Mixed Company in Philadelphia Metro  
  WEEKEND, DECEMBER7-9,2001  

 in local galleries
Pop art lives on in Philly
         

Contrary to popular belief, Pop Art didn't die in 1987 with Andy Warhol.

  Jenie Moore's painting   John Stango's painting
   
   
   
     
     
     

It has bravely sojourned on. with Philadelphia a hotbed of the form and the center at Mixed Company. 60 N. Third St., featuring a roster of exceptional talent who updates the form for the new millennium.

Jenie Moore grew up in Philadelphia, graduated from Tyler School of Art, Temple University, then relocated to Manhattan. Though she shows all over the world, Mixed Company is her sen-timental favorite. It's also a place where she can show her more inti-mate sized work, since much of what she does amounts to murals.

Moore's paintings range far and wide in subject and theme, though what she shows at Mixed Company is always tightly focused. Taking a cue from stock advertis-ing imagery, she then adds her own visual impression of what Madison Avenue means to her. Other work includes mockups of pulp magazines of the 1940s.

A New Englander who earned his art degree from Beaver College (now Arcadia University), Jeff Schaller liked Philadelphia so much he stayed. He also exhibits across America,

   
   
   
   
   
 

The work of Philly native Jenie Moore, left, is part of the exhibit at Mixed Company in Philadelphia. Philly native John Stango's work is also on exhibit at the gallery.

 
       
 

but finds Mixed Company a perfect fit. He's won many awards for his art, including this year's first place in Mixed Media at the Rittenhouse Square Fine Arts Show.

His mixed-media work is hardly run of the mill, as it mixes silkscreen with encaustic, a process that combines pigment with molten beeswax, a technique that is millennia old. Schaller is also an accomplished muralist. Another Philadelphia specialty, and he recently adorned a wall in scenic Ken nett Square.

Chances are good that you've seen John Stango's work someplace, because his paintings are all over the city. Philadelphia born and bred, he's a Tyler grad who found his hometown the place to be, especially since he was featured in his first solo show here at a mere 19.

 

Now, he exhibits internationally, from Japan to France, but is most comfortable at Mixed Company. He paints in a number of modes and works in silkscreen as well. However, his patriotic Americana, which features flags and eagles and has always been a large part of his output, is more in demand than ever before.

This trio barely scratches the surface of who's on view here. Cool photography, funky mosaics and plenty more paintings can be found as well. Plus new artists - and just Populists - are always being exhibited.

Oh, and Mixed Company also maintains a Cocktail Nation ambi-ence for that authentic atmos-phere of Camelot. R.B. STRAUSS