The staying power of an art gallery is always an iffy proposition. I've seen plenty come and go, so when a local gallery has not only a proven track record, but also a national rep, that bodes well for Philly. As for those brave souls who decide to make a go of it, more power to them. Two perfect examples of the veteran and the rookie are Locks Gallery, nothing less than an institution, and Mixed Company, fast on its way to becoming one, ......

Mixed Company, at 60 North 3rd Street, is the local Headquarters of Cocktail Nation, and as soon as you step one foot inside, you know you've found a home away from home- Eclectic furnishings bring you back to bygone days, and the art is as suave as it comes- This fine establishment features work by a trio well known to you since Jenie Moore, Tony LaSalle and John Stango have all been splashed across the pages of this mag in the past.

Now it's time to give a shout out to a pair of fresh Pop paragons: Kass Mencher and Jeff Schaller, Kass is a photographer who offers up funky montages that blur the boundaries of design and color. She also provides single shot photography that is a delight in how she grabs hold of an aesthetic and shakes it free of any old school blahs.

Jeff Schaller's work is the result of a process that dates back millennia. Molten wax is swathed on in thick brushstrokes: back in the day, beeswax was used. He also incorporates silkscreen, which looks like billboards slapped on billboards that have peeled away over the years. This reveals a mishmash of imagery, which is actually thematically consistent. Schaller goes for a sensory overload that explodes in color and is matched by a dynamite quotient of Cool - R-B. Strauss