PHILADELPHIA — This summer, Woodmere Art Museum in Chestnut Hill will unite past, present and future artists with two captivating exhibitions that celebrate Philadelphia’s longstanding role as a center for artistic innovation and talent. Showcasing the bold future of the city’s new generation of artists, The Woodmere Annual: 73rd Juried Exhibition (on view June 14-Sept. 1; open house, Sat., June 28, noon-4 p.m.) includes the work of 50 artists who live within a 50-mile radius of Philadelphia.
“This is an important exhibition because it represents Woodmere’s continued engagement with the exciting world of contemporary art that is constantly evolving,” says William R. Valerio, the Patricia Van Burgh Allison Director and CEO of Woodmere. “The Woodmere Annual makes Philadelphia a great place for artists to live and work because it gives many their first opportunity to exhibit in a museum.”
This year’s juror, local artist Sarah McEneaney, selected nearly 80 works that humorously and poignantly explore such diverse themes as the urban landscape, isolation and self-reflection. McEneaney explains, “In the art world today,” she says, “there’s all kinds of work being made, and it’s all being looked at, considered, talked about. There’s not one ‘ism’ of the day — if anything, that’s the point: Go out there and make your work, and it can be any kind of work. You just have to work at it and work at it.”
Meanwhile, the exhibition Theresa Bernstein: A Century in Art (on view July 26-Oct. 26) reflects on the life of an incredible artist who lived in three centuries (1890-2002), and whose work spanned the length of the 20th century and depicted its major issues and events, including women’s suffrage and the struggle of immigrants and the working class. Curator Gail Levin, distinguished professor of art history, American studies and women’s studies at The Graduate Center and Baruch College, organized the Bernstein exhibition in an effort to recover the artist’s significant contribution to American life. Levin said she discovered Bernstein — little known outside the art world — while researching American realist Edward Hopper. Levin explains, “The exhibition explores how fame is fleeting, but shows that the quality of Bernstein’s work has outlived fad and fashion.”
Woodmere Art Museum is located at 9201 Germantown Ave. 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.)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.orgor call 215-247-0476.
About The Woodmere Annual: 73rd Juried Exhibition
The Woodmere Annual: 73rd Juried Exhibition(on view June 14-Sept. 1) features work by 50 artists living within 50 miles of the Museum, including Betsey Batchelor,Mariel Capanna,Kevin Finklea,Catherine Mulligan,Seneca Weintraut and many more. This year’s juror, Philadelphia artist Sarah McEneaney, has assembled a cohesive presentation of nearly 80 works of art. McEneaney’s paintings and a number of her preparatory sketches will also be on view, and the artist will choose objects from Woodmere’s permanent collection that relate to the show’s themes for a small installation in the Stairwell Gallery.
The exhibition will be accompanied by an online catalogue featuring a discussion with McEneaney about her selection process and the various themes that emerged during the organization of the show.
Sarah McEneaney, born 1955 in Munich, Germany, attended The University of the Arts and The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. McEneaney’s paintings and prints are in many public collections including The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Woodmere Art Museum, The Neuberger Museum SUNY Purchase, Rhode Island School of Design, Johnson and Johnson and Microsoft Corporation. Sarah McEneaneyis represented by the Tibor de Nagy Gallery, New York and Locks Gallery, Philadelphia.
Woodmere Art Museum, the only institution devoted solely to the art and artists of Philadelphia, has organized The Woodmere Annual for over 70 years. Juried by one of Philadelphia’s distinguished artists, The Woodmere Annual explores the unique transformations that occur in contemporary art in Philadelphia.
About Theresa Bernstein: A Century in Art
Theresa Bernstein: A Century in Art(on view July 26-October 26) is a retrospective dedicated to the work of Theresa Bernstein (1890-2002), an artist who lived in three centuries, and whose work spanned the length of the 20th century. Bernstein was an artist who achieved celebrity for her style of urban realism developed in the first decade of the 20th century that was often linked by critics to the Ashcan School, although she was never formally affiliated with the Ashcan painters.
Born in Cracow, Poland, Bernstein and her parents immigrated to the United States and settled in Philadelphia in 1891. Bernstein attended the Philadelphia School of Design for Women (now Moore College of Art & Design) before moving to New York in 1911. She exhibited with painters such as William Glackens, John Sloan and Robert Henri, and was a founding member of the Philadelphia Ten, a group of women artists active from 1917 to 1945.
Bernstein is known for her realist depictions of major issues and events of the 20th century, including women’s suffrage and the struggle of immigrants and the working class. Her expressive canvases also depict diverse locales such as jazz clubs, Carnegie Hall, Coney Island and Gloucester, Mass., where she became a major participant in the vibrant art community located there.
The traveling exhibition opened in New York City in October 2013 and traveled to The Phillips Museum of Art of Franklin and Marshall College before coming to Woodmere Art Museum, its only Philadelphia venue. The exhibition will feature 44 paintings created between 1912 and 1972 and is accompanied by a catalogue that includes thematic essays by Michele Cohen, Patricia M. Burnham, Elsie Heung, Sarah Archino, Stephanie Hackett, Gillian Pistell, and Gail Levin. It features more than two hundred images, including full-color reproductions of her art and rare documentary photographs, many published for the first time. It also includes a detailed chronology of Bernstein’s life, a list of public collections, and a list of her writings.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Friday Night Jazz:
Michael Jackson: A “Thriller” Night
Friday, May 30, 6-8 p.m., $22 ($12 for members)
The King of Pop was a truly universal artist whose music crossed categories, colors, continents and ages. Join vocalist Roy Richardson as he navigates Jackson’s career, starting with his early days with the Jackson 5.
Friday Night Jazz:
Nina Simone: High Priestess of Soul
Friday, June 13, 6-8 p.m., $22 ($12 for members)
Vocalist Tonya Lynette brings to life the edgy and hypnotic style of Nina Simone, performing songs like “Four Women,” “I Remember You” and others.
Special Event:
Art Uncorked: Wine + Painting = Fun
Friday, June 6, 7-9 p.m., $35 ($30 for members)
Create a one-of-a-kind work of art to decorate your home or office while sipping on a relaxing glass of wine in a fun and social atmosphere. An easy step-by-step demonstration will be given and all art materials are included.
Friday Night Jazz:
Jammin’ Jazz Piano
Friday, June 20, 6-8 p.m., $22 ($12 for members)
Join us as we end this season with one of the great traditions of jazz: the jam session! Pianists Adam Faulk and Jeff Knoettner will play classic tunes like Count Basie’s “Jumpin’ at the Woodside,” Thelonious Monk’s “Well, You Needn’t” and Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five.” Musicians in the audience will be invited to jam with the band.
Exhibition Opens:
The Woodmere Annual: 73rd Juried Exhibition
June 14-September 1
Lecture:
Tales of Philadelphia’s Art World: Past and Presentwith Nathaniel Popkin
Saturday June 14, 3 p.m., $15 ($10 members)
Reflect on Philadelphia’s art scene, past and present, with author Nathaniel Popkin, who will use Woodmere’s collection and his recent novel, Lion and Leopard, to talk about Philadelphia in the early 1800s, exploring the artistic clashes, interactions and inspirations between artists Charles Willson Peale, John Lewis Krimmel and others. Popkin will conclude his talk with a gallery tour of works by contemporary artist Sarah McEneaney, juror of this year’s Woodmere Annual.
Special Event:
Opening Reception, The Woodmere Annual: 73rd Juried Exhibition
Saturday, June 28, noon-4 p.m., FREE
Gallery Talk:
Gallery Talk with Juror Sarah McEneaney
Saturday, July 12, 3 p.m., FREE
Join Sarah McEneaney, juror of The Woodmere Annual: 73rd Juried Exhibition, for a gallery talk and discussion of the artists and works on view. McEneaney, an artist and community activist, lives and works in Philadelphia. She is represented by Tibor de Nagy Gallery, New York, and Locks Gallery, Philadelphia.
Exhibition Opens:
Theresa Bernstein: A Century in Art
July 26-October 26
Gallery Talk and Lecture:
Theresa Bernstein, Artist of the Twentieth Centurywith Michele Cohen
Saturday, July 26, 3 p.m., FREE
Art historian Michele Cohen will reflect on the life and artistic career of Theresa Bernstein, exploring how her connections to Philadelphia, New York and Gloucester contributed to her artistic development. A close friend of Bernstein’s who curated the first major museum exhibition of her work at the Museum of the City of New York in 1990, Dr. Cohen will provide a deeper understanding of Bernstein as a woman painter in the 20th century. The consulting scholar for the current exhibition, Dr. Cohen’s essay “Theresa Bernstein in Gloucester: Shaping Artistic Identity” is included in the exhibition catalogue.
Special Event:
Closing Reception, The Woodmere Annual: 73rd Juried Exhibition
Monday, September 1, 2-4 p.m., FREE
Special Event:
Open House, Theresa Bernstein: A Century in Art
Saturday, September 13, 4-6 p.m., FREE
Includes lecture by Gail Levin.
Also on view:
Jessie Drew-Bear: Stories and Dreams
March 22 – July 13, 2014
Women and Biography: Selections from Woodmere’s Permanent Collection
Through June 1, 2014
Bold Strokes: Quita Brodhead
Through June 1, 2014
