Eyes Wide Open, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Group Art Show, Juror Moe Brooker

Eyes Wide Open, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Group Art Show, First Prize Sandi Neiman Lovitz

Eyes Wide Open, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Group Art Show, Juror Moe Brooker

“Eyes Wide Open, featuring the work of artists selected by juror Moe Brooker, artist, teacher and former chairperson of The Mayor’s Commission on the Arts, through August 30, 2015.

Regular gallery hours for this month: Wednesdays, 6- 8 PM, Saturdays and Sundays, 1- 5 PM. Also by appointment 215.829.0466

Since its inception in 1931, the mission of Da Vinci Art Alliance as a dynamic organization confidently continues to meet the growing need for community-based arts, and cultural and educational dialogue for artists, individuals and families. Da Vinci is one of the few non-profit artist run organizations boasting ownership of a building since 1959.” – Da Vinci Art Alliance

Eyes Wide Open, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Group Art Show, Dante Celia, 2nd Prize, Donna Kaplan, 3rd Prize and Mary Kane, HM

“Since its inception in 1931, the mission of Da Vinci Art Alliance as a dynamic organization confidently continues to meet the growing need for community-based arts, and cultural and educational dialogue for artists, individuals and families. Da Vinci is one of the few non-profit artist run organizations boasting ownership of a building since 1959.

Da Vinci Art Alliance is a public, non-profit 501(c)(3) artists’ organization located at 704 Catharine Street in South Philadelphia. The organization was founded in 1931 to serve the needs of professional artists and artisans in the Delaware Valley. Da Vinci Art Alliance currently has over 140 members and is supported through membership dues, gallery/studio rentals, sales commissions, grants, and donations. It holds exhibitions of members’ and non-members’ artwork as well as special events, workshops, performances, poetry readings, and lectures, and keeps its members informed on community events, news and opportunities. The mission of the non-profit artists-run organization is to support its members and to further community-based arts, cultural, and educational exchanges.” – Da Vinci Art Alliance

Eyes Wide Open, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Group Art Show, prints by Linda Dubin Garfield, photo courtesy of the artist.

“Moe Brooker (born 1940) is American artist. Working in painting and fabrics, Brooker employs bright colors such as “saturated pinks, mellow yellows and lime greens (that) are feasts for the eyes,” as well as stripes and checked patterns. He is nationally known and has received a number of awards and honors, including the James Van Der Zee lifetime achievement award.

Brooker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Tyler School of Art, graduating with a B.F.A. in 1970 and an M.F.A. in 1972. He has been on the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Art, Parsons School of Design, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Moore College of Art and Design.

Brooker works on canvas and paper, using acrylics as a base coat and mixing oils, oil stick and encaustic. He has been influenced by both graffiti art and music, and has moved from semi-figurative art to abstract art.^[2] He credits abstractionist Wassily Kandinsky‘s book Concerning the Spiritual in Art(1912) as an influence on his work.^[4] One of the reasons why Brooker moved to abstraction was that he wanted to paint the joyous and spiritual aspects of African-American life, but could not find figurative symbols for doing so.

“If you are given a gift, using that gift in its fullest sense is true worship.”

Moe Brooker’s work is displayed at the Studio Museum in Harlem, Montgomery Museum of Art, the Musée des beaux-arts de l’Ontario, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.^[3] He is represented by The Sande Webster Gallery in Philadelphia and the June Kelly Gallery in New York City.^[2] He is a member of Recherche, an African-American artists group whose works are known for “active engagement with life and a zestful manipulation of color and pattern.” – Wikipedia

Eyes Wide Open, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Group Art Show, Sonia Sherrad, Swing on a Star, mixed assemblage

Eyes Wide Open at Da Vinci Art Alliance represents the diversity and artistic accomplishments of the members of the South Philly arts organization. Approximately forty works were selected from over 175 entries, juror Moe Brooker selected a range of artworks that showcases the talent of the member artists by presenting an eclectic group of outstanding artworks. Deciding to present the artwork gallery style as opposed to salon style limits the quantity but emphasizes the quality of the art. Each piece is given room to shine and not be crowded or influenced by the other works. The variety of styles, techniques and materials displays the scope and skill of the members show in an easy to view, up-lifting exhibition of Philadelphia regional artists. The artwork included in Eyes Wide Open ranges across many media including paintings, drawings, sculpture, photography, prints and assemblages.

Eyes Wide Open, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Group Art Show

Da Vinci Art Alliance is a popular venue for artists to show their work with a wide range of group shows, solo exhibitions, special events and informative lectures. The spirit of the artist’s alliance is evident in the willingness to volunteer, to create new art, to share and help, and to keep the tradition of the arts in South Philly vital and exciting. The members run the organization helping to maintain the integrity and creativity of the Philadelphia arts scene; if something needs to be repaired, enhanced or updated the members step up to the challenge. Da Vinci Art Alliance is not just about showing art, it is about making friends, sharing insights, and raising the bar for arts organizations across the city.

Da Vinci Art Alliance’s Third Thursday Salon Series, September 17, 2015

“Da Vinci Art Alliance, located at 704 Catharine Street in South Philadelphia, continues its Third Thursday Open Salon Series for members, neighborhood residents and others to have a place for dialogue and exchange of ideas. The next Third Thursday Salon is September 17, 7:00 – 9:00pm, featuring James Dupree, accomplished artist, educator and business owner, who will be discussing The Artist and Eminent Domain. Hear about his art career and his fight against City Hall to keep his studio! Free parking is available at the Italian Market lot on Carpenter St between 9th and 10th.

James Dupree is an accomplished artist, educator, and business owner. Raised in-between Philly and Pittsburgh, Dupree lived as a child just a few blocks from his Haverford Ave. studio. Among the first black graduates of the University of Pennsylvania MFA program, and a recent recipient of the UPenn Black Alumni Society’s Living Legend Award, he is in many ways an example of the success of Philadelphia’s art institutions in addressing the city’s underprivileged communities. He attended free classes at Fleisher Art Memorial as a child. He later received a full scholarship at Columbus College of Art and Design, and went on to prominence via graduate school at Pennsylvania Academy of the Arts and the University of Pennsylvania.

Dupree’s works are in the permanent collections of several museums, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the African American Museum in Philadelphia, and the Schomberg Museum in Copenhagen, as well as in private collections of the Dave Matthews Band and Patti LaBelle. He has been artist-in-residence at numerous cultural institutions including the National Museum of Wales and the Studio Museum of Harlem, and his sets for a Mummers Fancy Brigade club, the Shooting Stars, won them first place two years in a row and him the nickname of “King James”.

Mr. Dupree has used his success as an artist to reinvest in the Philadelphia communities of his roots. There are many well-known examples of that investment, but one example that stands out is his studio in the Mantua neighborhood. His success is a product of the best Philadelphia art institutions, and he is an exemplary model of a Philadelphian investing back in his community. Part of his long-term goals, his dream, has been to leave Dupree Studios as a pillar in the Mantua community.” – Da Vinci Art Alliance