Tom Judd
Pa Has a Gun
2016
oil with collage oil panel
12" x 9"

About the work
This piece is from my Myth of the Frontier series. Paintings which explore the bizarre nature of our interpretation of our history. Especially the settling of the west. This false narrative creates the illusion of a heroic struggle between the white settlers and indigenous people. Thanks to Hollywood and American propaganda we are left with this exaggerated and improbable view of ourselves as a people which to this day permeates our politics and national identity.

About the Artist
Tom Judd is a Philadelphia based fine artist who has shown consistently at major galleries and museums. Born and raised in Salt Lake City Utah, Judd has lived and worked in Philadelphia for over 40 years. His work is included in major collections across the country including the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

Tom Judd recently finished his acclaimed mural History in Motion at the SEPTA Independence Mall Station at 5th and Market.

JS Grites
Noteworthy
2021
Mixed media collage on 0.5" birch panel
12.5" x 10" x .5"

About the Work:

A reflective comment on American culture's current state.

About the Artist:

Hatched in Baltimore, educated in New York City and nurtured in Philadelphia, outsider artist Jsgrites creates images that are at once a product and reflection of the working class, symbolizing its victories as well as failures. The cultural-detritus assemblages that he produces are cockeyed glances at the absurdity of everyday life - its joys, sorrows and contemplations. The materials that he uses have largely been discarded, which is acutely relevant to the culture that he is subjected to and upon which he is commenting. Informed by literature, travel, music, pain and harmony, the pieces are meant to provoke thought and feeling in the moment, while remaining fluidly relevant with the passage of time. Still early in his career, his works have already found homes with collectors around the country and globe.

Diane Pieri
3 SUN DAY
2021
painting/collage on paper
13" x 13"

About the Work:

This small framed work is on paper using collage, paint, gold leaf, punch shapes. It is inspired by Indian Folk Art.

About the Artist:

BFA- Temple University Tyler School of Art 1969, 34 solo exhibitions, 215 national/international exhibitions, Pollock- Krasner Grants (1999/1992), Independence Foundation Fellowships in the Arts (2001/2011), Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Grant (1992), Philagrafika(2005), Yaddo (1991), MacDowell Colony (1990), Socrates Sculpture Park(1990), Manayunk Stoops: Heart and Home, Association for Public Art's New Land Marks Program(2006), 12 murals- Philadelphia's Mural Arts Program, 7 murals- College Station, Texas, founded Cooke Museum of Art, Cooke Elementary School, North Philadelphia(2005-2009).
Teaching Artist, Philadelphia Museum of Art- 22 years.

Kevin Hetzel
Limited Education
2020
Collage
16.5" x 13.5"

About the work

I am constantly questioning, exploring, and investigating the fabric of my own individuality and my experience within the world. It becomes clear that the historic context of cultural influences and genealogy have shaped my interiority of identity. My work attempts to restructure the Eurocentric tradition of portraiture and those held in high regard. As familiar bank statements and bills overlap family photographs it is apparent the stronger historical account of my family's financial history over my own family heritage. While my experimentation has made me question my own constructs of identity, the more investigative the work becomes in search for honesty, the more exposure I gain in hopes to attain a broader perspective of culture, society, and life by challenging the boundaries of an identity.

About the artist

Kevin Hetzel (b. 1992) is an artist whose work attempts to challenge and restructure the Eurocentric tradition of portraiture and the notion of those that may be held in high regard. Through the investigation of historic cultural influences and genealogy the fabric and interiority of an identity emerge. Based on the segmentation of social and economic status the defining characteristics of class become a means to describe an identity. It is through collaged bank statements, miscellaneous bills, and family photographs, in combination with various modes of depiction of charcoal and oil that his work exists. It becomes apparent the stronger historical account of financial history over family heritage. Through contextual ideas of recognition of the politicized propaganda that has been created of the individual, their body, and their identity, he seeks to depict the individual, the everyday person as a person. Each piece acts as a body representing the individuality of a body. Through laborious brushstrokes and tedious mark making he connects with working class traditions of production. He becomes a body at work creating a body of work.

Ryan Evans
Peace Begins with a Smile
2021
Collage
24" x 18"

About the work

"Peace Begins with a Smile" You decide the meaning of life, that's what's so terrifying about it. The unknown, taking that first step, everything an enigma. It all becomes a little easier when you face it with a smile.

About the artist

Ryan Evans is an Artist and Graphic Designer based out of Collingswood, New Jersey. By combining digital & analog print techniques, Ryan creates pieces that evoke nostalgia while remaining timeless.