Also this issue:

Taking the Stage
After years in the making, the Philadelphia Gay & Lesbian Theatre Festival becomes a reality.
-Lewis Whittington

Feast on Furniture
-Lori Hill

Artquicks
More stuff going on this week...

Wonders in Wood
-Susan Hagen

Day of the Poet
-Ainé Ardron-Doley

The Importance of Being Earnest
-Juliet Fletcher

BigSmorgasbord WunderWerk
-Steve Cohen

Happy Alliance
-David Anthony Fox

June 5-11, 2003

first friday focus

3rd Street Gallery | Bridgette Mayer Gallery | And Then There's…

Deirdre Murphy, <i>Escape</i> (2003), 36 inches

square, oil on canvas (top);<i>Datura</i> (2002), 22

inches square, oil on canvas (bottom).

Deirdre Murphy, Escape (2003), 36 inches square, oil on canvas (top);Datura (2002), 22 inches square, oil on canvas (bottom).

by Lori Hill

3rd Street Gallery

In her new show, "Sightings: Recent Work," Sally Walker mixes the delicate with the expansive. The artist claims allegiance to the work of Marsden Hartley, Milton Avery and Helen Frankenthaler, but one look at elements of collage work like Margin of Record and Bon Voyage and the trompe l'oeil efforts of John Frederick Peto and William Harnett come to mind. While all the work is somewhat abstract, Walker's more realistic touches are more pleasing than her broad-stroked, vague landscapes. Here, in the sheer number of elements she uses, there's mystery in the concept but aesthetic pleasure in the design. In these collages leaves, stamps, yellowed documents, fabric and scraps of handwritten notes merge with acrylic paint to form personal histories that maybe only Walker can dissect, but many could recognize as familiar.

Reception Fri., June 6, 5-9 p.m. Exhibition runs through June 29. 58 N. Second St., 215-625-0993.

Bridgette Mayer Gallery

All manner of painting styles and historical references can appear in a single Deirdre Murphy work. With "The Bliss of Growth," her first solo show, Murphy sets out to prove her mettle in technique and use of materials. Interested in what used to be known as "women's work," such as sewing and embroidery, Murphy used as inspiration Philadelphia University's Textile Center's collection of French damasks as well as contemporary fabrics from replica-textile manufacturer Scalamandre. Gorgeous color and intricate pattern reveal Murphy's interest in botanical prints and traditional styles, but her layering of geometric shapes and animal forms subverts these old-fashioned decorating ways. Whether an origami bird or a Japanese lantern, the diamonds of an Amish quilt or the dainty floral pattern of an 18th-century swath, Murphy, a Leeway award winner, continues to make her mark.

Reception Fri., June 6, 6-8:30 p.m. Murphy will give a tour of the show on Sat., June 7, 2-3:30 p.m. Exhibition runs through July 26. 709 Walnut St., 215-413-8893.

Locks Gallery

To coincide with the Philadelphia Museum of Art's upcoming tribute to this local abstract painter, Locks Gallery is mounting this look at Warren Rohrer's earlier work. Covering the years 1968 through 1972, "Turning Point" aims to shed light on what led to the artist's gradual move toward total abstraction. In these "middle years" Rohrer worked in oil on linen and layered his colors, grouping them in almost-but-not-quite recognizable forms. Mountains, greenery, allusions to flowers and humans -- all are present, but clearly Rohrer was seeing if people would notice if he phased the realism out all together. He eventually does, but Locks -- more interested in the journey than the destination -- has left that task to the PMA.

Reception Fri., June 6, 5:30-8 p.m. Exhibition runs through July 18. 600 Washington Sq. South, 215-629-1000.

And Then There’s …

Philadelphia Sculptors sponsors its fourth annual student exhibition, "5 Into 1" at Moore College of Art & Design. Nineteen students from five area schools get top billing. Through June 13. 20th Street and the Parkway, 215-568-4515. More student work shines at Vox Populi, where Drexel has installed its senior photography exhibit, a show of 12 artists who worked under Paul Runyon. Reception Fri., June 6, 6-9 p.m. Through June 28. 1315 Cherry St., 215-568-5513. Catch German artist Gabriel Schmitz's lovely and spirited (but serious) portraits in his show, "Face Value," at Pringle Gallery. Reception Fri., June 6, 5-9 p.m. Through July 2. 323 Arch St., 215-592-7746.... Diane Pieri continues her simple, flat, Asian-inspired work at Rosenfeld Gallery. Through June 22. 113 Arch St., 215-922-1376.