Globe Dye Works: Layers

Opening reception Sat., May 9, 5-9 p.m., free, exhibit through June 7, Globe Dye Works, 4500 Worth St., 215-288-4554, globedyeworks.com.

by Lauren F. Friedman

visual art

In a gritty, post-industrial corner of Frankford, where Amtrak trains rattle by empty sidewalks, the massive Globe Dye Works complex swallows a full city block. When dyeing operations shut down four years ago, the previous owners left behind sewing machines, spools of colored thread, safety notices and an old leather punch. These vestiges are still scattered throughout the cavernous rooms, and the potent history of the space informed its inaugural exhibition, "Layers." "It's a very loose theme," says curator Veronica Scarpellino. "It's about the transition from old to new, from industrial to modern." The work of 13 artists is spread out across nearly 8,000 square feet, offering a rare opportunity to see a variety of pieces untethered from the traditional confines of a gallery. Romy Scheroder used the plentiful open space in one of the sun-filled upstairs rooms to spread out a flock of lifeless, white birds made from handkerchiefs. Maria Anasazi repurposed the pages of old books into a paper globe, a quilt made only of children's stories and a circular accordion that sits atop antique crutches. Justin Coffin carefully photographed Arctic Splash containers littered all over Fishtown, imbuing typical urban detritus with the gravity of a crime scene. "Everyone's work seems to have some ephemerality to it," says Scarpellino, and the hushed Dye Works factory stands as the clearest symbol of impermanence — and transformation.