Bad Boy of British Art to Show in Philly

If you're in the Philly art scene, you may have heard of Lenny Campello, our newest writer, before. Maybe you're familiar with his criticism. Maybe you rely on his blog for all your Mid-Atlantic art news. Or maybe you haven't heard of him. But you will now, because we've brought him on to cover all things fine arts in the Philadelphia area. Welcome, Lenny!

Remember Damien Hirst?

He's the bad boy of British art whose shark in a tank of formaldehyde (official title The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living) made news all over the world back in 1991, and by 2006 it was $8 million dollars worth of rotting fish?

Hirst is the same guy who holds the record for the most expensive work of art sold by a living artist—a life size cast of a human skull in platinum and covered by 8,601 diamonds. Last year it sold for $100 million dollars.

That skull is safely tucked away in some vault somewhere, but another of Hirst's skull sculptures will make its Philly debut this Friday as part of an eagerly awaited group show at Wexler Gallery.

Curated by Sienna Freeman, who is the Associate Director of the Wexler Gallery, the exhibition is titled (In)Between and is based loosely on the idea of Vanitas—the 16th century Dutch still-life paintings that celebrate life’s pains and pleasures while also commenting on their eventual loss.

In addition to a couple of Damien Hirst's sculptures, the exhibition will also feature work by Randall Sellers, Adelaide Paul, Tim Tate, Anne Siems, Dirk Staschke and Joe Boruchow.

An opening reception, free and open to the public, will take place on May 2nd from 5-8PM as part of the First Friday gallery openings.

The show runs through June 28, 2008.

(In)Between
Wexler Gallery (205 N. 3rd St.)
Opening reception: Fri, 5/2/08, 5PM-8PM
Show: Fri, 5/2/08 - Sat, 6/28/08
Free

Image courtesy of Wexler Gallery