January 27-29 weekend arts: Impressions of Holmesburg Prison, Henry Ossawa Tanner retrospective, construction critiques in cake

Doing Time | Depth of Surface

Opening reception, Friday, January 27, 5:30-8pm. Moore College of Art and Design, Goldie Paley Gallery, 20th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Spanish artists Patricia Gómez and María Jesús González spent weeks at the old Holmesburg Prison creating large-format impressions of textures, graffiti, paint from the cell walls, as well as recordings and photographs of the historic site. The work was commissioned by Philagrafika and creates a visual archive of the prison before it is demolished.

Henry Ossawa Tanner: Modern Spirit

Saturday, January 28, 6:30pm. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Hamilton Building, 128 North Broad Street. A retrospective on the life and work of groundbreaking African-American artist Henry O. Tanner, from his upbringing in Philadelphia through his artistic success found as an expatriate in France. Tanner was a student at PAFA from 1879-1885. The exhibition opens January 28, and runs through April 15. Adults $15, students $12, youth (13-18) $10, children free.

Jay Hardman: Unsustainable

Last day, Saturday, January 28. Space 1026, 1026 Arch Street, 2nd Floor. Philly artist Jay Hardman creates construction sites in miniature, to examine current practices in contemporary construction and their broader effects. Also, some of the works use cake as a medium. Yes, cake.

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