Upcoming Guild and Guild Members Events Calendar
This calendar includes both Guild member events (individual solo exhibits, demos, workshops, etc.) and papercut art events of general interest to artists and fans. To add an event to the Calendar, email to events@papercutters.org.
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Barbara Earl Thomas: The Illuminated Body
May 5 @ 3:00 pm
Join GAP in Philadelphia on Sunday, May 5, 3pm, for a free personalized tour of this special exhibit at the Arthur Ross Gallery, 220 S 34th St, Philadelphia, on University of Pennsylvania campus. You are also invited to attend lunch at a location tbd near the gallery at 12:30pm (pay your own). The only cost is lunch. Please RSVP using this form (https://form.jotform.com/240417018450144) so that Mindy can gauge interest. Questions? Feel free to email mindysue39@gmail.com – Mindy Shapiro.
12:30 pm lunch (location tbd and near the gallery)
3:00 pm tour (Arthur Ross Gallery, 220 S 34th St.
Barbara Earl Thomas’ most recent series of portraits weave an exquisite tapestry of light and color to depict individuals illuminated in moments of creativity. Invoking the history of portraiture, Thomas’ nine large-scale cut paper pieces celebrate great Black cultural icons such as August Wilson, Seth Parker Woods, and Charles Johnson, alongside Thomas’ friends, family, and acquaintances. Set in contexts ranging from public performance to the quiet of daydreaming, they honor the creative spark in all its manifestations. Thomas describes her subjects with nuance and care, encouraging extended viewing of these vibrant and layered portraits. The portraits are presented with The Transformation Room, a luminous installation created from light and intricately cut Tyvek, which offers a moment of respite for reflection and inspiration.
The Illuminated Body is the first time the work of Barbara Earl Thomas, celebrated artist, writer, and thinker, will be seen in Philadelphia. A visual storyteller for over 40 years, Thomas draws from history, literature, folklore, mythology, and the Bible to reflect the social fabric of our times. Her narrative and figurative imagery has a deep philosophical and emotional force, leveraging the powerful imagery of light and dark. Thomas’ most recent commissions include six major stained-glass windows for Grace Hopper College at Yale University, a 33-panel commission for the façade of the Central Courthouse of Multnomah County in Portland, and a large-scale glass commission for the Judkins Park Light Rail Station in Seattle.
In addition to the exhibition, public programs organized in conjunction with Barbara Earl Thomas: The Illuminated Body include a performance of Difficult Grace featuring Seth Parker Woods, a conversation between Barbara Earl Thomas and Kemi Adeyemi, a lecture with Marisa Williamson, and a community-organized celebration.
The exhibition catalog BarbaraEarlThomas: The Illuminated Body presents the artist’s newest body of work, examining the conceptual, visual, and processual links that she makes among various media. The catalog contextualizes these artworks within Thomas’s artistic practice and in terms of her creative influences and art historical context. The catalog – which contains essays by Carolyn Swan Needell, Kemi Adeyemi, and Emily Zimmerman – is published by the Chrysler Museum of Art and distributed by the University of Washington Press.
