In the Mix, was a contemporary group exhibition featuring works by Jasmine Alleger, Natalie Hope McDonald, and Martha Rich, with staging and showcasing by Jeremy Olsen of rareCo. In the Mix was on view from 11/5-1/21.
like bands and political movements, each series holds ways tomemorialize associated feelings and experiences; psychology and popular culture inform these aesthetically appealing works that are metaphors for the world we live in.
Her silver mylar works, for example, reflect the viewer’s own face into the art while sharing sometimes humorous, occasionally poignant and always metaphoric messages in what looks like lipstick on a mirror. Meanwhile, the sculptural works are similarly driven by symbology and secrets: using a colorful graffiti-inspired style, their stories represent all the things that can be found within one’s personal idea of home.
Jasmine Alleger is a Philadelphia-based artist originally from California. She received her bachelor’s degree in drawing and painting from Portland State University in 2010 and her Master's of Fine Art from Moore College of Art & Design in 2013. She has participated in an international artist residency at the Burren College of Art in County Clair, Ireland and worked for the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program and The Sol LeWitt Estate, and her work is included in the corporate collection at Capital One, Wilmington, DE and Park Towne Place, Philadelphia PA.
The group presented a whimsical and edgy scene that invites a humorous, warm, response to complex - and sometimes gritty - human themes. In explorations of challenge, discipline, and relief, the artists work across figurative and metaphorical images within their varying material. With a notable focus on object, a third dimension punctuates this dialogue through icon and curiosity.
Natalie Hope McDonald is a fine artist and muralist based in Philadelphia, with work that can be found in private and corporate collections around the world. She recently worked with Mural Arts and the Streets Dept. on a public art project to help get out the vote during the 2022 election, and her work is featured in the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s permanent collection. McDonald’s work varies in material, with a present throughline of subject matter: an interest in history and nostalgia, with use of symbols and codes to convey memory. Often referencing cultural touchstones
Alleger works with imagery that represents her love and appreciation for both mundane routine and curiosity, covering topics of everyday foods and furniture, travel, city living and music. Most recently she has been creating images of the members of her Muay Thai gym.
Alleger has trained at combat sports gyms from Portland Oregon to Belgrade Serbia and has experienced a true sense of love from every member, coach and gym she has visited. As the practice involves exercise in trust and respect for oneself and partner, Alleger approaches painting with the same heart full of love, respect, and discipline she has found within those who do the hard work, and commit themselves to being competitive fighters. Her featured fighter series is a love letter to those fighters who welcome artists like herself and everyday enthusiasts of the like into their sacred spaces to train.
Martha Rich is a Philadelphia-based artist working in both the commercial and fine art fields. In her words. “Drawing, painting, using words, while being absurd and funny and having a penchant for painting food is what I do”. Rich was much influenced by painters and brothers Rob and Christian Clayton, whom she took a class with: they persuaded her to pursue a career as an artist, full-time. She graduated with honors from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and got her MFA in Painting from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
Rich’s artwork has been shown in galleries throughout the U.S. as well as internationally; She has been residing in her hometown of Philadelphia and teaches classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.
A collector of unique goods and objects, Jeremy Olsen of rareCo has an eye for design and staging; he applies his skill in tandem with the visual sensibilities of McDonald, Rich, and Alleger. Olsen often collects and incorporates old signage, furniture, and smaller, sculptural objects. Olsen has staged projects for New Age Realty, InLiquid, and Paradigm Gallery here in Philadelphia.
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