Program for Roads Less Traveled: 2013 Winter Exhibition

2013 Winter Exhibition

Schorske Stromquist Renzi ROADS LESS TRAVELED January 6 – March 1

Off the Wall Gallery at Dirty Frank’s

facebook.com/OTWDirtyFranks @OTWDirtyFranks NE Corner, 13th & Pine

Our 2013 Calendar January 6 – March 1

2013 Winter Exhibition Opens Thursday, January 10, 7–10 pm

March 3 – April 12

Mary Liz Memorial Masters Exhibition 9 Opens Thursday, March 7, 7–10 pm

April 14 – May 31

2013 Spring Show Opens Thursday, April 18, 7–10 pm

Thursday, May 9

Submission Deadline for Eighth Annual Community Juried Show

June 2 – August 2

Eighth Annual Community Juried Show Opens Thursday, June 6, 7–10 pm

August 4 – September 27

2013 Midsummer Show Opens Thursday, August 8, 7–10 pm

September 29 – November 29

2013 Autumn Invitational Opens Thursday, October 3, 7–10 pm

October 20

Sunday with the Masters Interactive Workshops, 12–3 pm

Thursday, November 7

Submission Deadline for Ninth Annual Juried Exhibition

December 1 – 28

Ninth Annual Juried Exhibition Opens Thursday, December 5, 7–10 pm

On the cover, clockwise from top: stills from Susan Stromquist’s “Climb,” Gene Renzi’s “Canoes @ Tyler,” Bonnie J. Schorske’s “Sometimes a Cigar Is Just a Cigar” and “Novice, Inle Lake,” Gene Renzi’s “Hay Harvest @ Newtown #2.”

Up Next...

The Ninth Annual

Mary Liz

Memorial

Masters Exhibition

March 3 – April 12

Off the Wall Gallery’s first show of 2013 is as eclectic and well-traveled as its distinguished artists.

GPS

Unplugged

The revealing street photography of Bonnie J. Schorske transports us to India, Myanmar and Vietnam. More than simply exposing us to cultures, Bonnie immerses us in captivating slices of life.

The experimental art of Susan Stromquist examines the physical act of creation and redraws its boundaries. Even as she transforms every part of her body into an art-making apparatus, Susan produces work that touches on the metaphysical. Finally, she documents herself at work—a process that yields mesmerizing multimedia output that stands on its own, a distinct new layer of art.

The lyrical black-and-white photography of Gene Renzi treasures point of view and cherishes technique but puts emotion first. And Gene evokes our feelings, and communicates his own, most often without people in the frame—no mean feat.

In choosing a title for our Winter Exhibition, we latched onto ROADS LESS TRAVELED right away. The metaphor suits this prolific trio particularly well.

It wraps snugly around their divergent bodies of work. And it captures the iconoclast in each, the way they stretch their chosen media and their risktaking pursuit of singular artistic visions.

But for Bonnie, Susan and Gene, creation is about more than experimentation and geographic and creative journeys. It’s also about times when experiments fail and journeys are not fruitful. Artists find their true measure in how they respond to shortfalls. Gifted artists have the special capacity to turn them into assets and fodder for new work.

So when you look up and see some four dozen works that speak in polished sentences and stanzas, remember, too, that you’re looking at thousands of rolls of film, feet of negatives, travel maps frayed by constant reference, gallons of developer and fixer, yards of canvas, scrolls of paper, hours of video, discarded tools, abandoned ideas, half-forgotten vistas.

It’s all there. And it all fits on our modest wall.

We can only add: What a way to start a new year! And thank you for being part of this special show. While we are honored to share these indelible moments from the unique roads our artists have chosen, we surely want to invite you always to follow the well-beaten path back to Off the Wall Gallery and Dirty Frank’s. See you again soon!

Jody Sweitzer Curator

Togo Travalia Manager

Gene Renzi Do you know Gene Renzi?

I do and I’d like to take a moment to tell you a little bit about him. Gene was born and raised in South Philly, a place that would become one of his much loved subjects. He is a Renaissance Man who indulges in many different media, ranging from traditional fine art to contemporary photography.

Gene has an eye for the sublime details in everyday life that so many of us take for granted. His take on the world around him is beautifully captured in his black-and-white portfolio—a cornucopia of haunting landscapes, tranquil still lifes and candid portraits.

“A Piano Solo”

Whether Gene is portraying a stack of lonely canoes by the river in the middle of a Pennsylvania winter or a Victorian cottage by the sea, he stays true to his roots. He often shoots “He often shoots what what he holds close to his heart—and Gene’s work wears that heart on its he holds close to his sleeve. Not only is his hometown a major backdrop throughout his heart—and Gene’s creations, but Gene’s family and friends work wears that heart are always well represented in the story he is more than willing to share with on its sleeve.” you. This man’s journey has been a lifelong pursuit of self-expression covering a range of emotions that most artists rarely get to demonstrate.

I know what you’re probably thinking: How did I come to know so much about Gene Renzi, and who am I to speak about the man in such grandiose terms?!? Well, not only am I his biggest fan—I am his son.

–Jason Renzi

Multiple framed prints are available for all of Gene’s work.

“By Way of the Rider” medium-format photography silver gelatin print 200.

“Canoes @ Tyler” medium-format photography silver gelatin print 200.

“Empty Spaces in the Usual Places” medium-format photography silver gelatin print 200.

“Hay Harvest @ Newtown #2” medium-format photography silver gelatin print 200.

“Jessica Grandeur” medium-format photography silver gelatin print 200.

“Lexington Rises” medium-format photography silver gelatin print 200.

“A Piano Solo” 35mm photography silver gelatin print 200.

“A Queen in the Courtyard” medium-format photography silver gelatin print 200.

“Hay Harvest @ Newtown #2”

“Lexington Rises”

“Seaside Arena: Atlantic City” medium-format photography silver gelatin print 200.

“Seaside Arena: Gillian’s Wonderland” medium-format photography silver gelatin print 200.

“Tale of the Urban Archer” medium-format photography silver gelatin print 200.

“That Old Chestnut” medium-format photography silver gelatin print 200.

“That We May Never Forget” medium-format photography silver gelatin print 200.

“Tyler Near the Falls” medium-format photography silver gelatin print 200.

“With Room to Spare” medium-format photography silver gelatin print 200.

Bonnie J. Schorske My love affair with Southeast Asia began in 1989, and I have been returning there regularly to photograph ever since. Most of the images in this exhibit are from recent trips to India and Myanmar. The greatest challenge in doing photography while travelling has been straddling the line between street photography and travel photography―the objective being to convey a sense of spiritual and physical space in a fresh, emotionally accessible and respectful manner.

Southeast Asia teems with people, animals and religious life. Life is in the temples; shrines are on every street.

Monks are in the markets.

Horns insistently beep as you “Monastic Order” walk on dusty roads and narrow paths full of people, bikes, cars, rickshaws, tuk-tuks, dogs, goats, cows. The smells of spices and incense mix with fetid water and rotting garbage. Golden spires, “If a photograph is the moment wall paintings and rainbow hues of cotton of grace where subject, light and silk are everywhere. and intention all come together, It is sensory overload.

Magnificent cities, both then finding that moment ancient and modern, among this cacophony and coexist with timeless villages built from cow crush of people is the street paddies and straw― photographer’s challenge.” where children crawl on their mothers’ laps while rice is ground manually by stone into powder and cooked over open flames into crackers to take to market.

If a photograph is the moment of grace where subject, light and intention all come together, then finding that moment among this cacophony and crush of people is the street photographer’s challenge. And because the people of Southeast Asia are so warm and beautiful and are such a huge part of the story, learning to move respectfully amongst them has been, perhaps, their greatest gift to me.

From Vietnam:

“Child’s Play”

From India: “Bundelkhand Express” 35mm photography triptych archival pigment print 325. limited edition, 2/10

“The Waffle Vendor” 35mm photography metallic print 350. limited edition, 2/4

Please note that all of Bonnie’s prices are specific to the number in the edition. Later prints in the same edition will be priced higher.

“Man, Boy, Minaret” 35mm photography duotone archival pigment print 325. limited edition, 2/10 “Saffron Turban” 35mm photography duotone archival pigment print 215. limited edition, 1/10 “Taj Mahal Minaret” 35mm photography archival pigment print 275. limited edition, 1/10 “Varanasi Afternoon” 35mm photography archival pigment print 275. limited edition, 1/10 “Varanasi Steps” 35mm photography archival pigment print 275. limited edition, 1/10

“Novices”

From Myanmar*: “Child’s Play” 35mm photography archival pigment print 215. limited edition, 1/10 “Guardian Angels” 35mm photography archival pigment print 250. limited edition, 1/10 “Laughing Monks” 35mm photography archival pigment print 250. limited edition, 1/10

“Novice, Inle Lake”

*Please note that all of the images in this program are of Bonnie’s Myanmar photographs.

“Monastic Entry” 35mm photography archival pigment print 215. limited edition, 1/10 “Monastic Order” 35mm photography archival pigment print 275. limited edition, 1/10 “Novice, Inle Lake” 35mm photography archival pigment print 215. limited edition, 1/10 “Novices” 35mm photography archival pigment print 275. limited edition, 2/10

“Laughing Monks”

“Sometimes a Cigar Is Just a Cigar” 35mm photography archival pigment print 215. limited edition, 2/10

Susan Stromquist During my Post-Baccalaureate year at PAFA in 2011, I did “travel a road” I hadn’t taken before. I began working from a conceptual perspective and let form follow.

“Oil Spill Self” is the first of a series about an emotional invader that is difficult to contain. I strapped wet, leaking pouches of gouache to my wrist, which dripped and dragged as I drew, creating an unnamed element beside the figure.

I went on to invent more tools— creating extensions to my body that simultaneously lengthened my reach and limited my control, using the environment around me and Susan’s installation in our 3-D space recording video. The footage became raw material to manipulate beyond pure document.

In “Climb,” the paper-lined staircase represents a timeline. With each step I acquired a new tool or supply to add to those I’d gathered previously.

I continued to work and rework as far as I could reach. As I made marks on the work, it also made marks on me.

“Give and Keep” is about the ambivalence of wanting to give your entire self to something or someone, but knowing you must not.

In “Drawn,” I was drawing with my eyes but could not see. There’s a moment of transformation—release of control—when the tool begins to move on its own. This push and pull is present in everyday life and all its endeavors. “Drawn” is also about the contrast between what you envision and what you realize in a conscious way. In this case, I was simply writing the alphabet.

“There is a moment of transformation—release of control—when the tool begins to move on its own. This push and pull is present in everyday life and all its endeavors.”

“Oil Spill” Tools (above); stills from “Drawn” (right and below)

“Climb,” “Give and Keep” & “Drawn” looped DVD of three videos 20. each Multiple copies are available.

“Climb” digital print of video stills 100. limited edition of 25 Multiple framed prints are available.

“Climb” Accordion Book graphite powder and gesso on paper,with cardboard and tape 500.

“Climb” Scroll charcoal, conté crayon, gouche, ink, paint, pastel, graphite and mixed media on paper 430.

“Consequential Gesture” (#1-6) digital prints 80. each limited edition of 25 Multiple framed prints are available.

“Drawn” Tool safety glasses, duct tape, tape and charcoal NFS “Oil Spill Self” charcoal and gouache on paper 500.

“Oil Spill” Tools (#1-7) wood, tape, paper towel and gouache 75. each

Support Our Community Off the Wall Gallery is a true nonprofit enterprise. Our commissions cover only a fraction of the resources needed to put the seven shows we will produce in 2013. Without our community’s support, this work simply wouldn’t be possible. There are two ways you can help us continue to grow, open more doors of opportunity for emerging artists and connect our audiences to more outstanding art.

1) Become a ‘Friend of Off the Wall’ with a gift of $30 or more.

We will proudly acknowledge your support in future programs. Please drop this form with a cash donation to your bartender.

2) Become an Off the Wall volunteer. We always need expert volunteer support, such as professional design services, and outreach specialists for tasks ranging from dropping postcards around town to emailing art listings and press releases and following up by phone.

Thank you in advance for your support!

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From the artists & volunteers of Off the Wall Gallery,

HAPPY NEW YEAR and THANK YOU for helping make 2012 so very special...

7 shows 76 artists 479 works countless new fans & 155 sales We’re excited to start filling 2013 with great new art, inspiration, discovery and our growing community!