Walk Sign is On

Bridgette Mayer Gallery is excited to announce its fifth solo exhibition with contemporary painter Tim McFarlane, and its first solo exhibition since the gallery re-opened to the public in June 2021. Walk Sign is On will be on view from Tuesday, August 31 to Saturday, October 23, 2021, with extended hours and an artist reception on Friday, September 10 from 5:00 to 7:00pm. The exhibition will feature all new paintings by McFarlane, including two special installations: one in the gallerys Vault Space, and one on the North wall of the gallery.
These works are the latest in an evolving body of paintings that McFarlane has developed throughout 2020 and 2021, which are inspired by his observations of and responses to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, concurrent political and social crises, and the ways that life has changed in recent years, in both large and small ways. His work is also informed by recent observations on what it means to be a human being and an artist in the current world, particularly being a Black man making non-objective work today. McFarlane states:
Futures: unknown, uncertain but formable, are where the title of this exhibition comes in. Walk Sign Is On was etched in my mind this summer as I worked on a mural on the northern edge of Philadelphias Chinatown neighborhood at the intersection of 10th and Callowhill Streets. The phrase was repeated every few seconds as the robotic voice of the traffic signal urged pedestrians to cross the street. At first, I did my most to pay it no mind, but was ever present, stubbornly insistent on barging in. However, in working on the mural, preparing for this show and making my way through the vagaries of the new normal, the phrase took on more complex meanings. While the future is unknown, we always have the choice to affect what that future can look like. The walk sign is on, there is permission to move forward. How we choose to do so is what we must reckon with.
Learn more on Bridgette Mayer Gallerys website
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Tim McFarlane
is a visual artist based in Philadelphia, PA, whose works examine the fluid and contradictory nature of memory and place, with an emphasis on color, multi-layered systems and process. Much of his work is informed by everyday observations of the visual impact of human activity on the built environments of his native Philadelphia and elsewhere. While most of his output focuses on painting, McFarlanes practice also includes printmaking, photography, digital art and site-specific installations.
Tim is a 1994 Temple University/Tyler School of Art graduate who has exhibited his work extensively in the U.S. and has been featured in major art fairs in New York, Miami, Dallas and San Francisco. His academic life has included being a visiting artist/lecturer and artist in residence at the elementary school through college levels, as well as teaching briefly at the Tyler School of Art & Architecture. Tim McFarlanes paintings and works on paper reside in numerous private and public collections such as Bucknell University, Fox School of Business (Temple University) and West Virginia University. His work is represented by the Bridgette Mayer Gallery in Philadelphia, PA and ParisTexas LA in Los Angeles, CA.
On September 10, there will be extended gallery hours from 5:00 to 7:00pm and an artist reception at Bridgette Mayer Gallery. In partnership with Mural Arts Philadelphia, there will also be a dedication ceremony for Tims new mural Bound Together at 10th and Callowhill Streets from 4:00 to 5:00pm. Speakers will include Mural Arts Founder Jane Golden, a City Council Representative, and Tim McFarlane.