA. From 1992-2004 she was a lead muralist for the internationally famous City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. She currently works at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts as the manager of the PAFA Alumni Sales Gallery.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Mike Hale embraces the unpredictable. He begins his work without a pre-conceived plan; letting go of any and all traditional conventions. Hale invents different techniques of paint application. He then builds and expands upon the unforeseen results of his new techniques, such as seen in the painting “Then.” The centrifugal force, in addition to gravity and roller techniques, moves the paint across the surface and Hale captures this movement on a secondary surface. His paintings actively and quickly move the viewer’s eyes across the image. This movement emulates the speed and energy that delivers the paint to the surface. It is dynamic and cannot be contained within the defined space of the work’s surface.

Mike Hale has exhibited his work locally and internationally. He has been the recipient of awards as a member of Philadelphia/Tri-State Artists Equity in 2011, 2010, 2004, 2001 and 1999. His artwork is in numerous private, corporate and university collections. He also has shared his art with local non-profit organizations close to his heart, including the Berman Museum of Art at Ursinus College and The Pottstown Symphony Orchestra. Currently he resides in Gilbertsville, PA, where he is a full-time artist.

 

December 2, 2011 – January 28, 2012
Artist Reception, December 10, 5 – 7 pm
First Friday, December 2, 6-8:30 pm
First Friday, January 6, 6-8:30 pm

FOCUS: 4th Annual Abstract Photography Exhibition presents works by seven artists in their first exhibition at LGTripp Gallery. This collection of photographs, a diverse body of works, approaches and subject matter, offers a bird‘s eye glimpse of themes realized through this medium.

Photographers have employed the camera as a source to explore abstraction since the early 1900’s. The discovery of an instinctual art form that captures other aspects of reality, not representing an object in a literal fashion, seizing the subject in a unique and fleeting moment, allowing experimentation with abstract compositions of light, color and texture, the yielding to a new way of seeing, are some of the reasons emerging challenges and freedoms exist in the art of photography. It is seemingly limitless in exploration.

John Szarkowski, photographer and revered director of MOMA’s Department of Photography (1962-1991), writes in his book, The Photographer’s Eye: A Way of Seeing:

“Photographers found an inexhaustible subject in the isolation of a single segment of time. [The photographer] discovered that there was a pleasure and a beauty in this fragmenting of time that had little to do with what was happening. It had to do rather with seeing momentary patterning of lines and shapes that had been previously concealed within the flux of movement…in that moment the flux of changing forms and patterns achieved balance, clarity and order — because the image became, for an instant, a picture.”

Nik S. Clements
“Angulus documents my journey towards revealing the mathematical properties that subsist in our everyday environs. Architecture, and angles in particular, are pure mathematical brilliance, and this body of work is my ode to that often-overlooked brilliance.”

Alyssha Eve Csuk
“The patterns caused by the flaking, fracturing and cleavage of slate, caught my eye on my first visit to a slate quarry in the Slate Belt of Pennsylvania. I aspire to go beyond creating compelling story-like images that elicit raw subconscious impressions…bringing forth what resides below the surface of perception, its many layers and meaning.”

Chip Forelli
“After receiving an assignment to photograph musical instruments for a friend, I was intrigued by the shapes, surfaces and finishes on the various orchestral instruments. I enjoyed setting up the thoroughly analog equipment, watching the light reflect on the instrument as I turned it under the light to determine the best shooting angle. Musical instruments seem infinite in what they have to offer me as a photographer.”

Mallary Johnson
“This body of work addresses the subjective perception of time. The emerging decontextualized patterns of light and line suggest intimate connections between human activity and the biotic world that contrast with the highly mediated environmental narratives sensationalized by dominant culture.”

Jenny Lynn
“Working with design, pattern, shape, and cropping, my intent was to create arresting compositions that are at once bold, simple, and elegant. The subtle sepia tones lend an element of warmth and sensuality to the images.”

Paul Rider
“The images in this series…represent the arid desert landscape of the Middle East. The atmospheric quality in my imagery, created by the use of one main light source, represents the beckoning warmth of a future that we are drawn to even as we are still surrounded by the immense darkness of an ongoing conflict.”

Rachel Zimmerman
“I first photographed this monument dedicated to the 6-day war in the Negev desert when my father was on sabbatical in Israel when I was in high school. I lost the negatives in my move to NY to attend NYU. Many years later we took a family trip back to Israel. We drove for hours so that I can photograph again. Now neglected, it’s still a beautiful site of simple yet complex forms in the middle of the desert.”

Gallery hours: Tuesday by appointment, Wednesday 12- 5pm, Thursday – Saturday 11-6pm

Matthew Stemler

Flotsam

 

Raphael Fenton-Spaid

John Doe Puzzles

 

MATTHEW STEMLER — Flotsam
RAPHAEL FENTON-SPAID — John Doe Puzzles

October 21 – November 26, 2011
Artist Reception: October 22, 5 – 7 pm
First Friday: November 4, 6 – 8:30 pm

LGTripp Gallery is pleased to present in the front gallery an exhibition of new work by Matthew Stemler, a site-specific installation, and in the rear gallery, large-scale paintings by emerging artist Raphael Fenton-Spaid. Stemler and his brother, Jonathan, collaborated on a site-specific installation (2003-2009) at Eastern State Penitentiary, a Philadelphia historic site. This is Fenton-Spaid’s first solo exhibition of recent paintings. Both are Philadelphia-based artists.

Matthew Stemler’s installation, Flotsam, is a large construction that demonstrates his interest in combining engineered structures and delicate effects to create a contemplative space. This work compresses the overwhelming event of a flood into a personal, traversable scale. Monumental in its character, Flotsam uses large columns and bridge like bulwarks to suggest human achievement and grandness while designing an intimate interior space for more personal interaction and introspection. The circular design of the piece centers on a sculpted tortoise suspended inches above small crafted boats that seem to have been deposited by nature’s force. Proximity to a waterline established by blue paint and an array of suspended transparent shapes changes by crossing a circular bridge that encloses the back of the space. Drawings by Stemler are also included in the exhibition.

Stemler earned a B.F.A. with a Sculpture Major (Magna Cum Laude) from Temple University, Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia PA in 1995. His works have been included in exhibitions throughout the Philadelphia region. He lives and works in the Philadelphia area.

Americans are constantly flooded with graphic images of military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. In this series, John Doe Puzzles, Raphael Fenton-Spaid takes these images and manipulates them to take away the pain and horror embedded in and associated with war. Large scale paintings are abstracted portraits, comprised of small, candy color panels reminiscent of the kitchy plastic sliding puzzles we used to play with as a kid, but these puzzles are ones that we should not and do not want to solve. Fenton-Spaid addresses how we get information from the media, in fragments, often times lacking a true understanding of the underlying story. The bright colors draw the viewer in. The question is: are we ready to know the truth behind the images?

In 2008, Fenton-Spaid earned a B.S. in Art Education at Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia PA, and was recipient of the Gilroy Roberts Award. He devotes his time to painting and plans to pursue a M.F.A. degree in the near future.

Catherine O’Connell

New Paintings

Stephen Blackburn

Recent Work

CATHERINE O’CONNELL — New Paintings
STEPHEN BLACKBURN — Recent Work

September 9 – October 15, 2011
Artist Reception – Saturday, September 17, 2011, 5 – 7:00 pm
First Friday – October 7, 6 – 8:30 pm

LGTripp Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of recent works by gallery artists Catherine O’Connell and Stephen Blackburn. Through the combination and interaction of shapes and colors, the artists explore how these two elements can be utilized, one in sculpture and one in painting.

There are two types of space – positive space and negative space. The negative space, or the empty space, is at the root of Catherine O’Connell’s new body of work. Drawing from real life spaces, she manipulates colors and shapes to define and understand the absence and presence of “space” in every day life. The works have a voyeuristic perception as swatches of color compose flashes of memories. Reduced down to color and line, the works are an expression of the artist’s uncertain reality.

Catherine O’Connell earned her MFA at Maryland Institute College of Art in 2010 and BFA, in painting and drawing, at Pennsylvania State University in 2005. She was the recipient of the Margaret Giffen Schoenfelder Memorial Award for excellence in painting. Originally from the Philadelphia area, O’Connell now resides in Baltimore, MD.

Three-dimensional constructions, Stephen Blackburn’s sculptures are the sum of smaller parts, melding found objects and welded steel, each added to further evoke a whimsical and light emotion. Some works may suggest a recognizable form or creature, but overall the simple geometric shapes of the sculptures, highlighted with splashes of color, amuse and intrigue. Emphasizing design over fit and finish, Blackburn’s focus is on shape and form.

Stephen Blackburn attended The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts for one year in 1969, returned twenty-five years later and graduated in May 2001. At that time he was awarded the Fellowship Trust Prize and became the first recipient of the Women’s Board Prize. Blackburn’s sculptures have been exhibited at LGTripp Gallery, Chester County Art Association, Immaculata University Art Show and Gallery Siano. Stephen Blackburn grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs, where he still lives today.

 

RSVP2
July 15 – August 20, 2011
Artists Reception, Saturday, July 16, 4 – 6:30 pm
First Friday, August 5, 6 – 8:30 pm

LGTripp Gallery is pleased to present works by thirteen artists at this year’s summer invitational, RSVP2. Diversity remains the objective in this invitational, as it was in last year’s summer group exhibition. These artists explore abstraction as visual expressions of inner feelings, insights or perspectives rendered within subjective compositions.

RSVP2 features artists at various stages in their careers; the formally educated and the self taught, the recent art graduate and the mature artist, artists with limited to extensive exhibiting histories and experiences, and culturally diverse. Works represent a myriad of creative approaches, a wide range of styles, and varied uses of mediums. Artists are united in their passion, the aesthetic quality and maturity of their work, dedication to art making, and technical proficiency. Themes are not intentionally present, but may emerge as works share a common environment. RSVP 2 includes paintings, works on paper, photo-based digital prints, collage and sculpture. Artists are based in Philadelphia and the surrounding region.

Contributing Artists:
Madeline Adams
Judy Breslin
Linda Celestian
Linda Hess Conklin
James Erikson
Justin Froehlich
P. Timothy Gierschick II
Mike Hale
Saga Moor
Gerhardt and Ute Ostertag
Ryan Pellak
Jim Simmons
Anthony Vega

Dan Schimmel

Tape & Paint

 

Ann Tarantino

Recent Works

 

DAN SCHIMMEL — Tape & Paint
ANN TARANTINO — Recent Works

June 3 – July 9, 2011
Artist Reception: June 4, 3:00 – 5:00 pm
First Friday: June 3 and July 1, 6 – 8:30 pm

LGTripp Gallery is pleased to announce exhibitions by artists Dan Schimmel and Ann Tarantino. The line is one of the basic elements of a work of art. It helps to construct and define the object the artist seeks to create. In this new exhibition, Dan Schimmel and Ann Tarantino utilize line, the crisp and the fluid, to architect and invent spaces and systems of this world and of another.

Dan Schimmel’s imagery explodes in energetic lines and sharp contrasting colors whose chaotic state belies their delicately structured engineering. A narrative unfolds instantly, like a flashbulb going off, as the eye catches a fleeting glimpse of an uncharted cosmic-cybernetic existence. He states, “The effect I want to achieve is one that has the viewer suspended in that moment following the path of their eye, discovering detailed bits of information and making connections in free-form fashion.” Included in this exhibition is his “tape paintings” series in which the tape is laid down to block off areas, using color and line to construct a three-dimensional architectural space. While the act of placing the tape may allude to a sense of methodical forethought, Schimmel does not approach a work with a preconceived direction; it is intuitive and fresh. Considering the vast potentials (and dangers) of technology, Schimmel’s works are a meditation on these divergent possibilities produced through a seemingly unsystematic yet complexly emergent combination of line, color and scale.

Born in Saint Louis in 1964, Dan Schimmel grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs, where he lives today. He received a BA from UC Berkeley and an MFA from University of Iowa. From 2000-2009 Dan Schimmel directed the Esther Klein Gallery at the University City Science Center. In 2010 he co-founded and became the director of Breadboard, a hybrid program at the Science Center that explores emergent contemporary art trends and intersections between art, technology and science.

Ann Tarantino’s delicate and fluid lines flow across the surface in a web-like fashion. Works on paper and canvas reveal basic, yet intricate, systems of line. A system/web is usually an over saturation of layers and complicated interconnections. In Tarantino’s work, the vast untouched spaces reveal the possibility for infinite expansion and also draw complete focus to the simple lines branching off from the nucleus. Propelling the paint by either blowing through a straw or using an air compressor, colors and lines have the illusion of weightlessly traveling across the surface. “These paintings speak to infinite growth and replication, the experience of being alive, the interconnectedness of humans with their environments and each other, and travels both real and imaginary,” adds Tarantino.

Ann Tarantino earned an MFA in Painting at Penn State University and a BA in Visual Arts from Brown University. She has exhibited her wall drawings, works on paper and paintings nationally and internationally. The Washington Post hailed a recent exhibition at Curator’s Office, a collaboration with Kate McGraw, “one of the fall’s strongest shows”. Tarantino is Instructor at The Pennsylvania State University School of Visual Arts and School of Landscape Architecture, University Park, PA.

 

JON MANTEAU To a Hammer, Everything Looks Like a Nail

April 1 – May 14, 2011
Artist Reception, April 2, 5 – 8 pm
First Friday, April 1 and May 6, 6 – 8:30 pm

LGTripp Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition of recent works by Philadelphia artist, Jon Manteau. This is Manteau’s third solo exhibition with gallerist Luella Tripp.

The gallery will be transformed from a white cube into an artist’s creative workspace. In this latest exhibition entitled To a Hammer, Everything Looks Like a Nail, Jon Manteau makes his mark on the physical gallery space and on the audience. Unrestrained by space or conventional means, Manteau continues to experiment with the themes that have dominated his work for almost 25 years; the warping of the figure-ground relationship, color field, gestural mark-making, scale, attention to formal concerns yet with an extemporaneous approach, and embracing the discarded, eroded and transitory.

Jon Manteau states, “Humans have left behind an astounding catalog of monuments and artifacts, which have contributed greatly to our culture and sense of achievement. There are other things that we leave behind, the seemingly insignificant remnants of cultures past and present, our triumphs and our tragedies.”

In the largest of the work, “Gumtrees and Ghosts” (8’ x 20’), Jon Manteau extends the canvas by integrating painted driftwood inclusions that appear to lift the painting from the wall, confronting the viewer. This site-specific work resonates with the other paintings, works on paper, color saturated wall and free standing driftwood sculptures, a facsimile of the artist’s studio and a documenting video. The video of the making of “Gumtrees and Ghosts” is a testament to the conscious build-up of layers and interaction of fiery colors that define the controlled and intuitive marks left by Manteau.

Defining his work within an historical context, Manteau describes it as Post-Painterly Abstraction or Post-Neo-Abstraction. His influences are Picasso, Matisse, Mondrian, Miro, Kline, Pollock, Rothko, Rauschenberg, Stella, Scully, Richter (to name a few), and more recently Nares and Fonseca. Foremost, Manteau simply states, “I’m a painter”. This is a not-so-surprising trajectory for the young Philadelphia graffiti artist of the 70’s.

Jon Manteau was born in 1963, just outside of Philadelphia. After high school, he moved to New York City to study at Parsons School of Design. At Parsons he studied painting and drawing with Sean Scully. He returned to Philadelphia to complete his undergraduate studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (1987). He earned a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Delaware in 1996. His works have been exhibited nationally and are in collections throughout the United States and Canada.

 

PAINTERS DON’T RETIRE
Works by artists 70+

March 4 – 26, 2011
First Friday, March 4, 6 – 8:30 pm
Artist Reception, March 5, 4 – 6 pm

GILDA ELLIS
ALAN S. GOLDSTEIN
JAN JOHNSON
HAROLD KIMMELMAN
JOEL LE BOW
LIBBY NEWMAN
CHARLOTTE SCHATZ
BURTON WASSERMAN

It is a great pleasure to welcome eight senior artists to LGTripp Gallery. Most of them are from the Philadelphia area, have been rewarded with long-lasting successful careers and have made significant contributions to the art community not only through their art but also by promoting artists, establishing galleries, through their writings, lectures, and reviews.

American contemporary artist Will Barnet (age 99) once said, “Painting is almost like a religious experience, which should go on and on. Age just gives you the freedom to do some things you’ve never done before. Great work can come at any stage of your life.”

The artists in this exhibition have discovered that passion and creative impulses transcend age and even some of its limitations. While the rest of society is contemplating retirement at age 65, artists perceive their profession as lasting a lifetime even when, for some, exhibition opportunities are limited. Although a few privileged artists have the good fortune of exhibiting their works through latter years, there are many who have a very different experience. Exhibition opportunities decrease due to a plethora of reasons, such as galleries shifting their focus to work by younger artists, the loss of representation, disillusionment with the gallery scene and physical challenges, to name a few. However, this reality doesn’t inhibit the aging artist from being creative and productive. Rather age grants artists liberty to explore their medium, to experience a surge in inspiration and sometimes the freedom to reinvent their work. Their view of themselves as artists and as contributors to society doesn’t end at a designated age.

Painters Don’t Retire features a range of abstract works by seven painters and one sculptor. Impressive lists of solo exhibitions, commissions, awards, publications and collections fill their resumes, giving evidence of vibrant careers. This exhibition provides an occasion for the work of these artists to be seen and acknowledged once again.

PLAMEN VELTCHEV — Modern Conflicts
ALISON STIGORA — Leviathan

January 21 – February 26, 2011
Artist Reception: January 22, 5 – 7 pm
First Friday: February 4, 6 – 8:30 pm

LGTripp Gallery is pleased to present solo exhibitions by artists Plamen Veltchev and Alison Stigora. In contemporary society, the organic is often placed in contrast to the non-organic and technological. This exhibition creates a dialogue between Plamen Veltchev’s explosive ink drawings and Alison Stigora’s burnt wood installation. Stigora’s site specific sculpture weaves through parts of the gallery communicating with Veltchev’s hanging work, juxtaposing the harmony that can be found between nature and man made objects with the inherent repulsion between the two.

Plamen Veltchev’s drawings depict the artist’s visual renderings of his thoughts and internal unrest concerning the conflicts between mankind and larger forces. His massive images of “apocalyptic foresight” force the viewer to confront mankind’s impending, yet unforeseeable future that he envisions as technological catastrophe. The drawings’ shear power radiates from the building up of intricate lines and forms to create the complex images. The combination of abstracted space and weapons of destruction jump off the page unconstrained by the boundaries of the paper.

Plamen Veltchev was a Candidate for the Masters of Fine Arts program at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in 2005 after graduating from the Certificate Program in 2004. His concentration was in printmaking. Born in Bulgaria, he now resides in Philadelphia, PA.

In contrast, Alison Stigora’s site-specific installation is constructed from stacked charred wood branches, which have survived the artist’s burning process and are revitalized through the creation of her sculptural work. Through the use of organic materials and the unique process of construction, Stigora explores the energy embodied in destruction and creation. The show also includes a selection of Stigora’s gouache and graphite drawings. Closely related to her charred wood sculpture, her drawings bear the mark of the artist’s hand on paper, and focus on imagery that expands the visual possibilities of interwoven branchlike lines.

Alison Stigora earned a Master of Fine Arts from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 2007 and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern Adventist University in 2004. Drawing, installation and sculpture were areas of concentration. She currently resides in Malvern, PA.

 

JANETTE BRADLEY SMITH
HOWARD BRUNNER
KEN CUSHMAN
TIM FITTS
ROSE MACKIEWICZ
BENJAMIN PIERCE
DAVID SACKS

Artist Reception: December 4, 5 – 7 pm
First Friday: December 3, 6 – 8:30 pm
First Friday: January 7, 6 – 8:30

LGTripp Gallery is pleased to present FOCUS: 3rd Annual Abstract Photography Exhibition. Seven artists express their unique perspective through photography, a wide range of works and styles, aesthetically varied, employing diverse approaches to expose the obscured in the ordinary. They explore the unlimited possibilities of abstracting the subject through the lens, isolating and capturing the pure abstracted essence of their subjects with little to no additional digital manipulation. Immerging imagery renders a fresh visual experience, challenging perception and the imagination.

American abstract photographer and educator Aaron Siskind (1903-1999) wrote in his 1945 essay, “The Drama of Objects”, “Move on objects with your eye straight on, to the left, around to the right. Watch them grow large as you approach, group and regroup themselves as you shift your position. Relationships gradually emerge and sometimes assume themselves with finality. And that’s your picture.”

JANETTE BRADLEY SMITH: “Along one path, I walk to specific places and photograph – I call them my looking places. They become my medium for seeing the day and thinking the thoughts I need to think. This work represents a seven-year transformation of my path and my self.”

HOWARD BRUNNER: “The City is endlessly inspiring in purely visual, abstract and formal terms. For me, a successful photograph is one that manages to convey, in a print, the magic I felt from the original encounter.”

KEN CUSHMAN: “I use small, highly reflective materials as a means of observing and revealing light. I am attentive to how the materials capture a specific situation and time of day, and the intimate landscapes of shapes and lines they create.”

TIM FITTS: “I like to present the personality of subjects rather than the form itself. This series explores the personality of light contained in a glass…focusing on refraction, reflection, the texture of glass itself, and capturing simultaneously over- and under-exposed images.”

ROSE MACKIEWICZ: “I create tabletop still lifes and tableaus composed from bits of cloth, canvas, wood, cardboard, plastic, glass and junk. Some surfaces are painted, lit with gels, shot through glass or semi-transparent materials.”

BENJAMIN PIERCE: “My work centers around the human figure…subjected to strong abstracting forces. These images take the opposite tack — like Michelangelo, searching forthe figure in the stone.”

DAVID SACKS: “Spectrolite was discovered in 1940 during WWII. In May 2007 I was introduced to these iridescent stones, began importing them from Finland and photographing them. I’m careful not to alter the brilliant colors when printing. Each photograph is an accurate representation of the stone.”