The Fellowship of PAFA
Fellowship Virtual Gallery
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE
PENNSYLVANNIA ACADEMY OF THE FINE ARTS
"Extended Conversations"
Selected by Paula Cahill
CAHILL
PHILLIPS
LANKIN
JUSTIN PHILLIPS
Justin Phillips earned his MFA from Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 2011
Introductions, Knowing. is a formalist exploration into the juxtaposition of processes that merge from saturation and folding of paper and intuitive mark making. These various methods work together to create subtle works that reflect moments in time captured in a multitude of ways.
Introductions, Knowing. drawings find unison within the spaces between systems and chance, hard edges and softness, and an embrace and dance of contrast in its many forms, which cultivate a nuanced and delicate balance of design and responsive improvisation.
ALAN LANKIN
Alan Lankin
My classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, taken from 1991 through 1997, helped give me the background and knowledge that enabled me to develop my voice in art.
My current body of work consists of acrylic on canvas paintings. They are abstract explorations of color and shape, line and mass, movement and balance. I begin my paintings with a plan. The original concept is just the beginning, however — I respond to what I see happening on the canvas. I work improvisationally, intuitively developing the image.
My love of color and movement, music and dance, are reflected in my painting’s shapes and lines. The finished work often reveals the history of revisions in the pentimenti of paint. My paintings embrace ambiguity and are imbued with multiple meanings.
JAY WALKER
Jay Walker, PAFA MFA, 2006
This work is from two series dealing with contrasting color and value utilizing Sol Lewitt’s polygon series as inspiration.
PAULA CAHILL
Paula Cahill
I attended The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts from 2009 until 2011 when I graduated with the Master of Fine Arts degree. I’m grateful for my time at PAFA as I became part of a rewarding community that has always been a wealth of support and learning. I continue to enjoy friendships and professional relationships with alumni and professors. This is a large and most rewarding part of my life.
During my time at PAFA, I transitioned from figure painting to large, complex abstract paintings. I have continued this practice and currently create linear abstract compositions composed of catenaries or single luminous lines that meander, change color, and seamlessly connect back to themselves. As I prepare to paint, I mix up to 100 gradients of color derived from my memories of scuba diving among tropical fish on the world’s coral reefs. By repeatedly laying down the colorful gradients one brushstroke at a time, I create radiant, light-filled lines that change color hundreds of times, reflecting a quality reminiscent of the bioluminescence that emanates from sea-life. My work is interactive, inviting the viewer to track a meandering, color-changing path.
I strive to push the historical conversation with line into the contemporary and elevate the integral role it has played in art, design, and the sciences since its early appearance in rock and cave drawings. Science, personal experience, visual semantics, and art history all inform my work. Catalysts for my most recent paintings include geometry, physics, and ocean tides.
