September 15 - October 10
Splendor and Safety Pins
Public Reception: Saturday, September 19th: 6-9pm
Free and open to the public.
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Box Heart Gallery is proud to present "Splendor and Safety Pins", a series of faux portrait oil paintings by artist Arabella Proffer. Having her work labeled everything between Pop Surrealism and Neo-Realism, the common narratives and emotions that run through Proffer's portraiture series are ones of romance and rebellion.
Channeling costume history of the Renaissance through the Georgian period, each highly detailed painting is Proffer's depiction of old world aristocratic decadence; these mannerist gothic and punk portraits of imaginary nobility explore the roles that beauty, vanity, entitlement and virtue play in shaping aesthetic outcomes. Concerned with identity, first impressions, and the ideas and representations of counter-culture and tradition, each piece explores how piercing, tattoos, and punk rock style might have been adopted by aristocrats and social elites as part of their decoration for serious portraits to be left as a reminder of their legacy.
While each portrait is a product of imagination -- most depicted as ambitious women in pursuit of perfection, and the doomed men who adore them -- the original biographies created by Proffer lend a surreal authenticity. Besides creating biographies and researching costumes, Proffer's artistic process also involves creating a family tree and homeland map for each portrait, connecting one relation to another.
Arabella Proffer is a Cleveland based painter, illustrator and co-founder of the indie label Elephant Stone Records. She received her BFA from California Institute of the Arts and has participated in solo and group exhibitions throughout North America and Europe.
Meet Arabella at the public reception of "Splendor and Safety Pins" on Saturday, September 19th from 6 - 9pm. It is free and open to the public!
View Available Work! View Exhibition Images!
LITTLE ITALY DAYS!
September 25, 26,and 27, 2009
For three days in Bloomfield it's All-Italian-all-the-time. Expect lots
of music, food, games, more food and other fun activities amidst
Bloomfield's unique shops and fine restaurants.
The festival attracts over 20,000 people from all over the region. In
2004 "Little Italy Days" won the Mainstreets Pittsburgh "Special
Events" Award and in 2008 received first place in the statewide "Townie
Awards."
Produced by the Bloomfield Business Association, this event helps to
nurture Bloomfield's "Little Italy" identity and to encourage people to
live, work, shop, and play here!
@ Box Heart Gallery during "Little Italy Days"
The Peaceful Countryside: Scenes of Todi and Barga, Italy
Original Watercolors and Pastels by Patricia Young
Pittsburgh watercolor and pastel artist, Patricia Young, magnificently
captures the beauty of the picturesque, medieval hill town Todi, Italy
and the timeless beauty of ancient gem Barga, Italy.
Stop in to Box Heart Gallery during Bloomfield's "Little Italy Days"
for a walk through the Italian countryside. We are free and open to the
public!
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 4523 Liberty Avenue Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15224
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