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A CLEANER HEART A DO IT

Jun 05 — Jul 31, 2008

Featuring work by: Bill Walton, Matthew Rich, Jennifer Levonian, Casey Watson

Thursday June 5th, 6-8pm, marks the public opening of A CLEANER HEART A DO IT at Fleisher/Ollman Gallery. The concept is woozily lifted from a milennial morsel of one drop reggae by Anthony B, and the exhibition hopes to describe two halves of an excellent artistic soul, offering undidactic instruction and a modest proposal or two. The artist exemplars in this show are Jennifer Levonian, Matthew Rich, Bill Walton and Casey Watson.

The 'clean heart' is the stability and clarity of existence that results from the casting out of cynicism, paranoia, elitism, vindictiveness and jealousy from one's time in the studio. The 'do it' is industry, plain and simple, the evidence of unfakeable hours of labor in the studio, every day. Taken as a single spoken phrase, 'A cleaner heart will do it' sounds like super sound advice.

The works in the show range from poetic pieces in the language of minimalism or mathematics, ludic investigations of illusionistic visual effects and illuminated warmth, happiness achieved through lushness as well as dryness, and nostalgia both specific and nebulous. Media include sculpture, painting, collage and animation. A CLEANER HEART A DO IT wanders between wonky and euphoric, and the artists, wildly different in many ways, are jumbled together in harmony and unity. Refer to the gallery website, or contact us, for further information about the artists and images of exhibited works.

Fleisher/Ollman Gallery's summer hours are Monday-Friday, 10.30-5.30, and we will be open by appointment in August. The 2008-2009 gallery program will start in October with a complimentary exhibition to the James Castle retrospective at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, juxtaposing Castle's work with modern and contemporary American masters, and placing him among them.

We look forward to seeing you at the opening tomorrow. It is William Pym's last curation as gallery Director, and promises to be a fine summer fête. All fans will receive an exclusive John Ollman MVP bobble figurine, while supplies last.

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