Out there

Jeffrey Morabito Claire K Marsh Madeline Peckenpaugh Justin Duffus Melanie Dion Ryan Ward Ming Fei Cui Christina Ergemlidze Sean Hildreth Michael Ciervo

Curated by Michael Gallagher Alex Kanevsky

The “out there� is daunting. When art students leave a school like PAFA, they enter the world that has neither framework nor a reliable strategy for survival. Many perceive fierce competition, a steep climbing ladders, an arcane system of gatekeepers and judges. Although in reality all this does exist, it fortunately matters less then the ability to simply show up at your studio and paint every day.

All artists in this show studied at PAFA recently; from a few months to a few years ago.

Michael Gallagher and Alex Kanevsky, the two curators are also PAFA products, albeit somewhat less recent. As the curators they wanted to follow a few trajectories of the recent PAFA graduates to see how are they doing in this inhospitable but exciting world.

All artists involved have one thing in common: they show up and paint. And they have clarity and drive that makes it possible. There are more wonderful young painters in Philadelphia, and the space at the great Schmidt-Dean Gallery was not endless, so we had to limit this show to 12 artists whose work in our opinion was mutually complimentary. It is a very personal, idiosyncratic show that does not pretend to be representative. Just a few young painters whose work makes us happy when we see it, impresses and inspires us and makes us want to share it with the rest of the world not yet aware of what might be out there.

Alex Kanevsky

IN HERE - OUT THERE

IN HERE The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is a museum and art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1805 and is the first and oldest art museum and art school in the United States. Anyone associated with the institution, for even a short amount of time, comes to refer to it as ‘the Academy’ or more often than not, PAFA. Late August signifies the end of summer and a new batch of wide-eyed matriculating students, both under-graduate and graduate, that number anywhere from 100 to125. We are thought of as a small, ‘niche’ school with a foundational education based on the human form, hence the Academy. For some, this ‘initiation’ into a sometimes strange, often quirky, close-knit community will be a defining period in their lives. I’ve come to see the school as a haven for a type of misfit – a person who is inexplicably drawn to all things visual – in two and three dimensions – for no commonsensical reason whatsoever. The Academy provides an environment for these ‘artist’s in training’ to find other like-minded misfits – their ‘tribe’ if you will. This becomes perhaps the most important element they learn from the experience – the realization that community is paramount: not a matter of convenience, more a matter of necessity.

OUT THERE The ‘ out there’ entails what happens after our students move on – into whatever next phase their artistic pursuits take them. Many leave the Philadelphia region – the out there - Seattle, Beijing, New York, London, Paris, Cucamonga, you name it. Many go on to do creative endeavors other than the specific area of concentration they may have focused on in school. Most have to do other things in order to support their studio practice. With mounting education costs, along with the increasing cost of living, this juggling act gets more difficult every year – certainly more difficult than it was when Alex and I graduated. For this reason, and many others, it has been a privilege for us to select and share the work of these young artists who do what they have to do in order to do what they do. We applaud their tenacity and drive, and we acknowledge the crucial role the Academy has played, and continues to play, in the development and nurturing of visual artists.

We both agreed that we could do many more exhibitions such as this one – the gene pool is so rich. We hope this will be the first of many such shows. We are extremely grateful for the enthusiasm and support of Chris Schmidt – he gave us free rein and a wide berth - and as he nears the 30th year as a commercial gallery, our community is all the better for his presence and commitment.

Michael Gallagher

Alex Kanevsky C.B. 2016, 18” x 18” oil on board

Michael MichaelGallagher Gallagher Pastoral22 Pastoral x 46 48 x4846 Oil on Panel

Oil on Panel

Jeffrey Morabito Hidden Hutong III 55" x 63" Oil on linen

Claire K Marsh CARPNTG 60”x56”

Michael Ciervo Three-color lithograph on Somerset Satin Paper Limited edition of 20

Madeline.Peckenpaugh “Left Here” 52 x 48 inches Oil on canvas 2016 Courtesy Seraphin Gallery

Justin Duffus Untitled 11” x 12”

Melanie Dion (Making Blackberry Jam) 12 x 16 varnished watercolor on paper mounted on cradled birch panel 12 x 16 varnished watercolor on paper mounted on cradled birch panel

Melanie Dion POLLEN 12 x 16 varnished watercolor on paper mounted on cradled birch panel

Ryan Ward That'll Be a Real Fine Feather in Your Black Barrell Oil and Acrylic on Panel, 16� x 18"

Ryan Ward Untitled Etching, Acrylic, Pencil, and Collage on Board, 14� x17"

Ming Fei Cui Strategy, 54”x48” oil on canvas, 2015

Sean Hildreth Spakle, 3rd Floor Living Room, & Goody Oil on Canvas 8” x 10”

Christina Ergemlidze oil impression #2 Size: 7.5 X 7.5 inches, oil on paper

Christina Ergemlidze oil impression #4 Size: 7.5 X 7.5 inches, oil on paper

SCHMIDT/DEAN GALLERY 1719 Chestnut Street 4th Floor Philadelphia, Pa. 19103 215-569-9433 schmidtdean@netzero.net www.schmidtdean.com