#metropolitangallery250

[metropolitanbakery]

“How to Cook a Wolf” at Metro Gallery 250

Philadelphia is a city of creatives, and Gabrielle Constantine is one of them. With her solo exhibition set to open on Friday, August 2nd, we had the opportunity to speak with Gabby about her new work, creative process, and the Philly art scene. Let’s dive in:

Metro Gallery: Where are you from? How long have you been in Philly?

GC: I grew up in Manyunk, moved to Bala Cynwood when I was 13, and went to Temple University. I now live in South Philly. Philadelphia has been my home for all 25 years of my life!

Metro Gallery: What did you study at Temple?

GC: I went to Tyler School of Art and double majored in Sculpture and Fibers and Material Studies.

Metro Gallery: How would you describe yourself as an artist?

GC: When people ask what type of work I make, I say installation art with a fibers background. That can mean a lot of things, but for me I think of it as interior design driven by a strong understanding and context of the material I ultimately decide to use. 

Metro Gallery: What was your inspiration for this show? What is your process like?

GC:  Technically I started working on this show almost 4 years ago. I was making similar sculptures to ones you’ll see in the show, but I didn’t know why I was making them or what the tone would be. Fiber artists get pigeonholed into a certain stereotype of knitting -- vagina imagery and the 1950s housewife -- and in the past I didn't want my work to be perceived as that. So, for a long time I was very adamant on making (what I thought) was genderless work. As a woman, a feminist, and an artist I think I still had to learn and grow from experiences I've had as all three in order to ingrain them into my practice. Specifically, a recent incident I was working through allowed me clarity to finally realize what these particular pieces were about. From there I compiled other work that I was hanging on to or photos I had that just made sense with the sculptures and built a show out of it. “How to Cook a Wolf” is about class, perceptions of wealth in America, identity, deconstructing whiteness — all themes of my past work. However the core of this show, and a new theme for me, is feminism. I am excited to share a new side of my work with people.

Metro Gallery: We’re excited too! Will any of your work be available for purchase?

GC: Yes! Everything will be for sale other than the piece made with my grandmother’s scarves. I think this is the first show that I’ve made work for people to actually put in their homes. 

Metro Gallery: What, in your opinion, is special about the Philly art scene?

GC: For me, as someone who has grown up in Philly and in the restaurant industry, I’ve seen the city go through so many changes. I feel like in the past 10 years we have been on the up and up in terms of cool new places to be for anything creative. Philadelphia is a small enough city where different mediums and practices of creating are almost forced to overlap. That to me is what’s special. I’ve had so many different jobs -- in bars, small businesses at Reading Terminal Market, and in art spaces. Everyone else in those spaces have their foot in at least three other doors. This is a city of creatives and creatives that like collaboration. We are innovative about the way we overlap our mediums and that is why I love the scene in Philly so much. 

Metro Gallery: You talk about the restaurant industry with a lot of love. Where do you currently work?

GC: I have two day jobs! I work as a bartender/server at Jose Pistolas and I'm an assistant/fabricator to another artist. 

Metro Gallery: Have you exhibited work anywhere else in Philly?

GC: Most haven’t been conventional spaces, but yes. I’ve shown in Little Berlin, P’s and Q’s, Alchemist Society, Square One Coffee, and a bunch of galleries at Tyler. I was also apart of the collaborative show, “Metropolitan Museum of Art: Modern Plastics”, at Metro Gallery in February. 

Metro Gallery: Anything else you want to share with the world?

GC: I love Metropolitan Gallery 250! It’s such a great space and I am so excited to have the opportunity to show here. Thank you!

“How to Cook a Wolf” opens at Metropolitan Gallery 250 on Friday, August 2nd with an opening reception from 6-9pm. All are welcome! The exhibition will be open on weekends throughout August, or by appointment via jessie@metropolitanbakery.com. 

Metropolitan Gallery 250 is Metropolitan Bakery’s non-profit community space that provides exposure and support for local emerging artists, makers, and small businesses. What makes Metro Gallery so special? All sales go through and to the artist or maker! Email metrogallery250@gmail.com to join our mailing list, and follow @metrogallery250 on Instagram. 

[donartnews]

Brenna K Murphy. #metropolitangallery250 #hairdrawing #philadelphia #art (at Metropolitan Gallery 250)

[metropolitanbakery]

Works by Audrey Jakab at Metropolitan Gallery 250

Audrey Jakab has been creating collage work since 1982. Starting with a primary image, she slowly adds texture and color in an intuitive manner, following her heart completely. This process can take hours -- even days -- as she works on multiple collections of possible combinations until she feels satisfied with a particular arrangement. Each element is glued down to the background page of a spiral bound scrapbook. Jakab describes the finished collages as “a quirky visual manifestation of my interior world” and  “I think of them as silent kindred spirits that connect with me in an expressive place devoid of words”. 

Originally from Wisconsin, Jakab spent most of her childhood in Vermont before making her way to the city of brotherly love to study fine art at the Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts). From there, Jakab studied sculpture at Yale University. Along with her husband, Alejandro Berlin, Jakab makes wall sculptures, having most recently exhibited their collaborations at reCreate Gallery at The Resource Exchange in Kensington. 

Jakab’s first solo exhibition of collage work opens at Metropolitan Gallery 250 on Friday, April 5th with a free reception from 6-8pm. Public gallery hours are scheduled between 11-4pm on weekends throughout April, or by appointment via jessie@metropolitanbakery.com. Prints will be available for purchase, and all sales go through and to the artist.  Follow Jakab’s collaborative sculpture work on Instagram @aastudioart, and Metropolitan Gallery 250 @metrogallery250.

A special thank you from the artist:

“The pieces in this exhibition are scanned images and lightly modified to remove things like spots, glue stains, and fold lines. The touch-up work and printing was done by the talented and flexible staff at PhotoLounge on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. I would not have been able to put together this show with their support!”

Established in 2012, Metropolitan Gallery 250 is a non-profit community space which seeks to provide exposure for emerging artists by connecting local art and local business.

[donartnews]

Brenna K Murphy. #metropolitangallery250 #philadelphia #art #donartnews #brennamurphy (at Metropolitan Gallery 250)