Philadelphia Museum of Art - Information : Press Room : Press Releases : 2005

September 15th, 2005

Challenge #2 Continues Fleisher Art Memorial's Juried Exhibition Program, October 14 through November 12, 2005

The Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial will present the second exhibition in the twenty-seventh season of the four-part Wind Challenge Exhibitions at Fleisher -- the Delaware Valley's premier juried artist exhibition program. This season's twelve Challenge artists were selected from a field of 278 applicants to exhibit in one of four three-person exhibitions. Challenge #2 features the work of artists Jon Manteau, Penelope Rakov, and Mauro Zamora. The exhibition begins on Friday, October 14 with an opening reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., and continues through November 12. Both the exhibition and the opening reception are free and open to the public. Gallery hours are 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday; with additional hours of 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Saturday.

Jon Manteau's paintings are alive with a colorful expressive force. Manteau defines himself as an abstract painter who uses paint as a vocabulary for his work. He uses thick, sensuous strokes of layered house paint to create rhythmic lines and shapes that are visually powerful. Mr. Manteau studied at Parsons School of Design, received his four-year certificate from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and his M.F.A. from the University of Delaware.

Penelope Rakov builds intimate sculptures from glass. Using an intricate process she describes as “the long way around”, Rakov canes rich colors into solid cylinders of hot glass and then shapes them to her liking. After accumulating a collection of objects she combines components to form each sculpture. Rakov is interested in the saturated color that is reflected in glass as well as the gem like quality caught in the intimate scale of her work. Ms. Rakov received her B.F.A. from Alfred University and her M.F.A. from Tyler School of Art.

Mauro Zamora is compelled to make paintings of landscapes although he is not always interested in the landscape itself. Zamora derives his images from nature, architecture, and print media. His stylized landscape paintings have a filtered graphic quality with planes of color defining the images. Mr. Zamora received his four-year certificate in painting and his M.F.A. from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

On Saturday, October 29, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., artist/teacher Mary Murphy will lead the Challenge "TalkAbout" gallery discussion. Join us to discuss the work in the exhibition. Admission is free.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest museums in the United States, with a collection of more than 227,000 works of art and more than 200 galleries presenting painting, sculpture, works on paper, photography, decorative arts, textiles, and architectural settings from Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States. Its facilities include its landmark Main Building on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the Perelman Building, located nearby on Pennsylvania Avenue, the Rodin Museum on the 2200 block of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, and two 18th-century houses in Fairmount Park, Mount Pleasant and Cedar Grove. The Museum offers a wide variety of activities for public audiences, including special exhibitions, programs for children and families, lectures, concerts and films.

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