Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show
- Lauren Cahill
- Sep 22, 2017
- 8 min read
Craft Fairs and Fine Art Shows have been around for a long time which makes me feel 'closeted' because I have never seen or heard of them before, not until this year. As a new artist, I began earlier in the year doing a lot of industry research. I found a large Art Fair in Haddonfield, NJ which is semi-local to our residential town. In the summer, we were able to pay a visit and to get a sense of the environment and experience if I were to eventually become a vendor myself one day in the future. Many of the artists there were able to give significant insight on the life of a vendor artist and what it entails. We were also recommended to visit the Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show coming to Philadelphia in the fall. My mom (my fine art partner in crime) and I visited the fair and had a great experience.
Initially, I was under the assumption this was solely a Student Art Show but to my surprise, it was a combination of Student and Professional Artists. The show took place Friday to Sunday, September 15-17, 2017 in Philadelphia's Historic Rittenhouse Square. I've heard to many wonderful stories of Rittenhouse Square but this was my first time here.
As it turns out, this particular visit happened to mark a special occasion for the Art Fair with it being the show's 90th Birthday! I found some literature regarding the initial motivation behind the fair and their goal of "Art Builds Community" and bringing people together. There were 143 professional artists, whom to my surprise, were from literally all over the USA and 1 from Canada. Also exhibited were 18 students from the local Philadelphia and South Jersey Colleges.
There is a Rittenhouse Square Art Festival showing twice a year, once in June and September, located in Philadelphia, PA. Please visit their Webpage or Facebook for more information.
During my visit I had the pleasure of meeting and/or viewing some amazing artists and their works.
RICK EPSTEIN
Rick was not only the first artist I met but was by far was the most informative person. Our conversation started when I first asked his for his business card because his work caught my attention right off of the bat. He took a traditional 2D landscape painting and transformed it into so much more, giving it depth by making it 3D.
His artwork is breathtaking and allow you to have a feeling as though you could literally walk through his paintings.
The work is originally molded with clay to create the feeling of depth before the atmosphere is painting with acrylic. The genre would be considered 'Clay Bas Relief Landscapes'.
If you have a chance, I would definitely recommend checking out his website and referring to his creation process which is absolutely astounding!
At the time, Rick was unaware I was also an artist and when the conversation allowed, I told him I was a Colored Pencil Artist looking to possibly become a vendor here in the next year or two. At first, gauging his facial expression, I thought he seemed uninterested but I showed him a piece of my artwork anyway and he could not believe what he saw, bringing a huge smile to my face! He couldn't believe I drew that not only in color pencil but that I drew it. He actually said to me when he first looked at me and I said I was a brand new artist, he "thought nothing of it" and then said, "I was wrong", and added, "that is a huge compliment". He also gave me the name of the director of the event and said, "You NEED to talk to this guy". Wow, I was completely flattered, that meant so much to me.
Rick's pieces are absolutely incredible and although beautiful via photo, they do not stand justice to it's life version. Check out the Website and view the Process or follow him on Instagram.
Rick Epstein, 7 New Broadway, Westfield, MA (413) 575-7337
JOE MARTINO
I have always been a fan of abstract art, however, I am extremely 'picky' when it comes to it. I am currently interested in creating 'Dirty' Acrylic Paintings using metallic colors so when I came across Joe's work, it immediately took to me. Although he specializes in a different form of abstract art than I am interested in, his work has movement, and texture, and stands out to me through the use of metallic throughout his pieces.
Ironically, the colors used in his work matched my mom's dining room perfectly and we were both imagining several pieces that would be excellent fits for the server space.
I would be very pleased to come across Joe's work again at a future Art Fair.
Joe Martino, 8955 Easton St., Louisville, OH 44641
(330)323-0399
KATHLEEN MURPHY WILLER
As mom and I continued walking and turned around the corner, I was immediately invited in with these eye catching pieces. When it comes to Kathleen's work, there is absolutely no way you can walk past it. I immediately fell in love with her pieces.
Her work reminded me a little bit of an original Disney Alice in Wonderland meets Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. There is a sense of magic and wonder, creativity, and adventure mixed into one painting. I could foresee an amazing illustrated children's book based off of her paintings.
I am very anxious to see more of these amazing, creative pieces from Kathleen and will absolutely be following her work!
Kathleen Murphy Willer, Menomonee Falls, WI (414)530-3777
SCOTT CAUSEY
As mom and I continued to walk, we came across an outdoor (non-tented) area filled with a ton of sculptures.
I immediately said, "Oh my God! Check these out! These are great"! I love how they instantly 'popped' and were 'eye-catching'. They reminded me of pop art paintings taken to the next level in the form of sculptures. Personally, I am not a fan of pop art but the use of color within the pieces including the metallic, and the out-of-the-box creative methods, without a doubt make these pieces 'Pop'.
Some of my favorite pieces included the geico's climbing up the wall. I could definitely see one of them in my art studio one day.
Scott Causey, Sarasota, Florida (941)924-6747
ANASTASIA ALEXANDRIN
At some point in the last 10 years, my sister fell in love with owls. It's all you saw everywhere- owls, owls, owls. For Christmas one year, I even gifted her a continuous stream of about 20+ owl gifts. Every time she opened another present, there's another owl which ended up being a very humorous holiday. Over time, popularity with owls seemed to become a significant trend, friends were all of a sudden 'obsessed' with them and I never understood why, until recently when I suddenly found an obsession myself.
As I continued my search through various tents filled with impressionistic style paintings, I was desperately looking for my next unique style of artwork and I immediately found exactly what I was looking for in Anastasia's art as I caught the perfect, PERFECT drawing- an Owl with an eyeglass in a top hat. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. Eventually, I will definitely be purchasing a print copy of this drawing. I found myself saying oh "I love this and this and this"! Her juvenile owls are perfect and so unbelievably adorable!
Anastasia also offers other concepts reminding me (especially after seeing a Raven Piece) of Edgar Allen Poe, one of my favorite authors. Her minimalistic style in the use of charcoal is stunning!
Anastasia Alexandrin, Philadelphia, PA (610) 513-7742
JENNIFER IVORY
Several years ago, we took a trip Nemours Mansion and Gardens, a 3,000-acre plot of land in Wilmington, DE developed by Alfred I. DuPont in the late-18th-century. The house is absolutely stunning! In one of the separate houses, the foundation converted it into a gift shop. In there, they had real insects framed into shadowboxes and sold. They were really quite beautiful.
As soon as I saw Jen's work, I immediately was brought back to the mansion trip. Her work is marvelous, looks real, and no bugs are harmed in her work! Bonus!
As an added bonus, I visited her website and the artists writes, "Over the years I have refined my techniques and now use various types of drawing ink, acrylic paint, watercolor, archival grade art papers, transparency film and other materials to achieve the high degree of realism my creations reflect today". I could not believe it! My mom originally thought these were actually metal works! I cannot believe the actual medium used to create these stunning pieces! And, the original pieces are 3D so they look even more realistic, as if frozen in flight!
Jennifer Ivory, Corvallis, Oregon, (319) GET-BUGS
MELANGE "SERIOUSLY FUN ART" BY KRISTIN Z. MOGER
From a distance, I could see what looked to be standard line drawings, beautifully done, but nothing to get too excited about. Wow, could I be more wrong! I was pleasantly surprised to have almost passed the tent when out of my peripheral I saw details and what details! My goodness! When you see seriously fun art, she means it!
Each drawing is carefully created by hand, in Ink. I believe Kristin is the only ink artist to be exhibited at this particular event.
I believe Kristin should take each of her pieces and create a coloring book to be sold at stores in B&N, Walmart, and Amazon. They are fantastic! These pieces represent similar pieces currently being sold but are so much better in every way! One thing I take pride in when visiting each tent is trying to figure out if I had to take one piece home with me, which one would I choose.. with Kristin's work, there was no way I could decide one particular piece!
Kristin Z. Moger, Franklin, Indiana, (860)985-7832
BENJAMIN FREY
I was beginning to feel significantly disheartened. I began to feel everything I really enjoyed seeing was on the first two corners of the square. We are almost in full rotation, back to where we started, and nothing has caught my eye, not until now I stumbled (finally) across this incredible artist!
Who doesn't love the circus? It's fun, inviting, and you always have a good time. I could almost smell the popcorn, and hear the screams of joy from people riding the swings, or the music on the merry-go-round. There was not one piece here I was not saying, "Oh look at this! Oh I love this! No this! Ahhh OMG I love this"!!
The concepts are absolutely phenomenal and definitely worth checking out!
Benjamin Frey, (540)572-0278
After making our circuit of the square, mom and I proceeded to enter the park. It was very nice to see the director had
set up an area, 'Little Friend's Festival' to make it fun and memorable for several hundred of kids who came to the fair. They provided watercolors, markers, crayons, and paper for children to have fun, and make small drawings to display or take home with them.
I absolutely love this idea! I am a firm believer and have said countless times, children are born natural artists, their creativity and sense of imagination should shine and be shown proudly!
Finishing up our afternoon, we stopped in at a local French restaurant, Parc Brasserie. If you are ever in the Center City of Philadelphia, PA, I highly recommend eating here! You will definitely be spending a pretty penny but the food is impeccable for French cuisine. You literally feel as though you are dining in France!
I had the best burger I have ever had in my life (no joke). It was a normal cheeseburger to which I added sauteed mushrooms and onions, raclette cheese (OMG YUM) served with fries.
If there was one word to describe this burger, Mouthgasm would be optimal. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since then and would travel back to the city if it wasn't for the fact it was a $20 cheeseburger.
For dessert, we split a Bar Glacee which is a flourless chocolate cake, vanilla icecream, and carmalized peanuts. Basically, an upscale snickers bar.. but omg was it good!
Parc Brasserie, Rittenhouse Square 227 S 18th St, Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215)545-2262.
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