Bucks County has had a long, lively and impressive relationship with the fine arts. Its reputation has drawn artists and art-lovers from around the globe, but what about our homegrown visual artists? Many who are well-known have their roots right here.
That’s why I was especially excited to discover four young Bucks County artists are among the students who will be exhibiting their work this year at the prestigious Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia.
Johanna Chehi, a Durham artist and neighbor, is a member of PAFA’s Women’s Committee. She has taken classes at PAFA and told me not to miss the 120thth Annual Student Exhibition (ASE).
The exhibition’s preview on May 13, virtual this year, is the Women’s Committee’s major fundraiser and a great opportunity to invest in emerging artists. The actual exhibition will open May 14 and run through June 6.
Bucks students whose works will be shown are Rachel D’Angelo of Furlong, Clarissa Kear of Wrightstown, Rebecca Kennedy of Chalfont, and Will Paul, who grew up in Dublin.
Clarissa Kear, an alumna of Council Rock North, is majoring in painting with a minor in printmaking. After graduation, she is considering taking a gap year to prepare for a freelance career in gallery works.
Clarissa said, “I like large-scale painting.” Her oil on canvas at the exhibit is titled “Connectivity,” and measures 5½ by 7 feet.
Rachel D’Angelo has been making sculptures from found objects since she studied art at Holy Family University. She said her configurations “can act as a language bridging the gap between me, and what I cannot express with words, with the outside world.”
The title of her sculpture is “Metaphase,” and it’s composed of old folding chairs. “I didn’t have a plan for the final form. It came together intuitively. I hope the piece conveys balance, or some kind of metamorphosis,” she said.
Rebecca Kennedy said her current favorite artistic medium is digital, but a lot of her work is also graphite and ink on paper. She said, “My recent work has had a darker mood, and I’ve been focusing on creepy and strange subject matter. I think this stems from my love for horror films.”
“One of my current goals is to continue building a cohesive body of work surrounding this darker theme,” she said. She has nine pieces in the exhibition.
Will Paul said his work is “illustrative and more focused on comic books, cartoons and character design. My dream would be to write and illustrate comics for Marvel or DC, or self publish a comic book.”
He said his post-graduation plans are “to spend a year preparing a portfolio and comic drafts to submit to publishers.” He said he works in a comic book store in Willow Grove so he has access to a lot of reference material.
Erica Land, director of development events at PAFA, said, “ASE is an opportunity that helps students launch their careers. Students have the chance to exhibit their artwork on the same walls that display the academy’s renowned permanent collection. Masterpieces by notable alumni such as Henry Ossawa Tanner, Thomas Eakins, and Cecilia Beaux come down to make room for PAFA’s current MFA and fourth-year BFA students. During the preview, collectors can purchase work by the art luminaries of tomorrow.”
She noted, “PAFA alumna Njideka Akunyili Crosby exhibited her work in the student show in 2009. Now, Crosby has become one of the most sought-after artists in the world with paintings fetching over $3 million.”
Land said proceeds directly benefit students in need of scholarships. More than 80 per cent of PAFA’s current students receive financial assistance.
Register for the virtual preview at pafa.org under Event Information.
kathrynfclark@verizon.net
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