We're pleased that a work by Jim Brewton is included in 'Invisible City: Philadelphia and the Vernacular Avant-garde,' curated by Sid Sachs, Director of Exhibitions, Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, and assistant curator Jennie Hirsh. This sweeping survey will take place in three venues at the University of the Arts and at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. We're pretty sure Brewton's piece will be displayed at The Philadelphia Art Alliance, 251 S. 18th Street, on Rittenhouse Square.
Opening reception: Thursday, Jan. 30, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Art Alliance. 'Invisible City' is the culmination of a massive research project led by Sid Sachs, which includes an extensive, searchable database of Philadelphia's avant-garde connections. The 'Invisible City' team filmed fascinating interviews with key members of Philadelphia's avant-garde community, including Brewton's friend Jim McWilliams, as well as Harry Anderson, John Ollman, Richard Saul Wurman, Mark Campbell, Joseph Rishel, G.H. Hovagimyan, Cynthia Carlson, Joan Kron, Denise Scott Brown, Ruth Fine, David Slovic, Judy Lieb and Diane Burko. The project is supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.
0 Comments
In the last months of his life, Jim showed his masterpiece, "København," part of his ongoing dialogue with Asger Jorn. "København," with references to Picasso's "Guernica" and Jasper Johns (the lightbulb), was a direct response to Jorn's masterwork, "Stalingrad." (Showing only a detail here.) Its full name as listed in the show catalog is "The Bombardment of København in 1801 by Vice Admiral Lord Nelson or The Mad Laughter of Courage II (Til: Asger S. Trine)" "Til" means "to" in Danish, and I think the "S." is a typo and should have been "&." Trine is Katrine Nyholm; this is the seventh known picture Jim dedicated to her. This show ran from March 17 through April 16, 1967. Jim committed suicide on May 11 and, four days later, his work was shown at Perakis Gallery with that of Jim McWilliams, Thomas Chimes and Paul Anthony Greenwood. McWilliams remembers Jim's widow as trying to prevent them from including Jim's work, and "finally we just barged into his studio and took it."
"James E. Brewton, Graffiti Pataphysic" ends in 10 days. Slought, 4017 Walnut St., Philadelphia, is open Thursdays through Saturdays, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and by appointment (215.701.4627).
Since the show opened on March 21, we've had a lot of excitement. Our latest news is that two more paintings were found, and Philadelphia City Paper ran a cover story about our 'Pataphysical adventures on the quest for Jim's artwork. You can hear Dr. Michael Taylor's talk about Jim; audio is on the lower right side of this page on Slought's website. We are very grateful for the opportunity to show Jim Brewton's work, thanks to Michael, Slought, and Philadelphia a la 'Pataphysique, a March 2014 festival and long-term effort by various groups in Philadelphia and at the University of Pennsylvania to build a physical and digital collection of scholarly resources related to 'Pataphysics. Dr. Michael R. Taylor, renowned curator and former Director of Dartmouth’s Hood Museum of Art and former Philadelphia Museum of Art Curator of Modern Art, spoke about Jim at the opening on March 21. The audio recording is on Slought's website, lower right side of page. It's terrific!) Wonderful news for the Brewton Foundation: Michael has joined our board of directors. We are thrilled! Since we started our journey in 2008, Michael has guided, supported and inspired us. We're proud and delighted to welcome him to our board. Slought Foundation is a perfect venue for Jim Brewton's return to the art scene in Philadelphia. The exhibition is part of a conference and celebration called "Philadelphia a la Pataphysique"; poets, scholars, musicians, curators and artists from all over the world came to the events. Mikala Jamison, arts editor at Philadelphia City Paper, wrote a beautiful story about the quest for Jim's artwork. The feature is online here, and was the print edition's April 3 cover story. Thank you! to all of you who support us; in particular our very hardworking board of directors: Barbara Berry, Simon Rosenthal, Patricia Weingrad and Ronald Weingrad. Thanks to collectors who lent Brewton works to the show at Slought: Jason Brewton Broede, Vera Carbo, and Barry and Marianne Promos. The exhibition at Slought is up through Thursday, May 1. 4017 Walnut Street, Philadelphia. Hours are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., and by appointment. Call (215) 701-4627. Free. Please visit Slought Foundation if you're in Philadelphia. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 1 - 6 p.m., or by appointment: (215) 701-4627.Cycle on over to "James E. Brewton, Graffiti Pataphysic" at Slought Foundation, 4017 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA. OPENING: Friday, March 21 @ 6 p.m. The exhibition continues through April 26, 2014. SLOUGHT FOUNDATION is open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 1 to 6 p.m. and by appointment. Call (215) 701-4627. FREE. www.slought.org/resources/james_brewton For more than 40 years, Jim's artwork has been in isolated private collections. We're thrilled to show a sample of the many beautiful paintings, prints and constructions we've found so far. Slought Foundation 4017 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA March 22-April 19 (~ish; the closing date isn't set in stone.) Thursdays - Saturdays 1 to 6 pm and by appointment. FREE. Call (215) 701-4627 Opening: Friday, March 21, 6 pm. Please come! Coming in March: solo exhibit of Brewton worksArtwork by James E. Brewton will be shown at Slought Foundation, 4017 Walnut St., Philadelphia, beginning on March 21, 2014. The exhibit is part of an academic conference, "Philadelphia a la Pataphysique," at the University of Pennsylvania.
We are absolutely thrilled! And very grateful to the conference organizers and kind supporters who make it possible to locate, clean and conserve Jim Brewton's artworks. Many of these paintings and constructions have always been in private collections; others have not been publicly shown in more than 40 years. Visit the "Philadelphia a la Pataphysique" site for more about the conference. Special thanks to our benefactors, one of whom is matching personal donations to the Brewton Foundation during 2014, dollar for dollar (contact us for details). We hope you can come to the Slought Foundation, and that you'll enjoy these extraordinary, unusual works by a Philadelphia artist. When we formed the Brewton Foundation in February 2008, we knew of only 20 surviving artworks by James Brewton (1930-1967). With the encouragement of a curator (our 'patron saint'), we started to hunt for more. During the last five years we've interviewed scores of people and located more than 100 Brewton works. "We're so grateful to all who have given us funding, artwork, information, expert advice and their time. In 2012, we received a very generous donation from a benefactor.... A few highlights from 2012:
Exhibition ~~ For the first time in 41 years, Jim's work was in a show. His Portrait of Edgar Allan Poe (c. 1959), was in "Haunting Narratives: Detours from Philadelphia Realism, 1935 to the Present" at the Woodmere Art Museum, May 12 through July 15. Press ~~ The show at the Woodmere garnered some notice for Jim's painting: Brady, Shaun: "New Exhibit Explores Our 'Haunting Narratives'," (with photo of Brewton's portrait of Edgar Allan Poe) Metro Philadelphia, May 15, 2012; and "Realism in a Minor Key," American Artist magazine, October 2012 (with photo of Brewton's Poe) "tinged with a touch more than the typical darkness." Back-of-house ~~ We're moving the Brewton Foundation to Pennsylvania; the location is more relevant to Jim's life and work. The Florida nonprofit will not be dissolved until the new company is up and running, in order to maintain our 501(c)(3) status. Donations ~~ We're so grateful to all who have given us funding, artwork, information, expert advice and their time. In 2012, we received a very generous donation from a benefactor who prefers to remain anonymous. We're using the funds to move the nonprofit; to have a film reel of a 1971 exhibition transferred to DVD; to publish www.jebrewton.org on the web; and locate and document more artworks. To all of you who help us: Thank you. We appreciate you! |
Topics
All
Posts
March 2024
|