MASTERSTROKES: When our jury singled out JEAN PLOUGH for BEST ACRYLIC STROKES, it was about these four paintings in UNDER $100. For our audiences, it has been the continuation of a love affair with the artist’s work. It all began nearly three years ago when, at the request of long-time OFF THE WALL artist and lifelong friend Jeff Thomas, she submitted paintings to our online pandemic auction SAVE DIRTY FRANK’S, which benefited our staff. The rest is history, with the most important chapter being Jean’s turn in MARY LIZ MEMORIAL MASTERS EXHIBITION 17 during spring 2022. That tour de force was an unprecedented solo outing in the most significant slot on our calendar, which included a rotation of new work in the middle of the show — something we hadn’t done since Mary Liz herself ran our gallery. It was necessary because MLMME17 had nearly sold out in its first month, and admirers of these pieces should know...yes, Jean has sold out yet again!
“Figure”
10 x 10
acrylic on canvas
95.
“SPORT UTILITY”
10 x 14
acrylic on canvas
95.
“Out, Damn Spot”
9 x 12
acrylic on board
95.
“Crabs”
10 x 10
acrylic on board
95.
Peace on Earth, Good Will to You
No angels or seraphim are we; all the same, best tidings of the holiday to all of you...as we count down to the end of 2023 AND the final days of UNDER $100! It’s hard to believe we’re in our last week, which promises several posts to run down award winners and new artists, introduced to our community through our most popular juried show. PHIL SUMPTER, who visited recently from his home in Puerto Rico after taking our community by storm with his solo show last fall, ONCE AND FUTURE FRONTIERS, is neither new nor, in this case, an award-winner. However, Phil is among the most veteran and most beloved OFF THE WALL artists — not to mention the only one in here with multiple prints. They are signed giclée of this timely holiday dove. Two are still available for purchase at this writing. So come in tonight, when we open at 8:00, and buy yourself a Christmas present!
PHIL SUMPTER
“Peace Dove”
14 x 11 framed
10 x 8 print
signed giclée of
watercolor and ink original
95.
signed, framed prints available
It's a Sin
We’ll continue our ROLL OF HONOR rundown for UNDER $100 with the mixed-media assemblage our jury aptly named “Best Sin under $100.” As we noted at our Opening Reception, not only is WAYNE W. URFFER the longest tenured OFF THE WALL artist in this show, he is the only one of our 48 participants who can say that he was “discovered” by our founding director Mary Liz. That would have been back in 1997, when he joined the faculty of the now-defunct Art Institute of Philadelphia (in fact, all the Art Institutes are now closed) as a professor in sociology, ethics and comparative religions. Yes, our way-back machine is in high gear because today happens to be our Gallery’s 45TH BIRTHDAY. (Our first-ever show “Her Name Is Not Anonymous Anymore” opened on Friday, December 8, 1978!) Many thanks to the tremendously talented Mr. Urffer — who incidentally is a two-time Mary Liz Fellow — for taking us down memory lane, as well as down the winding path of yet another ethical/religious debate. Who gets to decide what constitutes a sin? What does that mean for the alleged perpetrator or for the religion/group passing judgment? As always, TALK AMONGST YOURSELVES!
WAYNE W. URFFER
“Sin”
19.5 x 21.5
mixed-media assemblage
95.
Why We Toasted
We always begin sharing art from any juried exhibition with our AWARD WINNERS. Tonight, at the boffo OPENING RECEPTION for UNDER $100, the jury shone a spotlight on eight of our 48 artists, handing out $750 in cash prizes, while singling out artwork that rose above. No mean feat in such a superlative show! Topping everyone and taking home our most coveted prize of all was HOKEY, whose lyrical portrait of jazz and bebop legend Charlie “Bird” Parker, playing his signature King Super 20 alto sax, is perhaps as pure as the best of the master's notes. Below is our full HONOR ROLL, all of whom deserve KUDOS. And if you still happen to be on your way to our festivities at this late hour, definitely keep coming. The party is far from over! (UNDER $100 continues through Friday, December 29.)
MARY-ROWE MEMORIAL JURY PRIZE (BEST OF SHOW)
Hokey for BIRD ON SAX
BEST VOGUE OF COLLAGE
Anthony Morgan for body of work, especially FASHION SHOW
BEST SIN FOR UNDER $100
Wayne W. Urffer's SIN
BEST ACRYLIC STROKES
Jean Plough for her body of work
BEST COMIC RELIEF
Jim Biglan for his body of work
HONORABLE MENTION
Gloria Klaiman
Debra Miller
Gloria Rohlfs
Thanks-Cyn-ing
As we officially sign off from our 2023 AUTUMN INVITATIONAL and fully transition to UNDER $100, opening NEXT Thursday, November 30, we have to stop to recognize CYN WHY. You may ask: hey, WHY didn’t we feature this work in the countdown to the end of the Invitational? Simply put, it’s because we were aiming for 11th-hour sales (and we had a couple of those), but Cyn had sold out her seven phenomenal works. That’s no mean feat. The artist is happy to elaborate: “I love comics because each panel is a moment in time. You can orchestrate how that time flows. Or whether it flows. Comics are immediate and familiar and utterly versatile. I find comfort in airing my thoughts via boxes.” That philosophy found an immediate, receptive audience and while we are more than grateful for the contributions of all five artists — ELENA MASROUR, MICAELA PIRZIO-BIROLI, FRED PLUMLEY and HOLLY WYNN — it made Cyn an undisputed star of the show. Thank you and congratulations to all...including our lucky buyers!
CYN WHY
(in order of the portfolio shown)
“Better #1”
10 x 8
red pencil and ink on Bristol
mounted on board
90.
“Better #2”
10 x 8
red pencil and ink on Bristol
mounted on board
90.
“Better #4”
10 x 8
red pencil and ink on Bristol
mounted on board
90.
“Love Songs”
10 x 8
red pencil and ink on Bristol
mounted on board
90.
Vinum et Veritas
The truth may indeed be found in wine. But FRED PLUMLEY has managed to deliver the two side by side — or, more accurately, one inside the other — with his exceptional new series of wine box paintings, painted on all sides and featuring poetry (aka, wine box maxims), once opened. (Examples: “The line between fantasy and reality is blurred / (Big Foot is loose in NYC)” or “Everything is just going to be alright / Don’t open wounds that won’t heal”...and much more!) They are, simply put, ENCHANTING WORKS. But should you happen to stop by Saturday, sadly the 3D space will look nothing like this. Nor will other wine boxes dangle enticingly from our ceiling. (And Fred’s three terrific large canvases will not be on the Wall either.) But we hope to convince the artist to keep some of his available wine boxes for sale at offthewallgallery.org. The timing would be fortuitous, to say the least. What better holiday present could there be than a couple of nice bottles in a unique work of art?!
FRED PLUMLEY
oil paintings on utilitarian wine boxes
with a “wine box maxim” inside
#7-8: 175. each
“Your Child”
“Scared of History”
#9-12: 225. each
“Water over the Whale”
“Open Wounds”
“The Hot Soup”
“Sweet Sun”
Our Resident Dissident
As you may have noticed, last summer’s REEMERGE juried show was also a show about emergence: the revelation and addition of many new talents to our community. From the heart and, at that time in her teaching career, the heartland (namely, K-State and Manhattan, Kansas) arrived ELENA MASROUR, whose insightful, activist, playful, acerbically satiric practice — expressed in comics-influenced art — takes on the scourge of her native land. “My works are inspired by the proliferation of religious propaganda over the last 40 years in my home country, Iran, and the social changes taking place since the Revolution,” says Elena. “I represent a generation of Iranian people who aspire to be modern at a time when religious leaders continue to weaponize the rules of God to maintain control.” Her stunning new collection — this time hailing from Alabama, where she is lecturing at Birmingham-Southern College, after a faculty residency in between at the Cleveland Institute of Art — certainly nods to another sardonic cartoonist in Robert Crumb, while finding a brand-new metaphorical language as the drawings’ heroines do battle with little demons in everyday, often overtly domesticized settings. It’s all part of a life philosophy inseparable from her work. “Painting comical figures lets me imagine the fun of these individuals,” explains the artist, “and it offers my wish for contemporary Iran to become a peaceful, safe place where people can thrive.” All of these original, one-of-a-kind drawings are available for purchase right now in person or online (offthewallgallery.org).
ELENA MASROUR
(in order of the portfolio shown)
“I’m ready, how about you?”
India ink and combo brush on Bristol
11 x 14 framed (9 x 12 drawing)
500.
“Smell a bit of heaven.”
India ink and combo brush on Bristol
11 x 14 framed (9 x 12 drawing)
500.
“I can do more than that!”
India ink and combo brush on Bristol
11 x 14 framed (9 x 12 drawing)
500.
“What are you afraid of?”
India ink and combo brush on Bristol
11 x 14 framed (9 x 12 drawing)
500.
Printmaking with Purpose
Another gifted artist we were very fortunate to discover through REEMERGE in summer ‘22 is MICAELA PIRZIO-BIROLI. Their copper etching in that show, evoking medieval imagery, won over the jury and took down a prize. The artist now returns in our 2023 AUTUMN INVITATIONAL (closing Friday) with a series of new prints that shares some similar timeless qualities but brackets a wider range of inspirations. Pirzio-Biroli is even more nimble in their creative practice, which “draws from my personal history to explore themes of ritual, disability, queerness and biracial identity,” they tell us. “Working across printmaking, performance, sculpture and installation, I translate corporeal stories across multiple dimensions — moving between works on paper and forms in time and space.... In darkly humorous scenes depicting ridiculous semi-human figures, I invite my audience into the chaos and absurdity of my internal world, honoring the nonsensical as a force of resistance.” All these works are available for purchase right now in person or online (offthewallgallery.org).
MICAELA PIRZIO-BIROLI
(in order of the portfolio shown)
“Waiting for Diagnosis”
14 x 15.5 framed
four-layer woodblock reduction
325.
“Best Face Forward”
15 x 17.5 framed
woodcut
250.
“The Destroyer”
17.5 x 14.5 framed
three-layer linoleum reduction
225.
“Self Potrait”
12 x 10 framed
monotype
125.
Last Call for Brilliant Art
Our wonderful AUTUMN INVITATIONAL has flown right by. With just five days to go, we are determined to shine a spotlight on multiple works from each of the five talented OFF THE WALL veterans who are our 2023 invitees. We’ll start with HOLLY WYNN, a painter who has built a devoted following in our space since debuting in REEMERGE, the 2022 juried show that examined how the pandemic impacted the creatives in our community. Eighteen months, six sales and three awards later, she returns with four new works that take you inside her practice and unique point of view. “I’ve recently found myself creating representations of specific emotions and experiences, through a surreal, colorful and sometimes silly lens,” says the artist. “I’ve also enjoyed experimenting with different techniques and processes, both in oil and acrylic paint, frequently swapping preference between the two. My goal in trying new things is often to create more depth in the painting to draw the viewer in further — almost like they’re ‘in there.’” Note that all work shown here is available for purchase right now in person or online (offthewallgallery.org).
HOLLY WYNN
(in order of the portfolio shown)
“You Said You Wanted a Cake”
8 x 8
oil on canvas
250.
“I Think I’ve Outgrown This Pot”
8 x 10
oil on panel
250.
“Something’s Fishy”
8 x 10
acrylic on panel
220.
“I’m All out of Ideas”
8 x 8
acrylic on canvas
190.
Come Unhinged Tonight
Yesterday’s MARGIN/MARGIN closing reception was great because it featured an OFF THE WALL artist (Heather Raquel Phillips) in a partner’s space (William Way). Let’s try to one-up that TODAY (FRI 11/10), with an opening reception for a phenomenal multimedia artist long attached to our community — KAREN RODEWALD — in a gallery co-founded by another OFF THE WALL artist: Harvey Weinreich’s SIDE STREET GALLERY (812 Chestnut Street, Studio 2E). In a 5-8 PM reception, Karen will unveil her newest works on paper, from photography captured from unexpected vantage points to multimedia works that celebrate the simple joys of making marks and continuously dabbling with color. Adapting something she once told us, Karen’s visual experimentation may strive for exactness but always, ultimately, embraces and celebrates our imperfect, at times tumultuous world. We look forward to seeing you this evening!
Last William Way Reception until...'25?
We are always excited when an OFF THE WALL artist has an opportunity to share their work with a larger audience, no matter where that show happens. When that person is the amazing interdisciplinary artist HEATHER RAQUEL PHILLIPS and when the space is WILLIAM WAY, our neighbor and sister arts organization that is about to reinvent their home and revitalize their mission with a major capital project over the next 18-24 months, there is even greater urgency around getting the word out. Such is the case with CLOSING RECEPTION TONIGHT (11/9, 6-9 PM) for MARGIN/MARGIN, an electrifying collection of Heather's storytelling photography that sparks conversations about sexuality, desire, non-conformity, power, race, self-determination and much more. We look forward to seeing you there tonight — and we look forward to collaborating with William Way over the next year-plus, beginning with their annual juried show (accepting entries about INTIMACY, now through 11/27), which will go up on our Wall and in our 3D case in January.
HEATHER RAQUEL PHILLIPS
“Leather Family”
digital photograph
part of MARGIN/MARGIN
at William Way LGBT Community Center
An Early Treat for 48 Artists
Far better than candy is the news for four dozen in our community that they are the artists our jury has chosen for the 2023 edition of UNDER $100! More exciting still is that 12 of them will be making their OFF THE WALL debuts when the show hangs on Saturday, November 18, and officially opens on Thursday, November 30. As our audiences know, this is perhaps the most highly anticipated of our juried shows, with its affordable price point and fortuitous timing, which traditionally kicks off holiday festivities — and holiday shopping! — at DIRTY FRANK’S. CONGRATULATIONS to all! (Artists, please look for emails today notifying you of which works were accepted.) And, of course, HAPPY HALLOWEEN.
The Stuff of Legends
We proudly call PHIL SUMPTER an OFF THE WALL artist, but he is so much more. Today, from 4 to 6 PM, Phil, man, myth, creative pioneer, Black cowboy, uncompromising sculptor, draw-it-if-it-sings-to-you 2D artist, consummate educator, life-changing mentor, activist-with-the-spark-of-a-Revolution-in-his-Soul comes calling from his home in Puerto Rico. Join us in welcoming him back to Philly and to Frank’s, listening to his stories (we forgot to say “raconteur” above...Phil can tell a story with the best of them!) and raising a glass. Plus there will be a surprise announcement at 5:00. (Yes, we might have emailed you about that yesterday...but SHHHH…mum’s the word til Jody announces the news.) See you for an unforgettable Happy Hour!
Doubleheader Today
No doubt, many are going to book it out of work just a little early to make it to a screen for NLCS Game3, with its 5:07 start time. We humbly suggest you choose the big screen at DIRTY FRANK'S. And after the #heroics of Schwarber-Turner-Harper-Realmuto-Castellanos, we invite you to transition to our OFF THE WALL lineup: Masrour...Pirzio-Biroli...Plumley...Why...and Wynn with the OPENING RECEPTION of the 2023 AUTUMN INVITATIONAL. To be frank (which we always are at Frank’s), it’s ONE BIG PARTY! So doubles, double plays, punchouts and long balls, 5-8 PM. Then drawing and illustration, painting (including 3D wine box paintings), and printmaking, 7-10 PM. Drinks, conversation and curator JODY SWEITZER, who will bartend, then cede her gig to ROSE COSSABONE and host, ensure that the fun, red dots and #RedOctober pick up momentum throughout. See you tonight!
Closing the Curtain (with a last window online only)
Last Saturday we hung our newest eye-opening show, the 2023 AUTUMN INVITATIONAL, while taking down and saying a bittersweet farewell to its simply marvelous predecessor, MEMORIES & MUSINGS. With our OPENING for the INVITATIONAL, which would normally take place tonight, not slated until the 19th, we are leaving MEMORIES & MUSINGS online through this weekend, offering everyone a chance to peruse the art and possibly make a purchase. One of the most exciting aspects of the past show — which also featured OFF THE WALL veterans MASON CARTER, OLIVIA DUFFY and CAROL TASHJIAN, as well as SHOSHANA LEVENSON in her first show in our space — was a unique look back on four decades of work from one of the most esteemed artists in our community: ALICE MEYER-WALLACE. Brilliantly curated by JODY SWIETZER, the collection was one of the most inspiring and revealing retrospectives we have ever mounted. For this alone, we encourage you, especially if you didn't see the show in person, to visit offthewallgallery.org. As Jody puts it, “Alice is an absolute cultural treasure trove...the true definition of an Artist.”
ALICE MEYER-WALLACE
“Monument”
11.5 x 13.5
collage with watercolor
ca. 1960s
450.
It's Baack!
Opportunity is born...and reborn...at the end of each calendar year — for the artists and art lovers in our community. It's a process that has taken place here at OFF THE WALL every November and December (not counting the pandemic years) since 2017, and it can be summed up in two words...UNDER $100! Far and away our most popular and successful juried show — known for its diversity of voices, plentitude of sales (thanks, in part, to its conjunction with the holiday season!) and track record as a launching pad to future shows in our space — UNDER $100 also boasts our most prestigious award, the MARY-ROWE MEMORIAL JURY PRIZE, and at least $600 (probably closer to $700) in CASH PRIZES. These are funded through our $10 PER PIECE HANGING FEE for accepted artists, which also means there is NO ENTRY FEE! Check out the entry guidelines above, which are also available in Dirty Frank's and here on our website. We look forward to your entries and, to all our collectors, to your attendance, support and acquisitions!
62.62 Fahrenheit
The National Centers for Environmental Prediction announced that our planet experienced this past week the highest average global temperature in recorded history. First, Monday was the hottest day ever. Then it was the Fourth of July. The records will sadly keep tumbling. For the past year, KAREN STABENOW has been our community’s gadfly in regard to these alarming trends. While SUMMER SOLSTICE does not include her call-to-action melting Arctic landscapes, her three paintings do spotlight critical issues, from rising sea levels to Arctic drilling, The artist tells us, “I paint with oil to communicate the climate change in the North and South Poles.... These changes are caused by the use of coal, oil and methane, resulting in melting ice, sea rising, vanishing glaciers, fractured landscapes, extinction, and in the Antarctic, icebergs turn green from the warming iron-rich sea water and algae.”
KAREN STABENOW
“Arctic Drilling”
12.5 x 25
oil on panel
400.
Didn't We Promise You Fireworks?
We cannot let the Fourth of July pass without sharing one memorable work from our last show, MLMME18. Like so many of SERGE KRUPNOV’s marvelous paintings, it conveys nostalgia and simple beauty with understated eloquence. No longer available for purchase, since it is one of the artist’s 14 sales from the hit show, it’s now a memory — like those from today and tonight — well worth holding on to.
SERGE KRUPNOV
“Fourth of July”
15 x 16
oil on panel
200.
Red, White and Few
Happy Fourth! But it's symbiosis, not independence -- FLOSS BARBER reminds us -- that is the key to all ecosystems. Making her debut in our space, Floss is among a coterie of SUMMER SOLSTICE artists whose work focuses on vulnerable fish and wildlife. "Fish and crabs are vital to our environment and the fishing communities of local Delaware Bay," says the artist. "They transfer energy up and down the food chain, fulfill important ecological roles and help stabilize our ecosystems. By employing the colors of the American flag, I can grab the attention of the community to draw attention to the need to preserve endangered species." Do your part. Conservation is patriotic!
FLOSS BARBER
“White Perch: Morone americana”
9 x 12
oil and acrylic
100.
Down the Shore
We’re going to use this week to spotlight our jury’s award winners. What better place to start than the work that took down ULTIMATE JERSEY VIBE? Over the past 15 months, ASYA LIVSHITS has been an ascendant force among painters in our community — beginning with a first appearance at Dirty’s as part of our pro-Ukraine pop-up show in May 2022, quickly followed by her head-turning OFF THE WALL debut in REEMERGE that summer. She hits another high-water mark with three oils in SUMMER SOLSTICE. Like many of her colleagues, Asya acknowledges that creating art in all four seasons may not last if we do not change. “A lot of my work is set in nature. Seasons and light consequently play major roles in my art,” she explains. “This makes me more aware of climate, and my work speaks to the crisis we face.”
ASYA LIVSHITS
“Ocean City”
11 x 14
oil on board
400.