Robert Daniel Bohne´, Vinnie, pencil & goauche on toned paper, 2012, photo courtesy of www.RobertBohne.com
Mary Liz Memorial Masters Art Exhibition IX at Off the Wall Gallery
Robert Daniel Bohne´, small drawings on paper, Mary Liz Memorial Masters Art Exhibition IX at Off the Wall Gallery
“Mary Liz Connelly was the founding director of Off the Wall Gallery from it’s first show in December 1978 until her passing in October 2004. Over the quarter century between, Mary Liz gave a leg up to dozens of emerging and established artists with few other venues to show their work.” – The Off the Wall Gallery MVME9 catalog.
The list of prior Mary Liz Fellows represents a generation of contemporary Philadelphia artists that created not just beautiful artwork but make an impact on the artistic culture of the city. Each year new artists make the exclusive list, this year Robert Bohne´ and Matthew Green make their first appearance in the 2013 show, visionary mixed media artist Jim Montgomery exhibited previously in 2010.
The three artists in the Mary Liz Memorial Masters Art Exhibition IX at Off the Wall Gallery represents the best of the best artists who have exhibited in art shows in Dirty Franks at 13th and Pine Streets. Dirty Franks Bar has been a notorious artist hangout since the 1950s, located near historic art clubs and art schools, the art gallery holds pride of place to many artists because they know that their friends and other artists they admire will see their artwork on the wall. And the sales record is terrific – DoN loves red dots!
Robert Daniel Bohne´, Mary Liz Memorial Masters Art Exhibition IX at Off the Wall Gallery
DoN chatted with manager Togo Travalia at the opening and he shared that putting on the art shows, producing quality brochures and art cards plus promotion of the artists is part of their business plan. Spending a couple thousand dollars a year to promote local artists brings in customers; it’s good for business. Imagine DoN‘s surprise to see a recent quote from DoNArTNeWs in the brochure about Robert Bohne´. And if that wasn’t flattering enough, Bohne´ quoted DoN in his new artist’s book Robert Daniel Bohne´Select Paintings 2001 – 2013.
DoNBrewerMultimedia has been developing Robert Bohne´s artist website, DoN has been looking at a lot of his artwork for the website but have only seen the real thing in various shows. Even though the photographs translate well on-line, seeing the drawings and paintings in reality is so different, so immersive yet restrained simplicity. The gloss of the graphite on toned paper, worked into deep, shadowy blacks and mindful use of invisible lines invites the viewer to fill in the blanks with their minds. Hazy river light, summery trees or the glow of snow in the shadows in his small paintings truly is masterful. And the artist has made the price points very accessible with small drawings in the $50.00 range and small paintings starting at $350.00. Buy now, it will be a good investment.
Robert Daniel Bohne´, Mary Liz Memorial Masters Art Exhibition IX at Off the Wall Gallery
Robert Daniel Bohne´ and Matthew Green, Mary Liz Memorial Masters Art Exhibition IX at Off the Wall Gallery
Robert Daniel Bohne´,and Matthew Green, Mary Liz Memorial Masters Art Exhibition IX at Off the Wall Gallery
Robert Daniel Bohne´, Bridge, oil on panel, Mary Liz Memorial Masters Art Exhibition IX at Off the Wall Gallery
Robert Bohne´ landscape paintings are impressionistic yet use strong descriptive elements creating a vibrant sense of the moment. The actual painting is not much bigger than the image on this page.
“Renowned Philadelphia photographer and MLMME alumni, Richard Wright once referred to Robert Bohne´ as “the Hemingway of florid brush stroke”. That would make Dirty Frank’s,Bohne’s version of Hemingway’s Sloppy Joe’s. Several nights a week, armed with pencil and sketchbook, Robert Bohne´ works at capturing the gestures, expressions and personalities of Frank’s eclectic mix of business men, blue collar workers, amateur drinkers, and seasoned barroom philosophers. In a neighborhood of bars that tend to cater to the pretentious, Bohne´ prefers the down to earth, gritty nature of Frank’s when searching for the inspiration that will evolve into a finished drawing, the occasional barroom painting, or a whimsical sketch drawn directly on Franks well worn formica bar.” Robert Bohne´Artist Statement
Matthew Green, Kearny, 16″ x 48″, oil on canvas, 2013, Mary Liz Memorial Masters Art Exhibition IX at Off the Wall Gallery
Curator of Off the Wall Gallery , Jody Sweitzer, personally visits artist’s studios to select art for the show, imagine visiting Matthew Green‘s studio filled with large, lush paintings depicting atmospheric landscapes, stark cityscapes and long views realized in naturalistic detail.
“When thinking of the history of my art, it makes perfect sense that my work would, and should be exhibited at Dirty Franks.” – Matthew Green
Matthew Green, Snake Hill Summit #1, 22″ x 36″, oil on canvas, 2013, Mary Liz Memorial Masters Art Exhibition IX at Off the Wall Gallery
“It began with a fascination of found objects. It’s the stuff that floats in on the tide, blows in from the wind or rises up from the soil. Random objects turned from useful to useless by the inevitability of obsolescence.” – Matthew Green
Jim Montgomery, Mary Liz Memorial Masters Art Exhibition IX at Off the Wall Gallery
The corner display case at Off the Wall Gallery features three dimensional works like sculptures or video, Jim Montgomery‘s spacey mixed media assemblages create a universe all their own in the showcase. The artist mixes materials like steel, wood, stone and plastic to create a futuristic setting which serves as a metaphor for the long term vision of the gallery. The self proclaimed visionary artist uniquely sees how disparate things and objects go together to create cyber-punk portraits, Star Trek planets and trippy color combinations that are as transporting as a sixties sci fi novel.
Jim Montgomery, Teslas’s travels and Automaton, detail, Mary Liz Memorial Masters Art Exhibition IX at Off the Wall Gallery – Photo courtesy of Off the Wall Gallery.
Jim Montgomery, detail, Mary Liz Memorial Masters Art Exhibition IX at Off the Wall Gallery – Photo courtesy of Off the Wall Gallery.
If you didn’t get your copy of the brochure for Mary Liz Memorial Masters Art Exhibition IX at Off the Wall Gallery, it’s available online at issuu.com.
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Written and photographed by DoN Brewer except where noted.
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