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ARTS AND CULTURE

Art

Pageant Gallery's "Rag and Bone."

By Roberta Fallon

Add Comment | Comments: 0 | Posted Dec. 31, 2008

Pageant Gallery's Winter Invitational--this year titled "Rag and Bone"--brings together 26 artists, some familiar names and some gallery newcomers. The exhibition continues Pageant's laid-back aesthetic: drawings pinned to the walls, television monitors sitting on the floor, sculptures placed in the gallery's nooks and crannies. It's a sprawling show and treasures abound.

Matthew Osborn's wall of cartoon drawings are very engaging. "Tools are weapons and weapons are tools," reads one drawing of an alienlike man in a white shirt and striped tie with shaking hands. Osborn is both a cartoonist and a philosopher (much like internationally acclaimed artist David Shrigley, whose angsty and verbally adept works are in this year's Carnegie International). Osborn has his eyes on the world as well as on his inner id. The words "financial oblivion" are repeated in one drawing of a man being swallowed by a fat, toothy worm. Osborn will return to Pageant in March for a solo show.

Works on paper make up much of the show's repertoire. Sarah Everton's drawing German Shepherd in a Blanket features a dog overlaid with a manic diamond pattern. The juxtaposition creates an odd fight between the animal and the man-made, the natural and the decorative.

Kate Stewart's new photo collages features figures in interior spaces, and these pieces take her work in a great new direction. The addition of surreal figures creates a more interesting piece of art.

Christopher George's Washing Machine Song features lyrics written on a small piece of paper and nailed to the wall. It's an odd addition to this show.

"Rag and Bone."
Through Jan. 10.
Pageant Soloveev Gallery, 607 Bainbridge St.
215.925.1535.
www.pageantsoloveev.com

Sculptor and installation artist Terry Adkins' last solo show with Pageant was a tribute to Bessie Smith. In this show, the artist, musician and performer showcases a banner imprinted with the image of Jimi Hendrix's face. The banner, which hangs from the ceiling, is edged broadly in red velvet with Hendrix's face printed black on white cloth in the middle. Because Hendrix looks so mournful, the work feels reminiscent of the Shroud of Turin. But the red velvet trim--at least at this time of year--brings unexpected visions of the holiday season. The messages are mixed, but however you read the piece, one thing is certain: It's a voluptuous flag for the dead guitar hero.

Zi Ye's Samurai Pill Armor, a found-object sculpture made from over-the-counter pill packs, is outstanding. And Max Mulhern's wee podiums for Lilliputian Olympians (one sits on the floor, the other is pinned to the wall) question the value of first, second and third prize. The podium on the wall is for the 11th-, eighth- and zero-place winners.

For more on the Philadelphia art scene go to fallonandrosof.blogspot.com.