Place of Discovery
October 2006
An exciting lineup awaits art lovers and collectors in Philadelphia this autumn, offering everything from open studios and avant-garde video art to museum blockbusters and a major dealer show.
“Philadelphia is a wonderful, well-kept secret as a place to see and collect art,” says local collector Carole Shanis, who along with her husband, Joseph, boast an eclectic collection that includes tea caddies, silver card cases, snuff boxes, stained glass, Oriental porcelain and miniature furniture. The Shanises recommend visiting Freeman’s Auction House for “real discoveries.”
Discoveries of a more curatorial nature are showcased through October at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where new contemporary art curator Carlos Basualdo makes his exhibition debut with “Notations: Energy Yes!” Featuring new acquisitions and recently promised gifts of works by Joseph Beuys, Andy Warhol, Thomas Hirschhorn and Gordon Matta-Clark, this first
installment in the “Notations” series derives its title and inspiration from Hirschhorn’s motto, “Energy, Yes, Quality, No!” “This show is fabulous, cutting-edge,” says 20th-century photography collector Lynne Honickman, who serves on the museum’s acquisitions committee for prints, photography and drawings. Early next month (Nov. 2–5), the museum presents its annual Craft Show, one of the finest in the country, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. “It’s always great, because the people who work on it have such a joy putting it together,” Honickman says. “It’s clear they are so caring.” The museum could not have finer boosters than Honickman and her husband Harold, founders of the Honickman Learning Center and Comcast Labs for at-risk families, which teaches literacy through photography. (For more on the Honickmans, see “100 Top Collectors,” Art & Antiques, March 2006).
On the city’s famous Rittenhouse Square, the Philadelphia Art Alliance, in its exploration of the most exciting and innovative contemporary art forms, hosts a group exhibition (Sept. 21–Dec. 31) of video art in conjunction with MOVLAB, an independent production facility that houses artists and individuals who create experimental forms in video and film-based formats. While inside the classic building, stop for a bite at its handsome and artistically designed restaurant, Le Jardin.
Nearby, at Broad and Sansom streets, seize a rare opportunity to see inside the Union League of Philadelphia, which is hosting an exhibition of 35 paintings by Nelson Shanks. One of the most important contemporary portrait artists, Shanks has painted such prominent figures as Pope John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, Princess Diana, Luciano Pavarotti and Margaret Thatcher. The exhibition, through December 17, is free and open Saturdays and Sundays. (For more on Shanks, see “Romancing the Masters,” Art & Antiques, April 2006.)
Missed “King Tut”? Your final opportunity to see it will be at Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute (Feb. 3–Sept. 30, 2007). This blockbuster sponsored by Mellon Financial Corporation, is organized by David Silverman, professor and curator of Egyptology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, which will be holding its own Tut exhibition, “Amarna: Ancient Egypt’s Place in the Sun” (Nov. 12, 2006–Oct. 2007). Using its collection of more than 40,000 objects, the museum will fill 1,700 square feet with 120 pieces—many never before on display.
Philadelphia also affords many collecting opportunities this season. The seventh annual Philadelphia Open Studios Tours (Oct. 7–8 and 14–15) is billed as the largest event of its kind in the world, because all artists can open their studios and participate; about 75 are expected this
year. The following weekend (Oct. 20–22), 55 fine art galleries from across the nation gather at the 33rd Street Armory for the 15th annual USArtists: American Fine Art Show, which benefits the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. The event, sponsored in part by Art & Antiques, showcases masters of the 19th century, renowned contemporary artists and emerging artists. (Want to frame your purchase before you leave town? The Shanises, who also collect Pennsylvania Impressionists, recommend Ursula Hobson Framers.)
“Philadelphia is a wonderful, well-kept secret as a place to see and collect art,” says local collector Carole Shanis, who along with her husband, Joseph, boast an eclectic collection that includes tea caddies, silver card cases, snuff boxes, stained glass, Oriental porcelain and miniature furniture. The Shanises recommend visiting Freeman’s Auction House for “real discoveries.”
Discoveries of a more curatorial nature are showcased through October at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where new contemporary art curator Carlos Basualdo makes his exhibition debut with “Notations: Energy Yes!” Featuring new acquisitions and recently promised gifts of works by Joseph Beuys, Andy Warhol, Thomas Hirschhorn and Gordon Matta-Clark, this first
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Donald Gensler, "Symbols of Change," 2004, |
On the city’s famous Rittenhouse Square, the Philadelphia Art Alliance, in its exploration of the most exciting and innovative contemporary art forms, hosts a group exhibition (Sept. 21–Dec. 31) of video art in conjunction with MOVLAB, an independent production facility that houses artists and individuals who create experimental forms in video and film-based formats. While inside the classic building, stop for a bite at its handsome and artistically designed restaurant, Le Jardin.
Nearby, at Broad and Sansom streets, seize a rare opportunity to see inside the Union League of Philadelphia, which is hosting an exhibition of 35 paintings by Nelson Shanks. One of the most important contemporary portrait artists, Shanks has painted such prominent figures as Pope John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, Princess Diana, Luciano Pavarotti and Margaret Thatcher. The exhibition, through December 17, is free and open Saturdays and Sundays. (For more on Shanks, see “Romancing the Masters,” Art & Antiques, April 2006.)
Missed “King Tut”? Your final opportunity to see it will be at Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute (Feb. 3–Sept. 30, 2007). This blockbuster sponsored by Mellon Financial Corporation, is organized by David Silverman, professor and curator of Egyptology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, which will be holding its own Tut exhibition, “Amarna: Ancient Egypt’s Place in the Sun” (Nov. 12, 2006–Oct. 2007). Using its collection of more than 40,000 objects, the museum will fill 1,700 square feet with 120 pieces—many never before on display.
Philadelphia also affords many collecting opportunities this season. The seventh annual Philadelphia Open Studios Tours (Oct. 7–8 and 14–15) is billed as the largest event of its kind in the world, because all artists can open their studios and participate; about 75 are expected this
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Alexander Calder, |
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