RR Bridge #1 by Robert Sampson

Time is running out to catch the exciting Spring exhibition at the Artists’ House Gallery in Old City, Philadelphia. The gallery, located at 57 N. Second Street in the middle of America’s “most historic square mile”, features the work of outstanding painters from the greater Philadelphia area, with an emphasis on emerging artists. 

The current show prominently features the work of Robert Sampson and Patrick Crofton, both graduates of the prestigious Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Sampson says of his work 

” I look for beauty in the ordinary views of city life; scenes that go mostly unobserved. My subject is the effect of light on color, a glimpse of it on a distant wall framed by the shadow of a bridge or a car as it passes by. These brief moments of time excite me and I work to keep these moments in my paintings.” 

Patrick Crofton’s portraits and city scenes are carefully observed vignettes in oils on copper and zinc. According to Crofton, “they contain passages both softly-focused and sharp, and play with light and shade, abstraction and realism, simplification or minute detailing in the interests of achieving a fuller understanding of the subject.” 

Spring Garden by Patrick Crofton

Even if you can’t get to Philadelphia for the show, you can experience the vitality, emotion and heart of the historic city through the work of these extraordinary artists. You can see more of their work at the Artists’ House website Artists’ House.