Among the current crop of solo exhibits around town, my highest praise goes to the young painter Scott Noel, featured at More Gallery Inc. He’s showing still lifes, paintings of nudes, domestic settings and pictures of recreational sports.
Fittingly, Noel’s still lifes are the show’s centerpiece. After all, still- life subjects traditionally have afforded painters the opportunity to display an unobtrusive mastery, so that portrayals of simple and familiar things become symbolic of wider experience. Noel’s still lifes can be awesome in their mastery, and they tend to have strongly integrated space.
Like many artists today, he opposes the depersonalization of still life. This is seen in his choice to paint humble objects casually strewn about his Chestnut Hill home and studio. In one instance, a half-eaten lunch on the artist’s drawing board is depicted gently and meticulously.
Noel’s nude subjects recall the everyday domestic interior views of turn- of-the-century French intimist painters. The male and female nudes are lethargic, yet supple.
Noel also shows affection for the rush and swirl of competitive sport. He has a good go at a basketball theme in pastel, and this suggests a promise that might be realized in his more finished figure work painted in oil.
More Gallery Inc., 1630 Walnut St. 735-1827. Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Wednesday to 7 p.m. Prices: $350 & up. Exhibit to June 11.
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Ten years ago, Betty Augustine swapped her paints and brushes for scraps of fabric and her sewing machine. The result: color-rich, intricately patterned and quilted wall-hangings. These are featured in her display at Third Street Gallery.
Above all, this artist has a knack for asymmetrical harmonies. Her best work uses gridlike shapes – unsystematic ones – based on intuition instead of on any system. In this sparkling show, Augustine appears to have learned pointers about asymmetry from the renowned hard-edge abstract painting innovator Piet Mondrian.
Third Street Gallery, 626 S. Third St. 627-9169. Thursday & Sunday 1-6 p.m., Friday-Saturday 1-8 p.m. Prices: $75-$800. Exhibit to June 1.
In recent years, photographers have seemed more inclined to formulate philosophies about their work, isolate problems and debate the relative merits of certain ways of working. Evidence of this is seen in the existence locally of Phototaxis, an exclave of seven photographers who are joined together by a passionate involvement in photography.
Phototaxis’ current show at the Painted Bride ought to be seen as a significant, if modest, example of the process of meaningful interaction among photographers. Figure subjects by Jeanne Birdsall and Sarah van Keuren, and street-scene activity by Dennis Witmer and Anne Jackson are standouts.
Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine St. 925-9914. Monday-Friday 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday 2-5 p.m. Prices: $150-$300. Exhibit to May 31.
The October Gallery in West Philadelphia has no ties to a neighborhood art center or to a university. And while it is small, it exudes energy and is bristling with work by black artists. Currently on display is a two-person painting show by Reba Dickerson Hill and Cal Massey on the first floor, and a diverse group on the second floor. Massey’s portrayal of hard-hat workers, more interesting than his abstract pictures here, evokes a Romanized noble ideal in a painting seemingly detached from emotion. Fresher, more emotive techniques mark Hill’s work.
October Gallery, 3805 Lancaster Ave. 387-5090. Thursday, Saturday & Sunday noon-5 p.m., Friday noon-8 p.m. Prices: $50 & up. Exhibit to May 31.