Art at Lunch: The City of Murals 10/19, 12–1 p.m. Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 118 N. Broad St. Free It’s Mural Arts Month! The PAFA is celebrating by bringing in MAP (that’s “Mural Arts Program,” thank–you–very–much) bigwig Ryan Derfler. In an hour–long lecture, Derfler will explore the fascinating history of murals in Philadelphia and its connection to social change. “But 12–1 is my lunch break!” Shush! You’re supposed to bring your own lunch. Pro tip: Don’t bring Lunchables, everyone will want your Lunchables.
Vivian Beer: New Works, and Marilyn Kirsch: Recent Works 10/7–11/26 Wexler Gallery, 201 N. 3rd St. Free The Wexler Gallery is running two shows throughout October and November. On the first floor, furniture designer Vivian Beer’s innovative objects will be on display. Dubbing her inventive process “sophisticated daydreaming,” Beer fuses new technology and traditional methods to create something pretty neat! On the second floor, the Wexler Gallery is showing Marilyn Kirsch’s oil paintings. Not entirely abstract, not representational and even a little non–objective, Kirsch’s works are a caboodle full of cool.
Presence/Absence 10/15–2/1/2012 Moore Gallery at the Kimmel Center, 260 S. Broad St. Free Shout out to the ladies, Moore Gallery! This space on the First Tier at the Kimmel Center will be displaying print and other mixed media works by alumnae of the prestigious Moore College of Art and Design. Expect to see pieces from Leslie Bowen, Marjorie Russell, Joan Needham and others.
Wooster Collective Lecture 10/14, 6 p.m The Print Center, 1614 Latimer St. Free Wooster Collective is a rad blog detailing street art from all corners of the world. The couple behind this self–proclaimed “celebration of street art, stickers, posters, graffiti and culture jamming,” Marc and Sara Schiller, will be coming to the Print Center to discuss their finds and the convoluted and often touchy associations between these urban works and design and marketing. The Schillers, published authors who have previously spoken at the Tate Modern and TEDx conference (heard of ‘em?), will definitely give a riveting lecture.
Pat Steir: Water and Sand, and Ray Metzker: Philadelphia Elusive (1962–2009) 10/14–11/26 Locks Gallery, 600 Washington Square South Free The Locks Gallery will be jointly displaying works by Pat Steir and Ray Metzker for the next month. Steir, a painter and printmaker who has worked in a variety of media such as oil and engraving, will present her large–scale oil paintings which operate in a reduced yet strikingly brilliant color palette. Metzker, on the other hand, is an experimental photographer living in Philadelphia. Steeped in the tradition of the Bauhaus movement, Metzker explores the transcendent aspects of everyday urban life in his black and white images.
