October First Friday Openings at Paradigm Gallery
Paradigm Gallery + Studio is pleased to present two new solo exhibitions this October, all opening to the public at the Paradigm Arts Building (12 N 3rd St) on First Friday, October 6, 2023, with a reception from 6:00 – 8:00 PM.
Lisa Congdon’s vibrant exhibition "Ode to Kyoto" pays homage to her own memorable experiences in Kyoto and Osaka, Japan, while honoring the rich cultural heritage of the place and its people. The artist combines her signature, lighthearted style of saturated, graphic illustration with visual motifs from an eclectic range of sources — iconic Kyoto street foods, patterned kimono silks, kokeshi dolls, matchboxes, and other snippets from her mind’s eye — to render her personal perspective and engagement within each city.
As an MFA student at the University of Pennsylvania, Martha Rich developed her now signature artistic process of listening and documenting the pithiest, most memorable, or most relatable tidbits of conversations she overheard on the 40 bus route on her way to school. Rich depicts the quirks and colors of Philadelphia through her favorite phrases and overheard “Phillyisms,” presenting them in a hand-painted array of speech bubbles, painted on found plywood and cut with a scroll saw. The text-based pieces are complemented by a series of objects, animals, and symbols rendered in the same technique in her solo exhibition, "It's Wild Here".
