NEXUS/Foundation for Today’s Art presents YUMMY: a celebration of craving, compulsion and culture where the delicious, the fanciful and the abundant are made manifest in artwork by 30 plus individual artists from all over the nation. The celebration runs two months and includes a gallery exhibition featuring artwork in many mediums such as sculpture, photography, ceramics and silkscreen, painting, performance and video as well as two evenings of music and dance performance; a hands-on cake baking workshop with Philadelphia’s own Big Tea Party; a screening of a documentary produced by the Hunger Coalition; and a potluck dinner.

The word “Yummy” describes anything pleasing to the senses – especially to taste – and is used to emphasize something with an appealing nature. As our American food culture becomes more imbued with a commercialism that creates personal reverence for food products, food becomes a commodity and an accessory to underlying emotions and desires that marketing companies evoke within the consumer. “Yummy-ness” therefore is as much in the mind as it is in the mouth of the beholder. Regardless of the specific treat we long for, its value is derived by the personal relationship and history we attach to it. YUMMY: a celebration of craving, compulsion and culture inspires contemplation about the emotional and psychological nature of food as it impacts the individual experience of life especially within American culture.

YUMMY celebrates our desires and our cravings and considers the culture that feeds both through a gallery exhibition, a rotating line up of video works and a rich array of extended programming. The artists’ works and performances represent the personal as well as the cultural aspects of food that provides for life and comfort, while the viewers may reflect on the impact of a society that leaves them wanting more. Some highlights include a mouth-watering showcase of frosting fantasies by local cake artist Amy Stevens. The cozy crocheted cupcakes by Brandy Agnew that warm the heart and feed the soul; and a “Five Alarm Chili” quilt by Judith Trager that keeps the heat in during those cold winter nights. On the video reel you can indulge in Thu Tran’s “Food Party,” a hand-made cooking show that entertains with puppets, celebrity guest appearances and cardboard food. Or watch Naomi Leibowitz’s “Tasting Rachel Ray” as she reveals just how “Mmmmmm… Gooood” it really is. And to truly bring “yummy-ness” to not just the minds but into the mouths of the viewers; cook up your favorite casserole, dessert or cheese dip and join Minnesota artist Megan McCreedy at the YUMMY HOTdish party where bellies will bulge and tongues will wag and the “HOTdish Philadelphia” awards are presented to some of the yummiest home cooked meals in town!

NEXUS/Foundation for Today’s Art will be presenting the first of two new members exhibitions for the 2007-2008 season. This first exhibition will highlight the work of Bonnie Brenda Scott, Tasha Doremus and Bilwa, three new members working in video, drawing, experimental photography, installation and performance.

Twice a year in September and February, applicants are reviewed by existing NEXUS artists for inclusion into the artist membership. Due to this peer review process, the original motivation for a collective and venue for experimental, non-commercial artists has sustained for over thirty years.

Bonnie Brenda Scott is an award winning mutli-disciplinary experimental video artist and animator also working in the areas of television and theatre arts. Her work focuses thematically on social, spiritual and psychological queries, while aesthetically maintaining a purposeful corrosion. The essential, inexhaustible flaw that exists within every object is the nucleus for her experimentation in art. Exposing an imperfection and rolling it into a new form is a method of mediation and an exercise in acceptance and mindfulness. Bonnie will exhibit her drawing and video installation ALERT! THE MEDIA!

Tasha Doremus’ work starts as collaboration: she exploits attributes of plastic and vintage cameras to create photographs ambiguous in form and content. Reacting intuitively, she allows for chance to play a large part by encouraging mistakes such as light leaks and blur. By scratching into the emulsion of the negative or tearing the print, components of drawing and sculpture become part of the process. Tasha will display a body of work entitled A Poor Memory For The Future.

Photographer, performer, musician, choreographer, curator and producer Bilwa will exhibit set, an installation that invites the viewer to become a performer. All the elements in set can be manipulated allowing viewers to create their own scene. This installation is directly inspired by paraphrase/NEXUS, a monthly series Bilwa curates, in which artists of various disciplines and media create performances inspired by exhibitions at NEXUS/Foundation For Today’s Art.

Ten invited artists have been asked to produce work using a Roland Camm-1 Servo, a machine commonly used in the sign making industry. Though the participants have certain things in common as contemporary artists and printmakers, the only specific thing they share is that they have all utilized this versatile industrial instrument to produce beautiful and imaginative new artwork and explore its possibilities and limitations.

Under the careful guidance of master vinyl maker & NEXUS executive director, Nick Cassway, they have all tried various methods and cross uses for the equipment and material while reconsidering the notion of digital versus analog process. Because the method of production is specified, the theme then becomes one of collaboration and shared process within a certain range of commercial print technology. After scanning an initial idea, designs are vectorized (turned into discrete linework) and then manipulated via Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. They are then cut by “Roland” into a vast array of vinyl films and heat transfer materials. The results vary to the whims of each individual artist, but the work all plays with exploration of the possibilities of a newly accessible medium.

Some of the artists were chosen because they have had significant design experience and the rest have an experimental approach to all media with a specific focus on printmaking. The gallery then becomes the site for exploration, intervention and installation. Nick Cassway’s brush and ink drawn portraiture is transferred into large-scale images documenting his cohorts in different situations as they blow him a kiss or flip him the bird. Chris Vecchio has re-engineered vinyl to make it conductive for electricity. Candy Depew’s work astounds with her decorative bent, a perfect match for this process. Peter Duffin’s exploration of cryptic graphic language and wood patterned vinyl film make an extreme visual dichotomy. Sam Larson experiments with language and a 3-dimensional application of cut vinyl and Alyse Bernstein extends her printmaking vocabulary into new realms using heat transferred flocking. Matt Brownlee’s tattoo influenced designs are reworked for applications with the material and process while Matthew Pruden does a new take with anamorphic imagery. Nic Coviello continues his exploration of botanicals through a highly charged graphic application and James Rosenthal may have taken the theme literally by forfeiting some of his record collection and writing with plastic on plastic.

Member artist Jody Sweitzer new exhibition “Crowd: stumbling through displaced intimacy” is an investigation of the human reaction to the invasion of personal space.

Jody Sweitzer’s work delves deeply into voyeuristic acts upon the self while attempting to shift the relationship of the stagnant viewer to an active, self-reflecting participant. Her new installation “Crowd” represents the human figure using giant inflatables, which are then combined with ambient sounds collected from various “crowded” events.  Through this piece the artist is expressing the seductive dichotomy that is created by desiring yet rejecting the invasion of ones own space.

Jody Sweitzer’s works in animation, video, installation, and performance have been shown in Chicago, Pittsburgh, and primarily in the Philadelphia area including shows at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, Painted Bride Arts Center, Gallery Joe’s Bird Park, Vox Populi, NEXUS, Bridge Street Theater, Gallery Siano, Off the Wall Gallery, and various sites during several years of The Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Her work has received substantial support from the Independence Foundation and the Leeway Foundation and favorable press from many area publications.

Member artist Elaine M. Erne will be exhibiting her large-scale graphite pencil drawings of Mr. Bunny and Friends. This group of drawings, from the series The Lives and Traumas of Stuffed Animal, uses toys as allegories for children and their fears.

Elaine renders each of these large-scale drawing in this exhibition with a range of graphite pencils depicting the stuffed animals and their nemesis with meticulous, delicate detail. The push-pull of light and dark give the drawings an eerie luminous quality. Layers and layers of graphite achieve deep, rich blacks in the space surrounding the traumatized stuffed animals creating the feeling of isolation.

Mr. Bunny and his troop of dolls have been called ‘comically disturbing depiction of stuffed animals under siege’. Although there is a playful side, the underlining theme in the work is about fear, cruelty and survival.  In recurring distressful situations, children become like dolls, putting forward a cheerful personae in order to survive. These drawings capture the aura that surrounds a person who has no control. (Elaine says no stuffed animals were harmed in the making of these drawings)

Elaine M. Erne received her MFA in Glass Sculpture at Tyler School of Art, Temple University in Philadelphia, PA and her BFA in Painting and Glass Sculpture from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA.  In 2003 she was granted a two-year fellowship with the Center for the Emerging Visual Artists in Philadelphia. She has had several solo exhibitions including a Community Solo Series Exhibition at the Abington Art Center, Jenkintown, PA, a Challenge Exhibition at the Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, PA and a solo show at BahdeeBahdu Gallery and Studio in Philadelphia.  She currently teaches both children and adult art classes at the Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial and works for the Moore College of Art and Design, Philadelphia, PA.

Centro Nueva Creación and NEXUS/foundation for today’s art invite you to experience the inspiring photography of the acclaimed students of the Goodlands® Community Arts Program at Centro Nueva Creación, a community center in North Philadelphia. Picture This! offers the viewer a glimpse into the complex and beautiful realities of our neighborhood.  The young photographers use their images as expressions of hope, peace, and perseverance.

The Goodlands® Community Arts Program is part of the community strategy by Centro Nueva Creación to counter the negative image of the West Kensington and Fairhill neighborhoods as “The Badlands.”  Since the program’s inception in 2001, the photographs by these young artists have been exhibited in countless locations, including galleries, universities, community art festivals, and other public venues.

Come and experience one of our city’s greatest strengths – the youth and their vision for the future.  The artists, ages 5-13, will be present from 6pm to 8pm to discuss their work with those in attendance.  Join us to celebrate the work and the mission of the Goodlands® with those who make it all possible!

Nexus is pleased to present PROJECT: IMAGINE a collaborative project between the Drexel University Fashion Department and children from the Charles R. Drew School, an elementary school in University City, Philadelphia. PROJECT:IMAGINE showcases illustrations and children’s wear designed by Drexel University fashion students, illustrations by Drew School students and portraits by photographer David Gehosky.

PROJECT: IMAGINE originated from a need for models for a Drexel fashion design course in children’s wear. Captured through the photography of David Gehosky, the Drew school children breathed life into the clothing designs of the Drexel students and the creativity and excellence of the Drexel’s students work was recorded for the fashion student’s portfolio. This initial meeting further developed into an enriching experience for both the Drexel students and the Drew school.

A conversation between the fashion students and the children emerged that proposed ways of actively creating a future filled with dreams and the ways to realize them. The aim of the experience was to create a strong sense of self-identity for the children, acknowledge that their ideas are important, develop an environment in which the children have a voice, and realize that it is possible to become tomorrow’s leaders. The children’s responses are drawings of what they want to do with their future as well as a wall full of flower drawings.

PROJECT: IMAGINE gives recognition to the children’s contribution, through portrait photographs taken by David Gehosky and through their artwork as directed by Erlene Bass Nelson. In addition, the Drexel fashion design students will exhibit their work from the classes of Marilyn Hefferen and Denise Fike.

NEXUSselects is a juried competition for seniors graduating from the many art colleges and universities in Philadelphia and the surrounding region. The juried exhibition seeks out the best and most compelling young artists and at the same time illuminates the trends and styles emanating from our region’s art schools. The opportunity to install and exhibit work in a high profile gallery serves as a milestone in these young artist’s careers. Nexus member artists Jennie Thwing and Bilwa served as jurors for NEXUSselects 2007 along with Greg Kelly and Steve Weber from 201 Gallery and Nexus executive director Nick Cassway.

Nine artists working in five different mediums from four different schools were chosen to exhibit a body of work for NEXUSselects 2007. This year’s exhibitors include: Melissa Biddle – Tyler School of Art, Photography; Jennifer DiCocco – University of the Arts, Photography; Raphael Fenton-Spaid – Temple University, Art and Art Education; Jennifer Gin – University of the Arts, Crafts; Colleen Keihm – Drexel University, Photography; Jong Kyu Kim – Tyler School of Art, Sculpture; Sarah Koziol – Tyler School of Art, Fibers; Penelope Reichley – Tyler School of Art, Sculpture; and Missy Sweet – Drexel University, Photography.

NEXUSselects was developed as a vehicle to help situate graduating art students in the professional art world at this transitional point in their careers. NEXUSselects also includes an educational component, which takes place every spring in the form of a comprehensive schedule of professional development workshops. These workshops are open to all graduating art school students and are presented free of charge by Nexus’ education committee. Students gain crucial knowledge and experience in such areas as writing artist statements and resumes, preparing media/press packets, publicity and networking and learn what it takes to establish a successful art practice after college.

Interviews with the artists:

Sarah Koziol

Raphael Fenton-Spaid

Missy Sweet

Jen Gin

Dave Kim

Colleen Keihm

The Philadelphia Center for the Photographic Image (PCPI) and City Paper proudly announces PHOTOIMAGE ‘07, a celebration of the Mid-Atlantic Region’s best photography. PCPI received over 800 submissions from nearly 200 photographers for PHOTOIMAGE ‘07. Juror, Katherine Ware, Curator of Photographs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, had the difficult task of narrowing down the selection of winners.

PCPI is a member-based nonprofit organization dedicated to furthering the knowledge, appreciation and understanding of the photographic arts by offering education, exhibitions, and a facility. PCPI also runs the acclaimed EXPOSURE Outreach Program, which teaches youth from North Philadelphia the use of photography as an art form and a means of self-expression.

“PCPI has taken the lead in spearheading opportunities for photographers in this region and their annual competition has uncovered some exciting, fresh talent.  As this year’s juror, I had a front-row seat and saw a lot of work that was new to my eye.  The exhibition is a marvelous combination of great pictures, offering images by newcomers with tremendous promise as well as the debut of new work by established artists,” says Katherine Ware, Curator of Photographs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Katherine Ware is Curator of Photographs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Alfred Stieglitz Center for Photography in the Department of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs. She has organized numerous exhibitions from the permanent collection, including Dreaming in Black and White: Photography at the Julien Levy Gallery; Street Smarts: Photographs by William Klein; The Silver Garden; The Faceless Figure and Elemental Landscapes: Photographs by Harry Callahan.

Member artist Yukie Yobayashi has collaborated with artist Elsabé Dixon to create Kumo Cloud Wolk, an installation comprised of hand made paper and silk weavings.

Born in Japan, Yukie Kobayashi has been intimately engaged in the process of papermaking: dehydrating bark fiber, cooking it, beating it into pulp, and making the large scale sheets of paper from that pulp. She is particularly interested in the arbitrary direction the fibers take when suspended in water during the process of forming a sheet of hand made paper. The translucency of the fiber and the movement of the water has inspired her artwork and reminds her of the way clouds float in the sky.

Born in South Africa, Elsabé Dixon raised silkworms as a child. A descendent of French Huguenots who brought sericulture to South Africa, she has been fascinated with the silk making process and has utilized the forms as well as the silk created by the silkworms from an early age. Her worms spin silk weavings onto structures she provides and she documents, through microscopic views, the weaving pattern of each silkworm. Her observations when looking at the silk-threaded pathway of each silkworm, allows her to simulate the process of the silkworm weaving a cocoon form. Multiplied applications of the process are similar to how particles of water form a cloud, through accumulation and growth in mass and dimension.

In Japanese the word for cloud is Kumo. In Afrikaans (the language of South Africa) it is Wolk. A cloud in the sky can be seen as a metaphor for the immigration experiences of both Yukie Kobayashi and Elsabé Dixon. Invisible microscopic water anywhere in the world can form a cloud. The cloud reflects the color of the atmosphere. It keeps changing form and travels through the world on the wind. The abstract nature of clouds is that they have no cultural boundary, but have their own origin and history. In this collaboration, the concept is fluid, ever changing, and represents all things that we cannot comprehend as well as possibilities of constant movement.