BABY, WE'RE BACK! Program

2021 Midsummer Show

offthewallgallery.org

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July 25 – September 17, 2021

NE Corner, 13th & Pine

‘Back to Biz’ Calendar July 25 — September 17

Baby, We’re Back!

September 19 — November 12

2021 Autumn Invitational Opens Thursday, September 23, 7–10 pm

Thursday, October 7

Deadline for entries to UNDER $100

Tuesday, November 2

Election Day...Don’t Stop Voting Now!

November 14 — December 26

UNDER $100 16th Annual Juried Exhibition Opens Sunday, November 21, 4–7 pm

December 27 — January 7, 2022

New Year’s/Mummers Hiatus

January 9 — March 4

2nd Biennial Photography Invitational Opens Thursday, January 13, 7–10 pm

Monday, February 14

Theme announced for summer juried show

March 6 — April 22

Mary Liz Memorial Masters Exhibition 17 Opens Sunday, March 13, 7–10 pm

Thursday, May 12

Deadline for entries to summer juried show

April 24 — June 3

2022 Spring Show Opens Thursday, April 28, 4–7 pm

June 5 — August 5

15th Annual Community Juried Show Opens Thursday, June 9, 4–7 pm

Monday, July 4

Theme announced for year-ending juried show

August 7 — September 16

2022 Midsummer Show Opens Thursday, August 11, 7–10 pm

Opens Thursday, July 29, 7–10 pm

on cover, top row: Mike’s “Study in Red with a Moth” and Joseph’s “On Letting Go No. 04” bottom row: Joseph’s “Stay Right Here” and Rusty’s “Flowers (Summer)”

For 10 months, Art in the Time of Coronavirus was the only game in town. We hung that show in September 2020, hoping that perhaps by January we’d be back inside — and in full swing. No dice.

The Name of the Show Says It All

Baby, We’re Back! changes this picture in every sense of the word. To usher this return to normalcy, we could not ask for more inspiring artists than the trio whose work joyfully celebrates this moment.

Rusty Eveland is a gifted multimedia artist whose work, from painting to video production, first arrived on our Wall as part of our Breakthroughs for Sheila show in spring 2019. Rusty now returns with a loop comprising three of his highly inventive short films, projected in our 3D space (one featuring the gifted crochet work of Nicole Nikolich), and for the first time, video production stills that are available as 2D art.

We were incredibly fortunate to have discovered a wealth of fresh talent in our summer 2019 juried show BRICK BY BRICK, which marked Stonehill at 50 and welcomed artists who create through an LGBTQIA+ lens. Two of the luminaries in this constellation were Joseph Eggleston and Michael Jicha. How exciting to welcome them back to our Wall.

Joseph Eggleston is a pure painter. Deftly interchanging brushes and palette knives and incorporating the instincts of a consummate colorist (an almost unteachable skill), he produces portraiture that never settles.

It moves, shifts, forces you to change perspectives. Among this work is a series of mini-canvas “Close-ups” that absolutely enchants us.

Michael Jicha paints with photography and post-production. A deep knowledge of oil-on-canvas art history informs his process. From setups reminiscent of Singer Sargent and Magritte to cloning and healing tools that invoke Matisse and Cezanne, Mike conjures an aesthetic that is, at turns, surrealist and post-impressionistic. No wonder his four large, limited-edition prints are part of his Project 1910 body of work.

It is with a constant smile that we offer this show. What we once took for granted — and now cherish with newfound appreciation — is the chance at last to just kick back, reflect, enjoy and experience art up close and personal. HALLELUJAH!

Jody Sweitzer Curator

Togo Travalia Manager

Joseph Eggleston

My work exploires figurative painting. It consists mainly of male and gender-neutral portraits; it is representational but still celebrates the brushstroke.

Common subject matters found within my work include my ideas on individual and group identity, sexual orientation, queer stereotypes, and the societal construction of gender identity.

The work for Baby, We’re Back! is a collection of solitary, vibrantly colorful, elusive figures and emotional portraits from the last six years.

Joseph’s mini-canvases are predominantly oil and acrylic on canvas with some use of wax pastel and charcoal. They are 60. each.

“Close-up (Buff Titanium)” “Close-up (Fire Red)” (bottom right) “Close-up (Green Gold)” “Close-up (Green Oxide)” (top right) “Close-up (Light Magenta)” “Close-up (Magenta)” (middle right) “Close-up (Perylene Violet)” “Close-up (Phthalo Blue)” (top left) “Close-up (Turquoise)” (top middle) “Close-up (Venetian Red)”

Visit Joseph online at josepheggleston.com Follow him on Instagram @joseph.eggleston.art

(left) “They/Them (Watermelon)” oil and acrylic and oil stick on canvas 450.

(below) “Fuckboy (Christian)” oil and acrylic on canvas 900.

“Daddy No. 01” oil and acrylic on canvas 400.

“On Letting Go No. 02” oil and acrylic on canvas 400.

“LB13” oil on canvas 400.

“On Letting Go No. 04” oil on canvas 800.

“Melodrama Six” oil and acrylic and mixed media on watercolor paper 400. framed

“Stay Right Here” oil on canvas 350.

“Sub No. 02” oil and acrylic and mixed media on watercolor paper 120. framed “They/Them (Alizarin Crimson)” oil and acrylic and mixed media on watercolor paper 400. framed

Rusty Eveland

My concentration is on stray shopping carts as characters — how they exist and interact with each other in a world without humans.

One of the most fascinating aspects of animation is giving life to inanimate objects. Having the carts act and convey emotions is an exciting challenge.

Shooting on location in and around Philly creates a desolate, surreal, but somehow familiar world where only carts exist. While sound effects and sometimes human-like noises are used, there’s no dialogue, and action and mood are heightened by music. All cart characters identify as agender. They flirt, play, love, fight, chase, explore and communicate with no assumptions.

Stray carts symbolize overconsumption, negligence and often homelessness. I take these negative associations, flipping them into something light and positive. In this way, my carts represent freedom and free thinkers, unafraid to step (or roll) out of their confining boundaries. Beyond socio-political undertones, the concept is escapist — meant to break from reality and suggest how we might view our world differently. My passion for movement extends into my other art, professional work and cart-less collabs.

All of Rusty’s work is in the 3D case.

Scan the QR code to view his films, with sound, on your device.

His production still from “Flowers” are 40. each and from “Mate” are 30. each.

Rusty is also offering an acrylic on board print of his logo for 130.

Visit Rusty online at wobblewheel.com Follow him on Instagram @wobblewheel

Michael Jicha

These images are part of Project 1910 — my personal interpretation of the post-impressionist to surrealist movements.

In 1910, the term “post-impression” was first used. I don’t try to make my photographs look like paintings. Rather, I want to show the key influences of painters from these periods.

Whenver I set up a photo session, I have foremost in my mind the lighting, color, composition, tone and perhaps the subject matter of painters such as John Singer Sargent, August Macke, Marc Chagall and Rene Magritte.

In post-production, I use cloning and healing tools in a photography program. I dodge and burn the photos also adding color to outline figures in the style of Matisse and Cezanne. With these tools, I am able to manipulate and add color, create texture and depth.

The intentionof my process is simple: I want viewers to see and experience the influences of post-impressionism and surrealism.

Mike’s large, digitally manipulated photographs are 450. each and available in limited editions of 10.

“Down the Rabbit Hole”

“Study in Red with a Moth” (cover)

“Mischievous Spirit” (above)

“Waiting”

Follow Mike on Instagram at @micjicphotography

UNDER

$100 er 7 b o t c O , y a d s : Thur E N I L D A E D ENTRY

November 14 – December 26, 2021

AT DIRTY FRANK’S

NE Corner, 13th & Pine, Philadelphia offthewallgallery.org @otwdirtyfranks

NE Corner, 13th & Pine, Philadelphia

AT DIRTY FRANK’S

offthewallgallery.org

@OTWDirtyFranks