Kennett Square’s newest art scene is showcasing three edgy and exciting artists on Feb. 3
By P.J. D’Annunzio, Staff Writer, KennettTimes.com
The boldly colored figures of Admin Torres are just on of a number of local artists that will be featured at Willow on State during this Friday's Kennett Art Stroll.
KENNETT SQUARE — If you like artists talented enough to win fine-arts competitions yet hip enough to be sought after for their tattoo work, you’ll want to visit Willow on State during the First Friday Art Stroll, to be held on Feb. 3 from 5 PM to 9 PM.
In case you didn’t already know, Willow on State is the Kennett Square area’s newest art gallery and large crowds have thronged each of its First Friday fests to check out the newest in edgy, contemporary art, along with used books and vinyl albums, retro record players and cameras, and fascinating curios of all descriptions. The gallery regularly features local musicians for First Friday, along with fine food and wine, all, of course, as a courtesy to its guests.
For this upcoming First Friday, Willow will feature subtle cityscapes by Steve Martin, the boldly colored human figures of Admin Torres, and sculptures done with metal and hand-stitched glass beads by Kim Franklin.
“I look for a balance between subtle and grotesque,” Admin Torres said. Torres, whose award-winning paintings of boldly colored human figures, often with skulls, eyeballs, and muscles exposed to view, offer a vivid and uncompromising vision of the body’s vulnerability. But where a less subtle artist would lean on their shock value, Torres seems more interested in creating images that speak with a kind of pitying honesty about life—and death.
Steve Martin (he’s heard all the jokes) is an up-and-coming young artist who, like Torres, does high-end tattoo work. But he’s also accomplished in the fine arts, and the show will feature his cityscapes, composed of strong shapes in delicately muted colors.
For the metallurgist of the family, Kim Franklin’s sculptures—also highly honored in numerous other exhibitions—are appealing for their delicately dramatic forms inspired by nature, with forged metalwork in bold forms supporting an inner core created by intricately patterned and colored glass beads stitched onto hand-formed under-structures.
So if you’re in the mood for some existential enlightenment via artistic juxtaposition (or if you just want to have a fun evening) be sure to stop by Willow on State for this February’s First Friday exhibition.
Willow on State is located at 331 E. State Street, Kennett Square, PA 19348, on the corner of State and Willow streets. For more information call 484-372-0021.
