Artur Silva, All Threats Came in Waves, 2024, Yoga mannequins, ghillie suits, LCD monitors, vinyl, photo by Marly Massey
December 4, 2024
Amie Potsic interviews Elaine Crivelli and Leslie Kaufman about the exhibition In Pursuit, which they curated at the National Liberty Museum in Philadelphia highlighting artists’ views on democracy.
Elaine Crivelli is an artist, educator, curator and writer. Her artwork has been exhibited internationally in England and China, throughout the United States and is currently in a traveling exhibition, Collective Concerns, that will travel to six venues across the US. Her work is in numerous collections including the Free Library of Philadelphia, The American School in England and the Addison Gallery of American Art. She taught at University of the Arts, Savannah College of Art and Design and Kutztown University, chaired two art departments; American School in London and Phillips Academy, Andover and she was a visiting artist/lecturer at venues in Italy, England, France. Her early role as gallery director at the Painted Bride Art Center in the mid-eighties led to independent curatorial projects and more recent exhibitions curated for Philadelphia Sculptors, including Shelter, 2018, DaVinci Art Alliance; Flow, 2019, co-curated with Leslie Kaufman, an international exhibition of floating sculptures at Independence Seaport Museum. Her most recent project, also co-curated with Leslie Kaufman and in collaboration with the National Liberty Museum, Philadelphia, entitled In Pursuit: Artists’ Perspectives on a Nation, ran from May 9-October 28.
Leslie Kaufman is the founder and president of Philadelphia Sculptors, a professional organization of sculptors based in Philadelphia. In that role she has organized and/or curated over 80 international, regional and local exhibitions, programs and a regional sculpture conference. She was a college counselor for 25 years at Burlington County College in Pemberton, New Jersey, where she also established and directed the Burlington County College Sculpture Garden that was in operation for 20 years. Leslie was an adjunct professor of art for 30 years and is an arts writer and producing sculptor with a long exhibition history. She recently wrote and published a children's book, Gracie: The Tale of a Very Special Sea Monster. Leslie is always interested in finding imaginative ways to see how art can be used to help provide new perspectives on social and environmental problems. She received her BA in English from Colgate University, MEd in Counseling Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University, and MFA in Visual Arts from Vermont College.
IN PURSUIT: artists’ perspectives on a nation
An exhibition presented at the National Liberty Museum in Philadelphia in 2024, curated by Elaine Crivelli and Leslie Kaufman for Philadelphia Sculptors.
Arghavan Khosravi, The Flight, 2024, Acrylic on canvas over wood panel, acrylic on shaped wood panel, golden chain, photo by Marly Massey
Angel Cabrales, The Pursuit of Happiness: A Venture in Migration, 2024, Mixed media, 3D printing, laser cut acrylic, wood, steel, lights, video, photo credit: Marly Massey
Marisa Williamson, Seedbed V, 2024,Fabric, found objects and materials, cardboard, electric lights, video This work was created in collaboration with students from U of Virginia; Grace Do, Ava Foulk, Alyssa Manalo, and Jhordawna Richa., photo by Marly Massey.
Nicholas Galanin, Neon American Anthem, Blue, 2024 Neon, Photo by Marly Massey
Anila Quayyum Agha, This is NOT a Refuge! 2019, Laser-cut and resin-coated aluminum, photo by Marly Massey
To learn more about Philadelphia Sculptors visit, https://philasculptors.org/
To learn more about In Pursuit at the National Liberty Museum visit, https://libertymuseum.org/exhibits/in-pursuit-artists-perspectives-on-a-nation/