Pick of the November Art Loop

By Owen Napier, Jr.

Owen Napier, Jr.  is not your ordinary photographer and printmaker.  A bookbinder by trade, Napier practices the Japanese art of three dimensional decoupage called papier tole. This gives his photographs a startling layered and textured effect.  Napier was gracious to all the visitors who came to the Christina Cultural Art Center for the November Art Loop,  going out of his way to greet them and explain how he puts the intricate layers together to make his work.  One photograph was on display as a one dimensional work just above its companion papier tole image- showing the viewer the startling difference in texture and realism. (MD)

By Brian Marshall

Robots have invaded Poppycock Tattoo at 8th and Orange... again! Found object artist Brian Marshall's whimsy-cool Adopt-a-Robots surrounded the floor, from tiny shampoo bottle 'bots to large metal cowboys and knights, and everything in between. If you haven't come across Adopt-a-Robots before, they must be seen to be believed. Ordinary household (and sometimes industrial) objects are bound together to create artificial humanoids with amazing personality. In addition to the sculptures, the gallery featured a selection of robot-themed paintings, drawings and photomanipulations by Tina Marabito, Pat Higgins, Baron Von Reign, Dave Mele, Eric Hendrickson and 3EYES, plus tunes spun by DJ Zip. (HQ)

At Gallery 919 Market there was a flurry of activity with a three-artist exhibit.  Dr. Mehdi Jadali, his mother Hayedeh Moravati and his uncle Dr. Shah Moravali pooled their works for the show.  It was fun looking at all the works and trying to decide which of the three artists had created them.   Mrs. Moravati, who started to paint at age 73, was certainly not conservative nor abashed in her striking silhouettes with contrasting light and Dr. Mehdi Jadali creates works which he shows from surprising angles.  Dr. Shah Moravati paints scenes of town squares which I assumed to be from Iran, but could certainly fit into a French impressionist exhibit. (MD)

There's always art to be found in LOMA -- this month, the Film Brothers Co-op featured the work of political cartoonist Rob Tornoe. It's always cool to see original cartoons, and Tornoe's are excellent, his pen taking aim at current issues such as same-sex marriage, race relations and the economy as well as regional sports, as seen in the News Journal, Philadelphia Inquirer and his own Punchline Magazine out of Dover. The show also had an interactive aspect, as guests were invited to write their own caption for a certain cheeky cartoon. Next door at Zaikka Indian Grill, DCAD students showcased painting, collage and photographs while Hannah Zaic performed an original live acoustic set.  (HLQ)

By Felise Lichansky

At the DCCA, I was floored by the endless creativity of Felise Luchansky, a DCCA studio artist who was featured in the Hatch Gallery.  Luchansky’s Unity/Separation exhibit in the Elizabeth Denison Hatch Gallery had a gigantic empty nest decorated with a string of lights and eagle feather in the center of the room .  She also had a pair of old-fashioned muslin aprons, crisply ironed, which she herself hung on nails just below several pairs of vintage scissors lent to her by friend Niki Rose Chester.  The mixed-media piece is entitled Cutting the apron strings.  The scissors and nails juxtaposed over the beautiful muslin apron have that Alfred Hitchcock juxtaposition of kind and evil which make the viewer stop, stare, shudder and then laugh.  Other works feature some great Americana in her collages of Dick and Jane, old photographs, Palmer handwriting samples and some felt name badges with names we rarely hear anymore:  Elmer, Penny, Clyde, Bert, Mary Lou, Dolores…Think Ward and June Cleaver let their hair down! (MD)

By Margaret Darby and Holly Quinn

 www.WilmingtonDE.gov/residents/artloop

www.poppycocktattoo.com/

www.filmbrothers.com

 www.feliseluchansky.com

 www.thedcca.org

 www.ccade.org