By Caroline Roosevelt, Guest Columnist, The Times
August tends to be one of the more languid months for art goers, however there’s plenty to see and do as the Chester County region transitions into its steady fall schedule. There have been plenty of positive shake ups including the address change of Karen D’Allairds’ Willowdale Art Academy to Union St in Kennett Square, as well as Mala Galleria taking over the large corner real estate at Broad and State Street. Owner, Stella Scott, finally has enough room to stretch her legs and we couldn’t be more thrilled.
Chester County Press’ John Chambless covered the transition to the new space yesterday.
Church Street Gallery is currently featuring artist Georganna Lenssen in her solo show “The Fluid Image”. Church Street Gallery is an unassuming space right off of Market Street in West Chester that has a penchant for exhibiting paintings of a traditional nature, but with a modern spark. Previously having featured Serge Krupnov, David Olenski and Mashuil Chowdhury, Georganna Lenssen adds her own flavor to the vibrant, figurative work that has come to represent Church Street.
Cherry On Top by Georganna Lenssen.
A personal favorite of mine, “Cherry On Top” features a cupcake presented on a minimalist background with a shocking bright red cherry floating on a cloud of icing. Directly contrasting the playful nature of the subject matter, Lenssen presents the image in a stark, severe fashion with bold strokes that features elements of an architectural composition. Enjoy her work, now on display, through August 26th.
Make your way over to Malvern this week and explore Gallery 222. A selection of work from the past year will be on display through August 12th so race on down and enjoy a curated highlight reel that will catch you up on exhibitions from one of Mainline Today’s Best New Art Galleries of 2017. Featured artists include: Luba M. Caruso, Joseph Sweeney, Randall Graham, Monique Sarkessian, Elise Phillips, Kristi Gilfillan, Robert Bohne, Fred Danziger, Jeremy McGirl, Barbara Berry, Denise Sedor, Nate Durnin, Eliza Auth, Mark Fleming and sculptures by our very own Lele Galer.
If you find yourself in Wayne in the coming weeks, check out the juried exhibition, Student Works 2017, which will be on display through August 18th at Wayne Arts Center. Juried by Claudia Rilling of Bucks County by way of Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and Boston University, the student work ranges from mixed media, sculpture and stained glass, to more traditional oil pieces.
The exhibition highlights the core focus on Wayne Arts Center as an establishment that provides art education to the community. The enthusiasm and talent of the surrounding community is illustrated in the featured work. From its humble beginning as a small garage in the 1930s to it’s current iteration as a well established community arts center capable of supporting art classes of all styles from culinary and ceramics, to hosting artist lectures and exhibitions, Wayne Arts Center is enjoying the fruits of its labor in this show.
Speaking of arts education, this week’s Art Watch radio segment (every Wednesday from 1:00 – 1:30 pm WCHE 1520 AM) will focus on arts educations in the Kennett Borough. Join me as I interview local instructors Neilson Carlin of Carlin Academy, and Karen D’Allaird of Willowdale Arts Academy. Last week’s Art Watch touched on local opportunities to take part of arts classes, and this week we will continue that theme on air, as well as discuss the larger impacts of arts education. Tune in and learn more!
Caroline Roosevelt is a writer and artist based in Kennett Square, PA. She received her B.A. in Art History from Connecticut College and a Post Baccalaureate certificate from Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. She has previously written art coverage in Seattle, WA and Philadelphia, PA.
