July 26, 2013

The Leonard Pearlstein Gallery opens a new interpretive art exhibit today in collaboration with Philadelphia nonprofit artist network InLiquid. “Spatial Translations” features drawings on mylar, oil on canvas and a grouping of sculptures and installations by artists Annette Cords, Brent Crothers, William Cromar and Paul Fabozzi. This free and open to the public exhibit will run through Sept. 18, with an opening reception Thursday, Aug. 1 at 6 p.m. in the Leonard Pearlstein Gallery (3401 Filbert St., Philadelphia).

Pearlstein Gallery Manager and Exhibition Curator Amber Lauletta explains the theme of “Spatial Translations” as an interpretation of experiences in urban environments using a variety of materials – an artistic approach similar to the way the Impressionists interpreted their emotional responses to landscapes. “Each artist is questioning what has happened between organic and mechanized landscapes,” says Lauletta. “They are not offering any answers. Instead, they’re evoking our curiosity about what could be.”

Visitors to this exhibit also will have an opportunity to test a new visitor engagement tool via their smartphone, which will provide insights from the artists as a means to enhance the exhibition experience.  This pilot project is being led by Drexel's Arts Administration program. Summer hours for the exhibit are Monday-Friday, 11am-5pm. For more information, contact Amber Lauletta at gallery@drexel.edu.

Cords’ highly conceptual work creates a visual vernacular about layering and perception. Fabozzi comes from a more linear and narrative perspective, translating walks he’s taken in Manhattan into shapes that resemble an experience of viewing a map. Crothers and Cromar – the two sculptors of the exhibition – are both handling materials and viewers’ experience of those materials in a more visceral response to our environment.