Press Release - March 2012 - MODERNISTS IN EXILE
PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
Jules Goldman Books and Art
29 North 2nd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Contact: Jules Goldman
215-923-2203 (store)
215-920-3920 (cell)
goldmanjules@yahoo.com
DEFIANTLY EXPRESSIONISTIC ART FINDS HOME IN PHILADELPHIA
"Modernists in Exile" Five-Person Show Extended in Old City
First Friday Celebration March 2, 2012
First Friday offers another opportunity to celebrate "Modernists in Exile," the current group show at Jules Goldman Books & Art, Philadelphia. Paintings by Brian Gormley, Ronald C. Martin, David Ohlerking, Robert Petrick, and Nico D. Smith are on view. "Modernists in Exile" encompasses art both abstract and representational; what unites this motley selection of artists is the expressiveness of their styles.On Friday, March 2, Jules Goldman Books and Art will stay open late to welcome Old City's art crowd, and the second floor gallery-- normally closed to the public-- will be open.
BRIAN GORMLEY made his name in the early 1980s as part of a small cadre of young artists from the East Village and Lower East Side, including Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, who brought graffiti into the realm of fine art. Today, his colorful, frenetic abstract paintings and prints still retain traces of street art's influence. Gormley’s massive body of work has been exhibited in solo shows in Dublin, Vienna, Prague, Zurich, Rome, and Mexico City. ROBERT PETRICK's eclectic portfolio includes non-objective and abstract art as well as word paintings, installations, and sculptures that speak to his background in graphic design. RONALD C. MARTIN is a local artist, born in Philadelphia, whose work is influenced by his studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Barnes Foundation, and Christie's New York. DAVID OHLERKING is already well-known to Philadelphians for his loose, painterly oils of the local scenery, which he completes on-site in a matter of hours. Ohlerking is known for bartering his paintings; in fact, in his first encounter with Goldman, Ohlerking traded a still-wet painting of Goldman's storefront on Second Street for a bundle of antique frames. NICO D. SMITH's abstractions suggest a variety of influences, such as Synthetic Cubism, Minimalism, and Geometric Abstraction, but his inspiration is emotional and intuitive rather than studied.
The title "Modernists in Exile" was inspired by the group's lack of exposure in the mainstream art establishment. Unlike a typical Old City gallery, Jules Goldman’s store on Second Street overflows with books, art, and all other manner of things collected during his thirty years in the antique business.
Jules Goldman Books and Art located at 29 N. 2nd St. in Old City, is open from noon to seven p.m. Wednesday through Sunday and by appointment. "Modernists in Exile" will remain on view through April 5.
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Further information about the exhibition and Jules Goldman Books and Art can be found at http://www.julesgoldmanbooksandart.com.
For details about the artists, please visit http://www.briangormley.com, http://www.robertpetrick.com, and http://www.davidohlerking.com.