Third Street Gallery on 2nd Street

Third Street Gallery on 2nd Street, Karen Shaver and Rex Sexton

Third Street Gallery is a member artist gallery, usually showing duo or small group show, the current exhibit is Kathleen Shaver, solo show and Rex Sexton, Paper Moon. The irony of a dual exhibit with half the show titled ‘solo’ is in name only because the art by both artists looks beautiful together in the big gallery in Old City at 58 N. 2nd Street : Philadelphia, PA 19106 : 215. 625. 0993.

Kathleen Shaver explained to DoN that an opening came up for a December show at Third Street Gallery and she was ready for it when opportunity knocked. The same thing happened for Rex Sexton.

“We felt we would work fine together. My work can be described as neo-expressionism. This is really a big change for me from the earlier work in did in the eighties which dealt with representational elements that were juxtaposed in a sort of symbolic way. Now, I think I’m working more with the paint itself.”

 

“Certainly, Philip Guston is one of my big heroes and de Kooning. So some of this work was done in 2008, some is more recent but this is my first time showing in quite a while. I’m very happy to be here. To be accepted into the gallery and to be showing is really a thrill.”

The Third Street Gallery has dozens of full time members and a squad of associate members. With one of the best spots in 2nd Street’s famous arts district a show in the gallery gets a lot of exposure and traffic.

 

DoN asked Kathleen Shaver about the color story of her artwork and how it represents narrative?

“My last show which I think was in 2008, most of my paintings were gray. But, I think because I’m older I have a sense of confidence to go with my intuition. And not stand outside of myself and judge. I think I threw out my idea of what I think a painting is supposed to be and yet I accepted that I’m making paintings. I feel like I’m in the company of cave men, you know? Putting color on canvas with a stick with animal hair tied to it.”

“There is so much work that is influenced by photography or technology and I just felt very confident that, I guess, to be part of a historical conversation. In painting, I find my own line of conversation and I decided it was OK if nothing brought a lot of success. That gave me a lot of freedom.”

 

Rex Sexton and DoN chatted about the fortuitousness of the Third Street Gallery show and how he and Karen both shot their hands up when the opening in the schedule happened.

“I think Kathleen’s work is just magnificent. The two sides of the room get along. Sometimes they don’t when they feature two artists but these guys get along pretty good and I think it’s a good show. It’s a good Christmas time show, it’s festive.”

DoN asked Rex Sexton about the narrative quality to his work?

“I’m a writer, I have five books in the show. So, I illustrate my writing: stories, poems, novels. And the paintings are actually illustrations of what I’m writing, that’s why they’re narrative. They appear  in magazines with the illustrations. And journals.”

 

“Also, other writers ask me to illustrate their works. One of the paintings is the cover for a magazine I did , a collection of poetry, Stray Branch, and they selected one of the paintings in the show to do the cover of their magazine. Their next issue will feature another of my paintings and I’ve had that happen, also, with a lot of journals. I’ll submit for covers, they ask for covers, they ask for work from many artists and I end up on a number of them.”

DoN commented on how the paintings draw the viewer into the story in the paintings and Rex Sexton replied,

“My style is kind of poetic. They’re not graphic illustrations but they do kind of fit with poetry and the world of poetry. The use of language not in a straight forward way but in a symbolic way, a metaphoric way.”

How would you describe your style? Some of it seems very realistic and some is naive or primitive, DoN wondered.

“The style is expressionistic… ‘Robin Dluzen wrote in Chicago Art Magazine: “Sexton’s work … brings to mind the flattened forms and spaces and line qualities of Miro … [and] the bizarre figures and spaces of Chagall.  Bridging reality and fantasy, Sexton’s paintings emotionally engage viewers with multitudes of figures and multitudes of vivid expressions.’  So, it kind of does get that primitive look.”

Kathleen Shaver, solo show and Rex Sexton, Paper Moon is on view at Third Street Gallery through 12/30/2012.

 

Written and photographed by DoN Brewer except where noted.

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Tagged as: abstract art, Kathleen Shaver, Old City, Philadelphia, Philadelphia artists, Rex Sexton, Third Street Gallery