Eric Hall in "Borders"

All images by Eric Hall. Oil on Canvas.

TRANSPLANT Reception Photos

A warm thank you to all who attended our reception for TRANSPLANT on Saturday night. In the pouring rain, no less. We had a wonderful time.

Thank you to Victory Brewing for the beverages, and to missingElement for the photos!

NBC Philadelphia's Homepage

What's that, down there on the left ...?



Update: Now on the front page of Around Town ...

NBC Philadelphia | Transplant

NBC Philadelphia
A Change of Art: JOG Opening Saturday
By DAVID CHANG
Updated 3:21 PM EDT, Fri, Oct 23, 2009


JOG
Art fans in Philly have something to look forward to this weekend from the James Oliver Gallery. Their newest exhibit, Transplant, opens Saturday Oct. 24, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Transplant features painter Ron Johnson and sculptor Steven Earl Weber. The paintings and the sculptures are inspired by the shadows of nature and genetically engineered human organs. Weber will also display sculptures that were previously censored from the Art Institute of Philadelphia.

Enjoy beer, wine and light fare as you peruse the exhibit.

The gallery is located on the fourth floor of 723 Chestnut Street. The exhibit will run until November 21. For more information, check out the gallery website www.jamesoliverygallery.com.

TRANSPLANT | Thrillist Philadelphia

Thrillist Philadelphia

The List

Hump This

Organ-ize: Transplant

Sat, Oct 24, 6-9pm at James Oliver Gallery: 723 Chestnut St; 4th Fl (above Morimoto); 215.923.1242

Hit JOG Saturday evening to throw back comp'd vino and Victory suds as you marvel at Ron Johnson's paintings (which draw inspiration from photographs of shadows) and the sculpture work of Steven Earl Weber, including a series of anatomically correct ceramic human organs slapped with appropriate/cynical branding, like the Nike-swoosh-emblazoned heart on a swatch of AstroTurf dubbed "The Athlete With The Most Heart", "Marlboro Lungs", and another heart dangling from a gold chain, draped in signature Burberry plaid you'll deem "The Shopper With The Most Credit Cards".

Read the rest of the Thrillist Philadelphia List here.

Censored Work on Display

Back in 2008, the Art Institute in Philadelphia censored an artist in an exhibit about gun violence. The artist, Steven Earl Weber, will exhibit the censored work for the first time since, at James Oliver Gallery.

A reception with Steven Earl Weber and painter Ron Johnson is on Saturday, October 24th, 6:00 - 9:00 PM, and is free and open to the public.

Thanks to Victory Brewing for beverages!

Discussion Panel for Artists

1099s: What You Don’t Know Could Cost You!

What Individual Artists and Small Companies Need to Know about Taxes and the Law when Engaging Contractors and Hiring Employees

Designed especially for small companies and individual artists.

If you conduct business in the United States you are responsible to know the law.

Goals: to know when to ask questions and seek expert advice, to learn about employer/employee status, 1099s, payroll, contracts, and to build a knowledge base for the arts community

Monday Oct 26, 2009 4:30-6:30pm

Location: The Live Arts Festival Office 919 N 5th St, Philadelphia, PA 19123

Registration strongly recommended. Space limited.

To register call 215-922-5970 or email admin@danceusaphiladelphia with your name, organization (if applicable) and phone.

Sponsored by Dance/USA Philadelphia in partnership with White Box Theatre

Panelists:

Michelle Burkhardt, Dance USA, lawyer, consultant

Cindy Bortman, Tax Lawyer

Bruce Newman, Unemployment Compensation Board, Referee

Richard Swartz, Lawyer, Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts

Sebastienne Mundheim, White Box Theatre

Amy Smith, Headlong Dance Theatre

AGENDA

4:30- 4:35 Sebastienne Mundheim: Welcome, Story/Goals, Introduction Panelists.

4:35-4:45: Richard Swartz/ Bruce Newman: Criteria for Classification, Short history/explanation about why these definitions exist and how they serve people.

4:45-4:55 Michelle Burkhardt: New York Dance Companies: Case Study.

4:55 -5:10 Amy Smith/ Michelle Burkhardt Choosing status of your relationships. Pros and Cons. Tax returns and City of Philadelphia Business Licensing. How might decision making change contingent on your status: incorporated non-profit, unincorporated entity, individual artist?

5:10-5:25 Richard Swartz/Michelle Burkhardt Contracts and legal compliance.

5:25-5:45 Amy Smith Payroll and 501(c)(3) Federal and state unemployment and workers comp issues.

5:45-6:00 Bruce Newman Federal and state unemployment and workers comp issues.

6:00-6:05 Mundheim collects written questions for the panel to answer.

6:05-6:30 Q and A responses

6:30-7:00 People invited to remain for 30 minutes.

Raffle: $10 per ticket

James Oliver "Stamina (Birth)" 2007
36" x 48" Oil on Canvas
Retail: $2,200

Own a James Oliver painting for only $10

In celebration of James Oliver Gallery opening a second location in Sebastopol, CA, James Oliver has donated the painting seen above, "Stamina (Birth)", for raffle.

From now through the end of our current exhibit TRANSPLANT, we will be selling raffle tickets for $10.00 each. On November 21th we will randomly draw a winner.

To purchase raffle tickets, please send a check to James Oliver Gallery or call with your credit card number. The painting is on exhibit now, so you are also welcome to come by.

There is no limit to how many times you may enter. Good Luck!

To buy tickets, please call us at 215.923.1242 or email info@jamesolivergallery.com. You may also write a check to James Oliver Gallery and mail to 723 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106.

TRANSPLANT | Opening Oct. 24th

TRANSPLANT

Ron Johnson
Steven Earl Weber

October 24 - November 21, 2009
Reception with the Artists: Saturday, October 24th 6:00 - 9:00 PM

James Oliver Gallery
723 Chestnut Street, 4th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(Above Morimoto Restaurant)
215.923.1242

www.jamesolivergallery.com
www.jamesolivergallery.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/JOGphilly

Contact: Veronica Scarpellino, Director
Hi Res images available upon request

TRANSLPLANT

Radiating Light

It’s said that everyone looks at the world in their own way, filtered through their own eyes and experiences. The exhibit “Transplant” at James Oliver Gallery (JOG), opening on October 24th, will examine how two artists view the world. Painter Ron Johnson and sculptor Steven Earl Weber transplant and transform natural forms in their own ways. Please join us for the opening reception with the artists on Saturday, October 24th, 6:00 – 9:00 pm.

Ron Johnson takes the filter of light through leaves and trees and plays with the shadows, using color and brush strokes to reinterpret nature. Steven Earl Weber features human organs and various objects with a wink to our obsessions and addictions, with a nod to the political.

Ron Johnson was born and raised in the Philippines to Missionary parents. A graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art (PAFA), Johnson is a yearly exhibitor at JOG. He was a recipient of the Henry J. Scheidt Memorial Travel Scholarship from PAFA, and his paintings are in the collections of actor Nicholas Cage and McDonald’s Corporate Offices. His art has been featured on film, including work by director M. Night Shyamalan.

Steven Earl Weber is primarily a clay sculptor whose work has been exhibited across the United States and Scotland. A graduate from Kent State University, he was a resident at Burnside Gallery at Isle of Arran in Scotland, amongst others.

“Transplant” opens Saturday, October 24th and runs through November 21st, 2009. The opening reception with the artists will be on Saturday, October 24th, 6:00 – 9:00 pm and is free and open to the public.

James Oliver Gallery is located at 723 Chestnut Street, 4th Floor, above Morimoto Restaurant, Philadelphia.

PRIME Installation Shots

Thank you to our artist Mark Fields for taking photographs of our exhibit PRIME!

Artists Mark Fields, Karen Freedman and Yi Sheng ...

Center: Yi Sheng's "AAAA" at Left: Karen Freedman's encaustic paintings.

At right: Mark Fields' photographs. Before the window, Yi Sheng's "Plant".

HELLO WORLD | Sebastopol, CA Debut

PRIME | Uwishunu

Big Changes, Opening Reception @ James Oliver Gallery

By Christopher Wink on Uwishunu.com

Karen Freedman, “Reclamation: Cooling the Flames” , Mark Field, “Proteus Pretending to be a Spider”

One curator out, another one in, and a third anniversary on the way. It’s not a bad time for the James Oliver Gallery. Founding director James Oliver is moving to California to open a second location and is being replaced by Veronica Scarpellino, as the Society Hill gallery celebrates three years at 7th and Chestnut.

To mark the big changes, the gallery is hosting an evening reception Sat. Sept. 12th for a new installation called “Prime,” featuring three artists. The exhibit, featuring installation sculptor Yi Sheng, encaustic painter Karen Freedman and photographer Mark Fields, runs from the opening reception to Oct. 11.

Catalogs of “Prime” will be available, and change, I’d imagine, will be in the air.

Prime
Reception: Saturday, September 12, 2009, 6:00 – 9:00 PM
Exhibit runs Sept. 12 – Oct. 11, 2009

James Oliver Gallery
723 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 923-1242
www.jamesolivergallery.com

Artist Karen Freedman on Encaustic

What is the medium Encaustic? Artist Karen Freedman in her own words ...

order & repetition

"No matter how many alternate paths my work takes I always seem to return to order and repetition. These twin elements are with me as an underlying touchstone of inspiration. In the “Reclamation” series, I take this concept of order and repetition and introduce a semblance of disarray without ever really abandoning the grid-like structure. The use of colors may seem arbitrary yet they are chosen and arranged to give structure and movement to the randomness I have imposed on the grid. I rely on the symmetry of patterns in the “Abacus” and “Repatterning” series to explore the changes color and light undergo through the use of multiple layers of translucent and opaque colors. These three series are intended to work either as independent of each other or to compliment each other. I design and use multiple stencils to create my patterns and grids. They are painted on a 12" x 12" x 1 ½" wooden substrates. This allows for the possibility of various groupings that have the potential to form yet another grid-like composition.

"I began painting with encaustic in 2005 after viewing an encaustic painting demonstration by an exhibiting artist at a Philadelphia gallery. It is a medium made of beeswax, damar resin, and pigment. Once melted, the encaustic is painted onto a rigid but porous surface, then fused or reheated to bond each layer to the previous layer. By alternating layers of translucent pigment with opaque pigment I can create a sense of depth in my paintings that I find unique to this medium. There has been much discussion among artists as to whether those of us who paint in this medium are making “encaustic paintings” or paintings that happen to use encaustic medium. For my part, I cannot separate the encaustic medium from my artwork itself. The use of encaustic enhances the effects that I can create with texture and color. I am drawn to its warmth, to its tactile quality. I love the physical demands of working with wax and I am challenged by its constraints."

Karen Freedman has exhibited nationally. Her work was included in “Encaustic Works 09” at Castle Gallery, College of New Rochelle, NY, sponsored by R&F Paints, juried by Heather Hutchinson and “On the Edge”, Second National Encaustic Painting Conference at Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, MA, and juried by Laura Moriarty. She is featured as September’s “Artist of the Month” on the R&F Paints website.

Karen’s work can currently be seen at “Prime” at the James Oliver Gallery in Philadelphia, PA September 12 – October 11, 2009.

Interns Wanted!

Intern Job Description

Established Philadelphia contemporary art gallery seeks intern(s) for single semester or yearlong commitment. This opportunity will provide the candidate(s) with a comprehensive view of gallery management, arts and event marketing initiatives, and will give intern(s) the chance to be directly involved in the planning and implementation of gallery programs, exhibitions, and events.

Responsibilities will include:
• Participation in exhibit installations and breakdowns.
• Database management
• Will help to maintain gallery’s media correspondence: twitter, blog, e-mail etc.
• General gallery maintenance
• Will help with the transition of the Gallery’s new Director
• Answering telephones and functioning as a point-person for visitor information
• Will help with the organization and planning of events and openings
• Will aid in the layout and design of exhibition cards and files for catalog printing

Qualifications:
• Mac proficient
• Extremely detail-oriented and organized
• Professional demeanor and an understanding of proper etiquette when dealing with artists, clients, and guests
• An interest or background in Art History, Studio Art, or Arts Administration
• Proficiency in Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Word, and Excel
• Ability to commit 8-16 hours to the gallery per week
• Art handling skills a plus

While this position is unpaid, a credit-based internship is possible for college students. Interested applicants please submit a resume and cover letter to Veronica Scarpellino with the subject line “Gallery Internship" at info@jamesolivergallery.com.

Fringe at JOG

James Oliver Gallery welcomes the Philly Fringe Festival on Friday, September 11th at 10:00 PM, and Saturday, September 12th at 5:00 and 10:00 PM. The Saturday performances will bookend our opening reception for PRIME.

Cutting-edge, DC-based choreographer and performing artist Kelly Bond will perform "Splitting the Difference", a spectacle of the body that generates an intense physical experience for both audience and performer.

This solo performance work uses physical sensation and text to connect to its audience empathetically - seeming to say "this is your body, too" - and to create an opening through which the viewer can identify personally.

Kelly Bond is an internationally practicing choreographer and performing artist. Her work has most recently been presented at Artomatic in DC, and in Madrid at the In-Presentable Festival, which she co-curated. She was awarded a Young Emerging Artist grant from the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities and holds a Master of Arts in European dance-theatre practice from Laban in London.

This work is funded in part by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

James Oliver Gallery
723 Chestnut Street, 4th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19106

Friday, September 11th at 10:00 PM
Saturday, September 12th at 5:00 PM and 10:00 PM

Ticket price: $10.00 at the door

www.liveartsandfringe.com