November 3-17th, 2011
Opening Reception: 2nd Thursday, November 10th, 2011, 6 – 9 pm
Location: The Icebox & The Grey Area
Hours: Wednesday – Sunday 12-6pm

Curated by Janet Kurnatowski

American Abstract Artists presents ABSTRACTION (Abstraction to the Power of Infinity), curated by Janet Kurnatowski. ABSTRACTION celebrates the perseverance of non-figurative and non-objective art, including the practitioners, pioneers and those currently working in the traditions of abstraction. This exhibition shows the recent work of 78 members of the American Abstract Artists (AAA), along with four guest exhibitors. The works exhibited span a variety of media – painting, sculpture, photography, installation, video, and digital computer art; vividly communicating with color, line, form and texture.

As one of the few artists’ organizations born of the Great Depression, the AAA was a pivotal force in the development and acceptance of abstract art in the US. The group’s continued vitality after 75 years is a testament to the power and reach of these non-objective art forms and points to an infinite future for abstraction. The exhibition is also a tribute to Will Barnet, an esteemed member of the AAA since 1954 and also the AAA’s first centenarian.

The artists included in the exhibition are:
Alice Adams, Steven Alexander*, Richard Anuszkiewicz, Eve Aschheim, Martin Ball, Will Barnet, Dennis Beach*, Siri Berg, Emily Berger, Power Boothe, Susan Bonfils, Sharon Brant, Henry Brown, Marvin Brown, Kenneth Bushnell, James O. Clark, Mark Dagley, Matthew Deleget, Tom Doyle, Tom Evans, Gabriele Evertz, Kevin Finklea*, Heidi Glück, Vito Giacalone, John Goodyear, Gail Gregg, James Gross, Lynne Harlow, Mara Held, Daniel G. Hill, Charles Hinman, Gilbert Hsiao, Phillis Ideal, Julian Jackson, Roger Jorgensen, James Juszczyk, Cecily Kahn, Steve Karlik, Marthe Keller, Victor Kord, Irene Lawrence, Mon Levinson, James Little, Jane Logemann, Vincent Longo, Katinka Mann, Nancy Manter, Stephen Maine, Rossana Martinez, David MacKenzie, Creighton Michael, Manfred Mohr, Judith Murray, Sharyn O’Mara*, John Phillips, Corey Postiglione, Joan Webster Price, Raquel Rabinovich, Leo Rabkin, Ce Roser, Irene Rousseau, David Row, James Seawright, Edward Shalala, Babe Shapiro, Louis Silverstein, Robert Storr, Peter Stroud, Robert Swain, Susanna Tanger, Richard Timperio, Clover Vail, Vera Vasek, Don Voisine, Merrill Wagner, Joan Waltemath, Stephen Westfall, Mark Williams, Jeanne Wilkinson, Thornton Willis, Kes Zapkus, Nola Zirin

Exhibition curator Janet Kurnatowsk is the owner and director of Janet Kurnatowski Gallery in Brooklyn, NY. Since opening its doors in 2004, the gallery has maintained a strong focus on abstract art from emerging as well as mid-career and established artists. Special thanks to The Golden Rule Foundation for making this exhibition possible.

*guest exhibitor

October 4 – Oct 27, 2011
2nd Thursday Reception: October 13, 2011, 6 – 9 pm
Location: The Icebox
Hours: Wednesday – Friday 12-6pm, (Tuesdays by appointment only)

Crane Arts, LLC’s International Curatorial Exchange (ICE) present:

Soft Dart (2011) is Alexandre Arrechea’s initial proposal for the 54th Biennale di Venezia, where he is currently representing Cuba in a group show located in the island of San Servolo. The piece was originally meant to be projected on metal planks, and this choice of surface reflects the original meaning of the piece and its relationship with failure. The visual effect functions as a substitute for a certain reality. This is a piece that continues and expands the original idea presented in Black Sun (2009), a powerful 3-D animation exhibited at Crane Arts as part of the International Curatorial Exchange (ICE), and curated for Philagrafika 2010 by Anabelle Rodríguez-Lawton. The aesthetic of Soft Dart is somewhat reminiscent of socialist realism. It resembles the triumphalist images of communist graphics about work and progress. The piece functions as a trap for the eye and the ear. In this case, and in contrast to Black Sun, it has a sound component that accentuates the trompe-l’œil. It gives the sensation that it is real until we realize it is all illusion. Presented on the metal planks the piece functions as a double-sided projection, while in the Icebox the projected “soft darts” slide unilaterally over the length of one of the long walls of the lengthy space.

AA’s bio:

Alexandre Arrechea was born in Trinidad, Cuba, in 1970. He graduated from the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) in Havana in 1994. For twelve years he was a member of the art collective Los Carpinteros, until he left the group in July 2003 to continue his career as a solo artist. His public art involves concepts of power and its network of hierarchies, prohibitions and subjection. The spectator’s participation in the work adds to his contemplation. The prominence of surveillance systems and the accompanying obsession with control during our time has served as a key source for the work Alexandre began in 2003. Investigation into this issue led him to develop a body of work dealing with loss of privacy, fragility, memory, and the failure of control and power. Works such as the series titled The Garden of Mistrust (2003-ongoing), and Perpetual Free Entrance (2006) deal, to some degree, with troubles of accessibility or approach to art work. At present his interest is the limits of artwork itself. With that purpose in mind he created a particular installation for the 10th Havana Biennial. The work consisted of a house of steel divided into eleven sections. The extensions or separations between walls changed daily, depending of the rise or fall of the Dow Jones index.

The interdisciplinary quality of Alexandre Arrechea’s work reveals a profound interest in the exploration of both public and domestic spaces. This quest has led him to produce several monumental projects including Orange Tree (2010), commissioned in collaboration with Crane Arts for an International Curatorial Exchange (ICE) that was one of the independent projects for Philagrafika 2010. The 3-D animated piece Black Sun (2009), previewed in Crane Arts during Philagrafika 2010, was screened on the NASDAQ billboard in New York City, as part of the Times Square Arts Alliance public art program. The piece functioned as a visual paradox, as it futilely appeared to be attempting to wreck the NASDAQ façade while softly bouncing back without making a sound. As such, the work he’s currently doing is ultimately a provocative exercise of criticisms to the known structures of power in our time.

AR-L’s bio:

Anabelle Rodríguez-Lawton was born in Aibonito, Puerto Rico, in 1973. In 1994 she earned dual B.A. degrees in The Visual Arts, and The History of Art and Architecture from Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island. In 1996 she become the first appointed Director of Education in the Museo de Arte de Ponce. In 1999 she relocated to Philadelphia, where she has curated more than fifty interdisciplinary exhibitions of contemporary art, Pre-Columbian archaeology, arts and crafts, ethnographic artifacts, and including electronic music performances. In 2003 she received an academic fellowship from Temple University to develop a Ph.D. thesis in visual anthropology focusing on transnational Puerto Rican artists. Since then she has been awarded multiple grants to travel and study in Japan (Tokyo and Kyoto), Indonesia (Bali and Java), Cuba (Havana), and Europe (Berlin and Venice). In June of 2011 Anabelle traveled to Italy to conduct curatorial research and to complete an audience reception study in the Unites States Pavilion in the 54th Biennale di Venezia for the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Pavilion’s commissioning institution. Upon her return to Philadelphia she has been curating the Diálogo 365 exhibition for Casa de Venezuela, a group show with new and recent artwork by 28 Latino, Latin American, and Caribbean artists from 14 countries. Diálogo 365 will open to the public in Crane Arts and Crane Arts Old School from October 7-25, 2011, with joint receptions being held in both buildings during Crane Arts Second Thursday on October 13 from 6-9pm. Anabelle is currently in the process of developing an experimental initiative in artistic, exhibitionary, and curatorial practices called The ~curARTorial LAB, located in the new Crane Arts Old School. She teaches Art History at The University of the Arts.

Diálogo 365 Chief Curator:
Anabelle Rodríguez-Lawton, Puerto Rico

Selected Artists:
Adrián Abonce, Colombia
Susana Amundaraín, Venezuela
Daphne Arthur, Venezuela
Henry Bermúdez, Venezuela
Simón Bolívar, Venezuela
S. Damary Burgos, Puerto Rico
Nelsón Cabán, Puerto Rico/USA
Cristina Eguiluz, Argentina
Bruno García, Venezuela
Micah Gaugh, Panama/USA
Blanca Gruber, Venezuela
Tlisza & Marcus Jaurique y Zilliox, Mexico/USA
Jane Madrigal, Mexico/USA
Michelle Marcuse, South Africa
Paula Meninato, Argentina
Doris Nogueira-Rogers, Brazil
Carlos Nuñez, Ecuador
Amalfi Ramírez, Venezuela
Tony Rocco, Colombia/USA
Marilyn Rodriguez, Puerto Rico/USA
Freddy Rodríguez, Dominican Republic
Marta Sanchez, Mexico/USA
Maria R. Schneider, Spain
Jacqueline Unanue, Chile
Víctor Vázquez, Puerto Rico
César Viveros, Mexico
Mauro Zamora, Cuba/USA

June 17 – June 29, 2011
Reception & Performance: Friday, June 17th 6 – 8pm
Location: Icebox
Hours: Wed – Sun 12-6pm
More Info: http://www.cfeva.org

Utilizing the grand scale and unique feel of the Icebox Project space, CFEVA’s Career Development Program Fellows exhibit large scale site-specific installations, sculpture, printmaking, painting, drawing, photography, video, and performance. Artists exhibiting are: Noah Addis, Arden Bendler Browning, Lewis Colburn, Don Edler, Laureen Griffin, Jordan Griska, Ana B. Hernandez, Mami Kato, Allison Kaufman, Daniel Kornrumpf, Maggie Mills, Tim Portlock, Alison Stigora, Jennifer Williams, Kimberly Witham, and Bohyun Yoon. These artists address a diverse range of issues and ideologies through a variety of materials and presentation strategies. Issues surrounding public space, urban development and decay, repurposing materials, and life and death are explored in surprising ways. Additionally, artists push the boundaries of artistic tradition through unusual and unexpected approaches to traditional genres such as still-life and portraiture. This exhibition was curated by Amie Potsic, Director of the Career Development Program at The Center for Emerging Visual Artists.

Sunday, June 5 @ 7 p.m
$15.00 Buy tickets online.
Location: Crane Arts
More info: http://jackfeldman-eorg.eventbrite.com/

The JACK Quartet – called “brilliant” by Alex Ross – plays a program titled “IT STARTED ON EIGHTH STREET” dedicated to Feldman and his trailblazing compositional associates in early-1950s New York City. John Cage’s gorgeous String Quartet in Four Parts, Earle Brown’s open-form String Quartet, and Feldman’s first brief essay in the genre, Structures for string quartet, are played alongside Webern’s microscopic Bagatelles, which anticipate the pointillistic textures of Feldman’s music by nearly half a century. Crane Arts, a leading site for avant-garde visual art and music, brings to mind Feldman’s close associations with both worlds in his own time.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

The JACK Quartet electrifies audiences worldwide with “explosive virtuosity” (Boston Globe) and “viscerally exciting performances” (New York Times). David Patrick Stearns (Philadelphia Inquirer) proclaimed their performance as being “among the most stimulating new-music concerts of my experience,” and NPR listed their performance as one of “The Best New York Alt-Classical Concerts Of 2010.” The Washington Post commented, “The string quartet may be a 250-year-old contraption, but young, brilliant groups like the JACK Quartet are keeping it thrillingly vital.” Alex Ross (New Yorker) hailed their performance of Iannis Xenakis’ complete string quartets as being “exceptional” and “beautifully harsh,” and Mark Swed (Los Angeles Times) called their sold-out performances of Georg Friedrich Haas’ String Quartet No. 3 In iij. Noct. “mind-blowingly good.” The quartet’s recording of Xenakis’ complete string quartets appeared on “Best Of” lists from the Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, New Yorker, NPR, and as “one of 2009′s most impressive recordings” from Time Out New York.

JACK has performed to critical acclaim at the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ (Netherlands), Festival Internacional Cervantino (Mexico), Donaueschinger Musiktage (Germany), Library of Congress, Miller Theatre, Morgan Library & Museum, and Kimmel Center with recent and upcoming performances at the Ultraschall Festival (Germany), Da Camera Society (Los Angeles), Monday Evening Concerts, Town Hall Seattle, Les Flâneries Musicales de Reims (France), Arcana Festival (Austria), Wigmore Hall (United Kingdom), and Strathmore Hall.

Comprising violinists Christopher Otto and Ari Streisfeld, violist John Pickford Richards, and cellist Kevin McFarland, JACK is focused on the commissioning and performance of new works, leading them to work closely with composers Helmut Lachenmann, György Kurtág, Matthias Pintscher, Georg Friedrich Haas, James Dillon, Toshio Hosokawa, Wolfgang Rihm, Elliott Sharp, Beat Furrer, Caleb Burhans, and Aaron Cassidy. Upcoming and recent premieres include works by Alan Hilario, Peter Ablinger, Gregory Spears, Elliott Sharp, Jason Eckardt, and Hannah Lash. The quartet also offers fresh interpretations of early music, including works by Don Carlo Gesualdo, Guillaume de Machaut, and Josquin des Prez.

JACK has led workshops with young composers at the University of Iowa, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Darmstadt Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik (Germany), New York University, Columbia University, Carnegie Mellon University, Eastman School of Music, University at Buffalo, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Northwestern University, University of Huddersfield (United Kingdom), University of Washington, University of Victoria (Canada), and Manhattan School of Music. In addition to working with composers and performers, JACK seeks to broaden and diversify the potential audience for new music through educational presentations designed for a variety of ages, backgrounds, and levels of musical experience.

The members of the quartet met while attending the Eastman School of Music, and they have since studied with the Arditti Quartet, Kronos Quartet, Muir String Quartet, and members of the Ensemble Intercontemporain.

April 27th – May 5th, 2011
Opening Reception: Wednesday, April 27th, 2011, 6 – 9 pm
Location: The Icebox & The Consulate General of Italy in Philadelphia
Hours: Wed – Sun 12-6pm

The Consulate General of Italy in Philadelphia, in the presence of the Consul General Luigi Scotto, presents:

Italy: Philadelphia Artists Celebrate 150 Years
Curated by Shara Wasserman

From April 27 to May 5, the Italian Consulate of Philadelphia will present Italy: Philadelphia Artists Celebrate 150 Years, an exhibition commemorating the 150th anniversary of Italian Unity. The program is intended to honor March 17, 1861, that very important day in Italian history when Parliament declared the Regno d’Italia — the Kingdom of Italy — and Vittorio Emanuele II the King. People throughout Italy came out to celebrate the anniversary; it is the intention of this exhibition to allow this celebration to continue in Philadelphia in honor of the residents who trace their heritage to Italy.

The exhibition unfolds in two locations and with a rich and varied program.

On April 27, from 6 –9 pm, the Crane Arts Center – 1400 N. American Street — will inaugurate the video mix Italy: Philadelphia Artists Celebrate 150 Years. This represents a compilation of the works of the 15 participating artists, each present with a two-minute sequence of images or a short film.

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April 7 – April 24, 2011
Reception: Saturday April 9th from 6pm – 9pm
Location: The Icebox
Hours: 12-­6 Wednesday through Sunday

The third installment of the Tyler School of Art: Temple University Alumni Exhibition Series. Began in 2007 with a focus on Painting and in 2009 with a focus on Sculpture, the third exhibition will focus on Works on Paper, divided into two categories, Works on Paper and Posters. Robert Storr, Dean of the Yale School of Art served as the juror for the Works on Paper. Mr. Storr was the Rosalie Solow Professor of Modern Art at the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University. In the spring of 2007 he directed the 2007 Venice Biennale, the first American invited to assume that position. Luba Lukova served as the juror for Posters. She is an internationally recognized New York based artist, and is regarded as one of the most distinctive image-makers working today. Ms. Lukova’s work is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Library of Congress, Washington, DC; and Bibliotheque nationale de France.

The Tyler Alumni Association is grateful to acknowledge the support of Temple University and generous sponsors: Victory Brewing Company, Blick Art Materials, CRW Graphics, LeapFrog Advancement and MissionStaff.

January 5th – February 13th , 2011
Opening Reception: Thursday, January 13th, 2011, 6-9 pm
Location: The Ice Box
Hours: Wed – Sun 12-6pm

Curated by: Ludovico Pratesi with Shara Wasserman

Crane Arts presents Italian Video Today: Social and Individual Identity, a program devoted to current Italian video art, with a particular focus on those artists who direct their artistic research towards the definition of a current Italian identity through an investigation of the contradictions and the uncertainties of their political, social and cultural condition. (more…)

November 3 – November 28, 2010
Opening Reception: Thursday, November 11, 2010, 6:00 -9:00 PM
Artist Talk: Thursday November 11, 2010 at 6pm
Location: Ice Box
Hours: Wed – Sun 12pm-6pm
Link: G Fine Art

Ledelle Moe creates haunting and poignant sculptures from concrete and steel which have tremendous meditative power. (more…)

November 20, 2010
Hours: 8:00PM
Tickets:  $15 admission ($10 for students, seniors, and Crane Arts tenants) – tickets will only be sold at the door, no advance, cash only
Location: Ice Box
Links: http://www.jackquartet.com/, NYTimes Review

Crane Arts presents the JACK Quartet, who will perform the world premiere of a new work by Gregory Spears, inspired by the composer’s experience as artist-in-residence at the Buttonwood Psychiatric Hospital (more…)

October 12th – 17th, 2010
Preview Reception: Tuesday, October 12, 6 – 9 pm
Second Thursday: Thursday, October 14, 6 – 9 pm
Design Philadelphia Closing Party: Sunday, October 17, 6:30 – 9 pm
Location: Green Space
Hours: 11am-4pm

Part game, part art installation, part mobile recycling center, Macro Sea’s Glassphemy! is a 20-by-30-foot steel structure lined with bulletproof glass. A person standing on one side can throw (more…)

July 24 2010 at 8pm
Tickets: $10 at the door
Location: The Ice Box
Link: http://www.nonclassical.co.uk.

The adventurous London-based Nonclassical label presents an evening of music (more…)

Reception: Friday, March 26th, 6-9pm (SGC Reception)
Location: The Hall

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March 3 – April 4 ,2010
Reception: Friday, March 5th, 6-9pm (First Friday)
Reception: Thursday, March 11th, 6-9pm (Second Thursday)
Reception: Friday, March 26th, 6-9pm (SGC Reception)
Reception: Thursday, April 1st, 6-9pm (NCECA Reception)
Location: Ice Box (Wed – Sun 12-6pm)
Link: www.mediumresistance.com

Recent discourse tends to force print and craft works into not-so-recent, even outright conservative categories: as fine art, they must (more…)

January 31 – February 21, 2010
Reception: Thursday, February 11, 2010, 6-9pm
Location: Ice Box
Hours: Wed – Sun 12-6pm
Links: www.magnanmetz.com, www.alexandrearrechea.com

Mixed media consisting of video, watercolors, and Orange Tree – a new installation commissioned
by Crane Arts and I.C.E. Curated by Anabelle Rodriguez

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November 11 – 22, 2009 *Extended through the 29th of November (by appointment)
Reception: Thursday, November 12th & 18th, 6-9pm
Location: Ice Box
Hours: Wed – Sun 12-6pm
Link: www.sutomesen.nl/
Press: Big pictures at the Ice Box via The Art Blog

The video-installation 40,000 feet is a moving painting made for the Icebox Project Space, marking the first international exhibitor to utilize the new video system. (more…)

October 8 – 25, 2009
Reception: Tuesday, October 13, 6pm
Location: Ice Box
Hours: Wed – Sun 12-6pm
Link: is-architects.com
Link: Changing Skyline, by Inga Saffron @ Philadelphia Inquirer

Philadelphia, September 15, 2009 – Philadelphia’s affordability, diverse neighborhoods and “under the radar” personality have fueled a robust and growing design culture over the past decade. (more…)

Dates: Wednesday, September 16th – Saturday, September 19th
Hours: Various (click here to view schedule)
Location: Ice Box
Link: Buy Tickets online here

Enter a space of reverie where performers dance with branches as long as 20 feet. A massive video installation projects nature in extreme close-up covering walls, dancers, branches, and the audience (more…)

Dates: Friday, September 4th – Monday, September 7th
Hours: Various (click here to view schedule)
Location: Ice Box
Link: Buy Tickets online here

SCRAP PERFORMANCE GROUP CELEBRATES its 15-year anniversary with a new TIDE and the return of co-artistic director Myra Bazell to the stage. (more…)