PHILADELPHIA — Long known for showcasing work by artists living within 50 miles of the Museum, Woodmere Art Museum’s annual juried exhibition takes a marked turn in 2013: In Front of Strangers, I Sing: The 72nd Annual Juried Exhibition (on view May 25-September 1) features a wide array of  work by a talented group of 52 (mostly) young artists chosen by jurors Dona Nelson and Rubens Ghenov. According to Nelson, the unusual exhibition includes “very little traditional portraiture, very little traditional landscape and very little traditional abstraction.”

Nelson and Ghenov, both acclaimed Philadelphia artists, curated a cohesive survey of contemporary themes and ideas being explored in Philadelphia today; selected artists include Frank Bramblett, Stephanie Bursese, Anthony Campuzano, Virginia Fleming, Ryan Foley, Jennifer Packer, Dani Frid Rossi, Camille Schefter, Matthew Sepielli, Leslie Stahl and more.

“Some of the most interesting work in Philadelphia is being made in the artist collectives of places like Fishtown, and Dona and Rubens have captured that exciting, new energy,” says William R. Valerio, the Patricia Van Burgh Allison Director and CEO of Woodmere. “This is totally different from anything Woodmere has shown before.”

In conjunction with the Juried Exhibition, some of Nelson’s and Ghenov’s own work will be on view, and the artists will select thematically related objects from Woodmere’s extensive collection for public display.

Woodmere Art Museum is located at 9201 Germantown Avenue. Admission to special exhibitions is $10 for adults, $7 for seniors, and FREE for students, children and Museum members; exhibitions in the Founder’s Gallery and Helen Millard Children’s Gallery are FREE. (Woodmere offers free admission on Sundays, including all special exhibitions, but excluding special events such as Classic Sundays.)Museum hours are: Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m.–8:45 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. For more information, visit woodmereartmuseum.org or call 215-247-0476.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Exhibition: In Front of Strangers, I Sing: The 72nd Annual Juried Exhibition

May 25-September 1, 2013

Open House: June 1, noon-4 p.m.

Gallery Talk: 72nd Annual Juried Exhibition with Jurors Dona Nelson and Rubens Ghenov

Sat., June 8, 3-4 p.m., free (preregistration is suggested)

Join jurors Dona Nelson and Rubens Ghenov in a lively gallery tour of In Front of Strangers, I Sing: The 72nd Annual Juried Exhibition and a closer look at their own work and influences. Wine and cheese reception follows. For more information or to register online, visit woodmereartmuseum.org/lectures.

ABOUT THE JURORS

Dona Nelsonmakes big paintings that echo the physicality of Abstract Expressionism, but uses paint and other materials, to suggest figures, landscapes, birds and architecture. She cites Lucio Fontana and Edvard Munch as important influences. She has had 10 solo exhibitions, primarily in New York. In 2000, the Weatherspoon Museum of Fine Art in Greensboro, N.C., presented a large survey exhibition of her work. Nelson’s work has also been included in numerous group exhibitions throughout the country. Her paintings are included in the collections of the Guggenheim Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the, the M.I.T. Collection, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art and Woodmere Art Museum.

A professor of painting and drawing at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art, Nelson has also served as a visiting critic at Yale University and a faculty member in the Summer MFA Program at the Milton Avery Graduate School of Arts at Bard College.

Rubens Ghenov is an artist, professor and curator working in Philadelphia. Born in São Paulo, Ghenov immigrated to the United States in 1989. He received a BFA from Tyler School of Art, Temple University and an MFA from Rhode Island School of Design, both in painting.

In his work, Ghenov employs various media including paint, found objects and sound. Influenced by Giorgio Morandi and Miyoko Ito, he has been featured in numerous group and solo exhibitions locally and nationally. He is a member of the artist-run exhibition space Tiger Strikes Asteroid.