Jacob Klensin.

So as I promised.. we will be doing fun artist features on this blog. Unfortunately this has taken me a little more time than I thought it would but I'm certainly collecting resources and doing my homework. I'd like to start with one of our favorite regularly exhibited artists and this month's co-curator of "Inspired by Film"; Jacob Klensin.

First I must gush a bit. We met Jacob through his lovely lady, Destiny, and couldn't be happier that we did. We started our amazing relationship with him in our lovely space during a quiet opening and it turned into an afterhours night of fun, laughter, and amazing photography/art talk (with lots of wine and beer of course). Jacob is everything you want in an artist friend (especially when you're running a very DIY alternative space such as The Art Is Not Dead). He's extremely passionate about his work, others' works, and the general idea of artistic community. He has been a joy to our space and without him, 'Inspired by Film' wouldn't have been half of what it was this past Saturday. A GIGANTIC 'thank you' to him again.

As far as his work goes; Jacob is a medium format photographer working in a classic analog style. He prints a large majority of his work himself and takes pride in every tiny nuance in each piece. You could classify him in a documentary-like style with his "Michael Jackson Memorial" series or his new "American Fighters" work but if you take a look at his portraits and landscapes, you understand that he sees the world in a very fine art type of way. Each piece shows something a bit more than the initial figure or subject projected. You can see the soul and heart in his subjects and it certainly makes you want to know them and be in the space he was when he created the piece. We urge you to check out his website or stop by the space and see some of his amazing work (and the new pieces on canvas are simply gorgeous). He has become a great supporter and friend of ours and we hope you have the chance to see his work up close and in person someday.

Here's some of our favorites:







All works ©JacobKlensin.

Once again.. a HUGE thank you to Jacob. We look forward to seeing more and more work from you in our space and otherwise.

Check him out, friends: http://www.jacobklensinphotography.com/

Inspired By Film.

The Art Is Not Dead gallery presents... Inspired by Film:

An art show celebrating film, cinema and all sorts of moving media. When media first started moving it opened a new world for artwork and set into motion much of what had been seen previously. Now we're turning time back and slowing the work back down to a standstill. Work will include:

Painting by Alexis Maybry...http://alexismabry.webs.com

Photography by JP Bevins...http://www.jpbevins.com

Painting and photography by Maria Teicher...http://flickr.com/mariateicher

Photography by Jacob Klensin...http://www.jacobklensinphotography.com

Prints by Jim Howart...http://www.jimhorwat.com

Sculptures by...David "Tom Sevo" Kindler...http://www.flickr.com/photos/kindlercolabs/collections/

The show will also include a film screening during the closing party on the 24th of April, curated by Adam Paradis from Boston, and including new works by small format filmakers.

Opening is this Saturday the 10th from 5-10pm.
Film screenings on the 24th will start at 7pm.

Come stop by and support your local talent and gallery.


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We would also like to mention that this show was co-curated and put together by the amazing Jacob Klensin (one of the artists contributing). He has been a joy to work with and the number 1 reason this show is going up and will be a wonderful success. We would like to publicly thank him for all his hard work and dedication to art, our small loving space, and our mission. Jacob is one of a kind and we hope you enjoy his work (curatorial and photographically) as much as we do.

Thank you Jacob again, you're truly an amazing talent and friend.

As I start this project of making this blog more about art in general and not JUST our gallery.. I'm thinking this little internet space needs a make-over. Hmm..

Guess I'll get to work on that tonight!

So much to do! And I love all the blogs and etsy shops people have been sending me to look at. It makes my "hunting" job for this project a whole lot easier. Thank you all so much! Already focusing on a few that I've had my eye on for quite some time.

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As far as our opening.. well, it was raining here in Philadelphia but we still had QUITE the turn-out. 3 of our featured artists showed up and we sold a few photography prints to be able to donate $50 to vday.org. We're pretty excited to be able to help out and even $10 would've been great, so this was a lovely surprise. -We're gearing up to get some of these pieces on etsy so our shop should be up in the next week or so. There's always a lot to do and with only two of us.. it's a large work-load. We're loving every minute of it though.

Way too long..

I can't believe it's been this long since we've written. We are in the progress of many things and that's where time has been mostly spent. As many of you know, we are definitely artists running this small gallery; for artists by artists. Sometimes our own work has to compete with our space's ideas. Maria (myself) has been working, getting ready to apply for grad school and Brian is near completion on Proof and Proving's first release (and DAMN does it sound amazing).

A little update:
Our December show (Inspired by Sound) was truly amazing. Opening night we were privileged enough to share our space with an acoustic set by Astpai. It was beyond wonderful to have such talented musicians and friends from so far away (Austria) see our space and play. Pictures are to come in the next few days. -As it goes, we loved the show too much and couldn't bare to take it down in January. -The snow has kept our doors closed quite a bit this month considering we currently rely heavily on foot traffic (other than our openings). Our March show is a group show of all donated works to help benefit vday.org. We look forward to our opening on March 13th and are excited to see who stops by.

Our April show is dedicated to art inspired by film. We are co-curating our space with artist/photographer Jacob Klensin. We are meeting with him tomorrow to set dates and get ready for it's awesomeness. There's much in store for this one and we couldn't thank him enough for his support and help. It's going to be truly amazing. Keep yourselves in the loop and make sure to fan us on facebook for more reliable updates.

In some other fun news.. our website is currently being developed. It will be pretty simple but we're excited to have one and get this going on a bit more of a professional level. We know we're about as "DIY" as it comes, and being as we're two punk rock kids.. it does fit, but even the smallest punk bands have websites. We're making it work. :) In addition to a basic website we'll have our paypal account activated so we can start on a few fun-for-all projects.

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Our space is currently dedicated to our small family and community, but we are trying to reach out a little further. In the next up and coming weeks, we will have this blog reaching further than our own artists. We will be posting fun etsy shops and pieces that we love, awesome articles we find, shows coming up in the area, etc. We feel that to truly make our space a "community" we have to include those that are not necessarily in our city, gallery, and social circle. I want to expand this simple blog to show more than just US. We hope it becomes a great place to explore new artists and great art of all kinds.

Until next time.. We love you all.

-The Art Is Not Dead

Novemba'!

What an exciting (and stressful) month it's been! Our latest show went up for our November 14th second Saturday opening and it was incredibly successful. At times, we had a full house and couldn't have been more thrilled at the smiling faces traveling around the gallery. Thank you to everyone that came out for support and to see the amazing artists we're exhibiting this month.

If you didn't get a chance to check out our latest works at our opening, stop by within the next week or so. This month's exhibition will be up until the 3rd of December. Gallery (winter) hours are currently:

Monday: appt only.

Tuesday and Wednesday: 1-7
Thursday: appt only.
Friday: TBD very soon.
Saturday: 2-8
Sunday: 1-6

I know they're strange hours but there's only two of us! E-mail us if you'd like to stop by on any of the days we're not officially "open".. we're there, just getting things ready for future shows.

In other news, our facebook fan page is up: simply search The Art Is Not Dead Gallery and become a fan! See photos from our November show and keep yourself updated about future shows.

Next show is December 5th and will showcase all art inspired by music, with special acoustic performances by Astpai and Proof and Proving.

Are you an artist interested in future shows? Email us at theartisnotdead@gmail.com

Everything In The Works.

Our tiny little sneak preview went amazingly. Much fun was had by all that wonderful Saturday and Sunday. We got to give our families a little something to be proud about, our friends something to gush about, our neighborhood something to get excited about, and our exhibited artists some new eyes on their wonderful works.

The feedback to Mary and Scott Newcomb's work was absolutely delightful. I couldn't have been more ecstatic to see how many people gushed over Mary's amazing jewelry and the wandering eyes that swarmed around Scott's amazing pieces. My absolute joy of the weekend was watching a mother bring her son into the gallery. Still in his stroller he IMMEDIATELY pointed to one of Scott's bicycle wheels and excitingly screamed, "Mommy! Circle!". This boy, no older than 3, was completely wrapped up with awe, color and shape.

That's what art's about.

Another popular artist of the night was Ashley Lewis. Her "Smash Babies" went over extremely well with many people joyously delighted by their complete and utter uniqueness.

A few photos were sold, many e-mails taken for future shows, and a plethora of all around amazing compliments and genuine excitement.

Brian and I would like to say "Thank You" to all the artists involved.. with all of our hearts. You truly made our space warm, welcoming and have us enthralled for our future as an exhibiting space. Thank you Mary White Newcomb, Scott Newcomb, Carol Han, Anna Adey and Ashley Lewis. We love you all.

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As for the future: We will be opening up on the second Saturday of November, with regular gallery hours from there on out. We are not sure if we'll call this our "grande opening" but it will certainly be open, grande, and at least a huge celebration for being a real-deal business. Artists in play thus far are myself, Smash Babies, and Leigh-Adel Arnold (with her amazing jewelry). If you're interested, drop us a line at theartisnotdead@gmail.com. Wine (and probably beer) will be served as well as some snacks by the wonderful Ed Capozzi.

We will also be attending Crafty Balboa's holiday show this December. Come check out our table and some of the artists we will be exhibiting in the future. Everyone is awesome.. it's that simple.

As far as some future shows go: December is officially dedicated to music. All art musically involved will be shown by a plethora of artists; band photography, painting, jewelry.. whatever we can find that is musically inspired will be filling our walls and ears in December. Tentative dates also in play for an acoustic show by Proof and Proving and Astpai (insanely amazing hardcore from Austria). We're working out the kinks, but it's going to be amazing- there's no doubt.

If you haven't arleady, drop us a line and sign up for our newsletter at theartisnotdead@gmail.com

The 12th AND The 13th!

As those of you that read this, or are involved, may know, The Art Is Not Dead will be showcasing some of our favorite artists on Saturday September 12th- adjacent to the Crafty Balboa craft show. We will be open from about 11 to 5 that day. We are pretty sad that we won't be able to stay open later so we've decided to open the gallery on Sunday the 13th as well. Our doors will be open from about 1 p.m till late in the evening. We encourage all to come by and say hello, enjoy some coffee, hang out, buy/see some great art and begin to get involved. We're looking forward to making this a great community space and would love to hear your feedback, your stories, your experiences and any interest you have in our wonderful space. While you're with us on these days, please sign up for our mailing list (if you have not already) and tell us a little bit about yourself. We are looking forward to making our grand opening in November a wonderful event and welcome all interested parties to get involved.

Interested now and don't want to wait to talk to us? E-mail us at theartisnotdead@gmail.com