UPCOMING SHOWS CATCHING THE BIG FISH: NOVEMBER 1 - NOVEMBER 28
CATCHING THE BIG FISH
Catching the Big Fish is a group art show inspired by David Lynch's ideas on creativity and the current retrospective David Lynch: The Unified Field at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA). Catching the Big Fish revolves around suggestions of violence, dark humor, and mystery, conveying an air of the uncanny. The show features works by fifteen artists. Ten of them were trained at PAFA, Lynch's alma mater, pointing to overlapping interests at the school.
"In another room, the puzzle is already complete. And they're throwing over one piece at a time." - David Lynch
The show has been curated by Special Agent Dale Cooper, the ultimate Lynch self-portrait from the small town of Twin Peaks. The curator and artists will be present during the opening reception Saturday November 1st from 5-8pm.
"I have no idea where this will lead us, but I have a definite feeling it will be a place both wonderful and strange."-Dale Cooper
Participating artists: Organ Armani, David Campbell, Martin Campos, Special Agent Dale Cooper, Hollis Heichemer, Joseph Lozano, Alex Kanevsky, Catherine Mulligan, Dominic Quagliozzi, Amy Ritter, Sterling Shaw, P.J. Smalley, Nick Stathopoulos, Mickayel Thurin, Jenn Warpole
For more info, email specialagentdalecooper2014@gmail.com
Image by Mickayel Thurin, "AD"(Detail), 26x24 inches, 2012, mixed media on canvas
PAST SHOWS ESCAPE THE NIGHT: SEPTEMBER 6-OCTOBER 4
ESCAPE THE NIGHT
Curated By Brian James Spies And Marek Danielewski
September 6 - October 3
Opening Reception September 6/7-10pm
Closing Reception October 3/7-10pm
Opening reception will feature Heavy Metal music from DJ Hillary Eickho
Closing reception will feature a selection of films by Ted Knighton
An exhibition of artist's responses to nightmares and dream states, from trauma
inducing night terrors to explorations of the subconscious mind as well as real
world horrors and nightmarish or demonic imagery. This show will explore the role
these nighttime excursions play in our lives and what we can learn from them in
our waking life.
PAST SHOWS COLLAGE (WORKS BY ERIC KENNEDY): JUNE 27-AUGUST 22
COLLAGE (WORKS BY ERIC KENNEDY)
OPENING JUNE 27 / 8-11PM
MUSIC BY KNOX STREET BAND
Viewers often have difficulty accepting the suggestive paintings of Eric Kennedy as purely abstract images. This is owed to the precisely shaded contours and well-defined forms which exist within an ambiguous space and invite observers to make very personal assumptions about the subject.
The cloudy, atmospheric foundation is created through Kennedy’s signature layering of wax paper and paint and evolves through many stages—each one a completed painting in itself to an outside observer—before its final realization. Kennedy’s working process has been developing for several years and, along with his innovative use of found materials, allows his work be both complex and subtle, evocative and abstract.
The result is startlingly organic paintings, imbued with unexpected colors, and possessing a certain unusual softness and warmth. Perhaps most surprising of all, the images are actually beautiful. Kennedy’s work is distinct, achieving an extraordinary depth and range of texture which must be viewed in person to appreciate.
PAST SHOWS CITYWIDE COLLECTIONS PROJECT BY LITTLE BERLIN: NOVEMBER 23
LITTLE BERLIN CITYWIDE COLLECTIONS PROJECT
Little Berlin's contribution to Citywide highlights their focus as a curatorial organization and they enthusiastically invite the public to participate in the City-Wide Collection Project. In the months leading up to the November 23rd opening reception at Pterodactyl Gallery, participants will gather and submit objects and images according to a list of criteria, like a communal scavenger hunt.
Bins to drop off collected items will be located at various spaces throughout the city. In addition, curated images can be submitted at the City-Wide Collections Project tumblr page and will be displayed at the opening. Items and images submitted for this project will be sorted and categorized by Little Berlin and displayed in an exhibition at Pterodactyl.
We're excited to see what you collect and think it will illuminate how all of us think about and interact with the physical objects in our environment.
More info about Pterodactyl here: http://pterodactylphiladelphia.org/citywide.html
More info about Little Berlin here: http://littleberlin.org/
Before the opening you can join our neighbors ART/ASSEMBLY for Feedback Loop: a CITYWIDE Postmortem, November 23rd, 2013 @ 5pm. The postmortem will be an open and improvised conversation about the work and programming presented during CITYWIDE. Feedback Loop is an online hub, designed to act as a forum for discussion and commentary on the many CITYWIDE exhibitions and events happening throughout November 2013. The conversation on the 23rd will be based on the most interesting writing submitted to Feedback Loop over the course of the month, and will involve the artists and curators responsible for the work, critics, and the audience. 3245 Amber st, 4th Floor
More info about Art Assembly here: http://www.artassembly.net/
Learn more about Citywide and the participating galleries here: http://citywidephilly.com/
*There will also be a shuttle bus tour on November 16th from 2-5pm. More info here: https://www.eventbrite.com/event/9041091147
PAST SHOWS ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER: SEPTEMBER 28-OCTOBER 25
ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER
curated by Jon F. Allen, Mary Coyle, Brian James Spies and David E. Williams
Sept 28 through Oct 25
Opening reception Sept 28
Closing reception Oct 19
Opening will feature performances by
DENTAL DAMES
and JORDAN GRAW with JON F. ALLEN
(+ villainous songs from "Mack the Knife" to "Cop Killer" DJ'd by David E. Williams)
Closing will feature movie screenings TBA
work by Jon F. Allen
Alison Nastasi
Joseph Lozano
Timothy Allen
Meta Faith Venus Zhuraw
K. Malcolm Richards
Rodney Thoms
Jonathan Canady & Suzie Assault Rifle
Mary Coyle
Jes Gamble
Tyler Kline
Menaka Gopalan
Matt Sokolski
Amie Carson
Brian Spies
Avdo Babic
Ana Vizcarra Rankin
Matthew Fishel
David E. Williams
Jim Ether
Thomas Nola
Jerome Deppe
Adel Souto
Aaron Lange
David Talento
Bates
Jon Michael Williams
An exhibition featuring artist's interpretations and reactions to villainy, from the mundane nuisance of people in our lives to comic book & other fiction narratives as well as thoroughly real and dangerous social phenomena. This show will examine alternative notions of dual identity, such as commonly accepted hero/villain dynamics. More info can be found here.
PAST SHOWS UNNATURAL BEHAVIOUR: AUGUST 30-SEPTEMBER 20
UNNATURAL BEHAVIOUR
AUGUST 30-SEPTEMBER 20//
OPENING RECEPTION FRIDAY AUGUST 30, 8-11PM MUSIC BY THE CHAIRMAN DANCES / WOOLY COATS / SIX ACRE LAKE
work by ANDREW JOHNSON-LALLY ASHLEY CUBBLER BRITTA VALLES
JENNIFER HALL
LUCA CHIRIANI MAREK DANIELEWSKI
NICHOLAS STATHOPOULOS STEPHAN KRASNER
These Philly-based artists have a profound knowledge of animal and human anatomy, but strip it down and have fun, be it with the materials or the subject matter. They all come from formal artistic backgrounds, but negated all that formalism once they found their own "voice" in their art. This show has a strong sense of self and of the weird and imaginative in all of us. Enjoy.
PAST SHOWS ANIMAL SHOW: JULY 20-AUGUST 23
ANIMAL SHOW
JULY 20-AUGUST 23//
OPENING RECEPTION SATURDAY JULY 20, 7-10PM/FEATURING DJ SNAKPACK
work by DAVID MORTON MEYERS
KIRSTEN RAE SIMONSEN
ELEANOR GROSCH
SHANNA WADDELL
KATHERINE PULIDO
SUSAN CRAWFORD
MORGAN BARRIE
JASON DEMARTE
ALEXIS ARNOLD
KATIE VANVLIET
ROBERT KRAIZA
SARAH HUNTER
ERIC KENNEDY
SARAH COOTE
BLAINE SIEGEL
EMILY WHITE
ERIC REMER
Animals become a canvas onto which we humans project our myths, fantasies and ideas, making up our own meanings. Animal Show explores ways in which animals are transformed into such unwitting actors.
PAST SHOWS INTERSECTION: MAY 17-JULY 6
INTERSECTION an exhibition of art-science collaborations
MAY 17-JULY 6 2013 // OPENING RECEPTION FRI MAY 17, 8-11PM
CURATED BY KEITH HARTWIG
featuring work by KRISTIN GREY APPLE
BRITTANY DEMILIO
ERIN ESPELIE
KELSEY HALLIDAY JOHNSON
The work featured in May at Pterodactyl gallery will represent examples of contemporary artists practicing in a collaborative
atmosphere of art, science and technology. The work of these art-tech practitioners are not specifically concerned about the
use of technology to overcome technical difficulties, or methods of production, but about technology’s ability to create media
indistinguishable from experience. Science and technology are used by these artists to investigate subjective phenomenon and
challenge objectivity.
“All art is experience, yet not all experience is art. The artist chooses from experience that which he defines as art, possibly because it has not yet been
experienced enough, or because it needs to be experienced more. … All art-world distinctions are meaningless.”
-Robert Irwin, James Turrell, Ed Wortz, A Report on the Art and Technology Program of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1971
PAST SHOWS DEMATERIALIZATION: NOVEMBER 3-30
DEMATERIALIZATION
A GROUP EXHIBITION - NOV 3-30 2012
OPENING RECEPTION SAT NOV 3, 7-10PM
CURATED BY JAMIE PNG
TOBIN ROTHLEIN
BEN WILL
COLLEEN RUDOLF
LEAH COOPER
K. MALCOLM RICHARDS
TED CAREY
TODD KEYSER
ELIZABETH HAMILTON
KRISTIN APPLE
MARIE MANSKI
RODNEY THOMS
BART O'REILY
JASSIE RIOS
BROOKE STURTEVANT-SEALOVER
PAST SHOWS IT'S YOUR FUNERAL: SEPTEMBER 8 - OCTOBER 13
Closing Reception/Movie Screening: October 13 7-10PM
curated by Jon F. Allen and K. Malcolm Richards
featuring work by:
Elizabeth Hamilton / Timothy Allen / Justin Duerr / David E. Williams / Liv Helgesen
Joshua B. Borden / Aime Carson / Bonnie MacAllister / Adel Souto / Carolina Maugeri
Billy Dufala / Jon F. Allen / J. Bates / Brian Spies / Jonathan Canady / Nancy Grimes
Philippa Beardsley / Ashley Wick / Steven Dufala / DV Nikt / David Aponte
Dearly one-day-to-be departed, we have gathered together works of art for this exhibition investigating funerals and the subject of mortality. The contributing artists offer an array of avenues for considering rituals surrounding death. From personal shrines to memento mori, from critique of the funerary industry to communicating with the dead, the works on display reflect differing perspectives on the funereal, staging our mortality through the lens of those still living.
PAST SHOWS ANIMAL SHOW: JULY 14, 2012
Animal Show
July 14 - August 18
Reception: July 14 / 7-10 PM
Featuring work by:
Allison Louise Nitch // Jennifer Rockwell // Caitlin McCormack
Katie Innamarato // Kaitlyn Coppola // Bruce Humphries
Ashley Caferro // Brooke Somers // Darla Jackson
Tamara Suber // Jeremy Golub // Jesse R Lentz
Cait Courage // Erica Harney // Kristen Egan
Hilary White // Scott Dupree // Jerry Kaba
Eric Remer // Jeff Leake
Music by:
Ben Cady
Ted Nguyent
Horse Thieves and Other Villains
The High Five
PAST SHOWS UNCONVENTIONAL NARRATIVE: MAY 19, 2012
Unconventional Narrative
May 19 - June 23
Reception: May 19 / 7-10 PM
Featuring work by Kyle Coffin / Clark Mclean Graham / Joseph Leroux
Unconventional Narrative highlights contemporary, thought-provoking works being produced by three distinguished artists in their medium. The exhibition challenges the devices associated with narrative while proving its importance in the contemporary art world. These three artists are pushing boundaries in painting, sculpture, and video, while being conceptually connected through the vehicle of narrative. Exhibiting narrative based artwork is a chance to portray the artists' thoughts and opinions in a public setting. Kyle Coffin, Joseph Leroux, and Clark McLean Graham utilize their experiences in contemporary society as a driving force in the creation of characters, props, and environments that are generally associated with film production. The subject matter is aesthetically manipulated to provide an altered sense of reality through color, sound and structure.
PAST SHOWS PAPER FORTRESS: MARCH 15, 2012
Paper Fortress: Paper as Fiber
March 15 - April 22
Reception: March 31 / 6 - 9 PM
Featuring work by:
Carol Cole / Jenna Efrein / Alexis Granwell / Karen Hardy / Daniel Hoffman Lisa Murch / Ellen Owens / Erin Tohill Robin / Mary Tasillo / Bonnie Kaye Whitfield
Curated by Nicole Donnelly
Part of Fiber Philadelphia, Paper Fortress demonstrates the versatility of paper, a fiber form often taken for granted. Working with handmade paper, recycled paper and paper pulp as their primary media, the artists present its use as a traditional support for two- dimensional artwork, but also as a malleable material, soft yet structural, capable of creating intimate artist books and discrete
sculpture as well as large-scale
installations.
PAST SHOWS OUR SECRET GENIUS: OCTOBER 15, 2011
The Moleskine Project: Our Secret Genius
October 15 - November 26
Opening Reception: October 15 7-10pm
FEATURING WORK BY:
Eric Remer/ Eric Kennedy/Jessica Lowe/Heidi Smith/Helen Bradley/Laurel Casciato/Steve Loya/Juan Rodrigo/Mike Zienowicz/Jennifer Torre/Jesse Rinyu + more tba. (There are a few spots left, let us know if you want to join!)
CURATED BY:
Helen Bradley, Eric Remer, Chris Bradley
More on the project:
This show will give (force) artists to share the ideas, stories, pictures, and drawings that they usually keep hidden from plain view. Sketches, stories, full compositions, maps, diagrams, and any kind of illustrated idea are all legitimate submissions – as long as they are in (or made out of) a sketchbook.
A collection of friends with moleskine journals conceived this idea, however, we will exhibit journals of all kinds (equal opportunity). The intent of this project is to find the art behind the art, the "early demo tape" versions if you will and to exhibit these sketches, journals and ideas — that may or may not be turned into larger more complete pieces of work — my theory being that sometimes, what isn't shown is the best we have to offer. Basically, we'll just be answering the question: "what's in your moleskine?"
curated by Dr. K. Malcolm Richards, Jon F. Allen, and Rodney Thoms
A multi-media event examining the general containment policy that confines, refines, and defines how humans conduct and are conducted through their lives in the early twenty-first century via institutions that bind. From carefully contrived cubicles in the work place and the processed packaged food we consume to the surveillance cameras that record our whereabouts and the psychiatric pills that standardize our minds and wills, this exhibition will explore and explode the categorical imperatives that rue and rule our daily existence.
Opening September 10 8-12
Opening Night Performances by: DV Nikt, Gruesome Twosome (Lora Bloom and Kenny Brown), and Justice League of Adversaries
Also featuring sound man and DJ David S. Aponte
Closing October 1 8-12
Closing reception will feature the films Atom Egoyan's "Speaking Parts" and
Samuel Fuller's "Shock Corridor" with lecture/discussion by the curators.
Steven Dufala / Billy Dufala / Paul D'Agostino / Carolina Maugeri / Brian Spies / Dr. Kevin Richards
/ David E. Williams / Ben Coover / Mary Coyle / Adam Simon / Jon F. Allen / Timothy Allen / DV Nikt
Jordan Graw / Joshua Borden / David S. Aponte / Tina Zavastanos / Thomas Micchelli
PAST SHOWS BIG ART SHOW: AUGUST 13, 2011
BIG ART SHOW HOT AS HELL PARTY
ART! MUSIC! FUN!
SATURDAY AUGUST 13TH // DOORS AT 8PM // FREE
Music by City Rain // Revolution I Love You // New Madrid
6/6/6 is a traveling exhibition that created itself through connectivity. With the proliferation of social networking and technology-based communication, making real connections becomes more important than ever. Each artist in this exhibition has selected one other artist who lives and works in a different community, forming a network of art communities and developing personal connections among artists and audiences. This effort makes introduces new practitioners to each locale and infuses each region with new energy from around the country. Like a chain letter, this process is expansive and like an exquisite corpse, the results are surprising and unexpected. Appropriately for a show about drawing connections, the show takes the drawn line as its subject and features artists from all over the country. The exhibition, in a sense, created itself by means of connectivity.
For more information on the exhibit and it's other venues click here.
PAST SHOWS TO-DAY IS ANOTHER DAY, MAKE ART. (ART IN THE GREAT RECESSION): MAY 14, 2011
TO-DAY IS ANOTHER DAY, MAKE ART. (ART IN THE GREAT RECESSION) Curated by Steven Earl Weber
Opening May 14th at Pterodactyl Creative Project Space this show addresses several aspects of what it means to be a working artist during this economically difficult time that has come to be referred to as " The Great Recession." The curator and artists have taken a broad approach to the phrase, "Art in The Great Recession," references and interpretations of the theme range from elements and causes of our country's current recession, to the methods and materials artists end up using in response to their economic situation. The works included in this exhibit are all from artists living and working in the Philadelphia area and include a broad range of materials and disciplines.
Participating Artists: Leroy Johnson
Doug Herren
Abbey Gates
Daniel Petraitis
Steven Earl Weber
Roger Petersen
Jerry Kaba
Stephen Kent
Ira Upin
Opening Reception: Saturday May 14th 8pm-12am Closing Reception: Saturday June 25th 8pm-12am
Opening night DJ sets by Pace and Mang + EBG III
Closing night music by Your Children is Beautiful / ManorLady / New Heaven and New Earth
PAST SHOWS ANIMAL SHOW: MARCH 26, 2011
Animals become a canvas onto which we humans project our myths, fantasies and ideas, making up our own meanings. Animal Show explores ways in which animals are transformed into such unwitting actors.
March 26-April 15 / Opening RESCHEDULED to Saturday April 2 8-Midnight / Closing Friday April 15 8-Midnight
With work by Katie Henry // Ann Klicka // Emma Meetz // Darla Jackson // Matthew Lucash Oranit Solomonov // Amy Scheidegger // Skuds Mckinley Kevin Galloway // Kristen Solecki // Caitlin Carouge Sarah Goodreau // Eleanor Grosch
PAST SHOWS NAKED BEN FRANKLIN: NOVEMBER 13, 2010
Work by Ryan Mulligan, Curated by Maiza Hixson
Ryan Mulligan's art metaphorically captures the mental state of an overgrown teen trying to enjoy the state fair while hallucinating from a spoiled cheesesteak. Depicting random imagery--from roadside attractions to roller coaster rides--the artist renders both real and imagined subjects as disparate props expelled from a phantasmic cartoon. Ryan Mulligan: Naked Ben Franklin will feature several new drawings and paintings by the artist as well as a site-specific mural highlighting Philadelphia's unique icons.
Opening Reception: November 13th 8 to midnight
Closing Reception: December 4th 8 to midnight
Opening night music by Enter the Rooms / House and Homes / Clean Equation
Closing night music by Mark and the Neiblers / Mon Chou Chou / Noose of Laurels / Northern Valentine
PAST SHOWS HIDDEN GEOGRAPHIES: OIL, WATER AND BIRDS: OCTOBER 7, 2010
Hidden Geographies: Oil, Water and Birds
Hidden Geographies is presented by Pterodactyl and the Philadelphia Art Hotel, in coordination with Design Philadelphia. This show features the work of Carrie Hott and Renee van der Stelt. Both artists integrate meticulous research into their processes, and the physical manifestations of the research become their work. In this body of work Hott focuses on the use of whale oil in lighting and the subsequent shift toward an oil based society. van der Stelt maps out the locations of oil and water in order to understand the complex systems of human interaction with natural resources. Read full artist statement
October 7-17th, Opening Reception October 16th 8pm-12am
Opening night music by The Great Unknown / A Cat Called Cricket / A Stick and Stone / Lion Versus
PAST SHOWS BOYS LIFE: SEPTEMBER 11, 2010
Scott Dickson.Sarah Jackson Moore.Zach Martin Rebecca Miller.Jim Zeske
September 11 - October 9
Opening Reception: Saturday September 11th 8p-12a Closing Reception: Saturday October 2nd 8p-12a
Opening night music by Crills Wilson / Born Pilot / Kill You in the Face
Closing night music by Music by Mariage Blanc / Sure Juror /The Lawsuits / The Heligoats
To achieve your art merit badge:
"With your parent's permission and your counselor's
approval, visit a museum, art exhibit, art gallery,
artists' co-op, or artist's workshop. Find out about
the art displayed or created there. Discuss what you
learn with your counselor."
- Boy Scouts of America
PAST SHOWS OUR IMPROBABLE EXISTENCE: AUGUST 13, 2010
Our Improbable Existence
by Amy Sacksteder
Our Improbable Existence, presented by Pterodactyl and the Philadelphia Art Hotel, is an exhibition of recent drawings, paintings and photographs by Michigan artist Amy Sacksteder. Her exhibition features work inspired by her recent residency in Iceland, and developed in part during her residency at the Philadelphia Art Hotel. It is through this work, which depicts and distills momentous events and experiences, that she engages the tension between vitality and mortality.
August 13th -24; Opening August 13th
Opening night music by
The Weeds
Small Sur
Sunny Ali & The Kid
STOP!
PAST SHOWS MYSTIC MONSTERS: JULY 17, 2010
Mystic Monsters
by Pat Aulisio and Adam Fergurson
Pat Aulisio and Adam Fergurson's genetically mutated son has risen and with him a new body of work which covers a large range of styles, mediums, and themes. Show includes comics, paintings, collaborations, appropriated advertising, and an in-gallery installation.
July 17th - August 13th
Closing August 13th 8p
Closing night music by
The Weeds
Small Sur
Sunny Ali & The Kid
STOP!
PAST SHOWS BIG ART SHOW: JUNE 26, 2010
come celebrate with cake + music + art
music by MOUNT JOY TJ KONG AND THE ATOMIC BOMB
OUT LIKE LAMBS
MONTAGNA AND THE MOUTH TO MOUTH (more tba)
***JUNE 26***
Show starts at 8pm $5 sugg. donation at door
(benefits pterodactyl's upcoming art magazine)
PAST SHOWS BIG ART SHOW: JUNE 12, 2010
PAST SHOWS INHABITANTS: MAY 8 - MAY 29, 2010
Inhabitants Release Show May 8th
Come celebrate the release of Pat Aulisio's new comic with an all comic art show with works by Box Brown, Hawk Krall, Ian Harker, and Lance Hansen. Events begin at 7:30pm. Free and open to the public.
Animals become a canvas onto which we humans project our myths, fantasies and ideas, making up our own meanings. In Animal Show, 9 artists explore ways in which animals are transformed into such unwitting actors.
