Candy Depew: Between Worlds
Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks
Physick House Museum
321 S. Fourth Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-627-0364
www.philalandmarks.org

October 5 - November 26, 2006

Free opening reception with the artist: October 17, 6 - 9 pm

Hours: noon - 5 pm, Thursday through Sunday, and 1 pm - 5 pm on Sundays.

Cost: Pay-as-you-wish admission during the exhibition

LANDMARKS CONTEMPORARY PROJECTS

Curated by Robert Wuilfe, this is the first-ever exhibition
of contemporary art at Physick House, the Federal-style home of Dr. Philip Syng Physick, "Father of American Surgery" and the second exhibition of the new
Landmarks Contemporary Projects program.

Through its Contemporary Projects program, Landmarks is committed to providing opportunities for artists from Philadelphia and around the world to experiment and develop new, site-specific artwork in the context of its four historic properties. For Between Worlds, Candy Depew is responding to both the abundance of French-influenced neoclassical decorative elements in the Physick House and the medical accomplishments of Dr. Physick. According to Wuilfe, "Depew is fantastically qualified to present viewers with a conversation about perceived beauty, life and the passing of time. Just as the surface splendor of the Physick House conceals a rich history of scientific advances and investigations into human life and death, so Depew's artwork offers an unexpectedly deep exploration of the fragility of materials and life that exists beneath the surface of 'beautiful' objects."

A 2002 Pew Fellow, Depew works in a variety of media including, but not limited to ceramics, printmaking, and installation art. She is fascinated by the decorative arts, and travels around the United States and Europe researching collections of decorative arts and ornamental wallpaper prints. She recently completed residencies at both the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Wisconsin and the European Keramic Work Centre in the Netherlands. As Depew has written, "My work investigates the environments created by and for collections, and represents my interest in the history of decorative arts, ornamentation, and finally, the arrangement of interior space."

"By incorporating her contemporary fabrics, sculptures, porcelain and china with our existing collections, visitors will have the opportunity to see the house a new light," says Landmarks' Executive Director Frank Vagnone, who is excitedly waiting to see Depew's artwork installed at Physick House. "We're moving past the age when historic houses can get away with simply setting up unchanging, reconstructed environments and expect them to have lasting relevance for audiences. Through Landmarks Contemporary Projects, we hope to provide an experimental atmosphere in which artists are free to create work and question basic assumptions of historical preservation. Exhibitions like Candy's project are the key to bringing in new audiences and ensuring the preservation of important sites like the Physick House for future generations."

From the display of medical instruments, to the neoclassical wallpaper influenced by Roman wall paintings, Depew is fascinated by the combination of history, science, and decorative art that is the legacy of Dr. Physick. For her, the house evokes a complex metaphor of the passage of time and the delicacy of life. "There is a thin veil between the conscious and unconscious worlds that seems even thinner and almost permeable during the fall season, which is the time of this installation for Physick House," says Depew. "This is the time of year that we can imagine the 'other side', the mirror reflection of our waking and breathing life, with relative ease. It has been said that the unconsciousness of surgery can be considered a portal between worlds, and has been, like sleep, likened to a glimpse of death."

Built in 1786, the house was purchased by Dr. Physick in 1815, who lived there until his death in 1837. One of the foremost surgeons of the time, Dr. Physick was among the few courageous doctors who remained in the city to care for the sick during the yellow fever epidemic of 1793. Among his many patients were John Adams' daughter, Dolly Madison, Dr. Benjamin Rush, and Chief Justice John Marshall. President Andrew Jackson consulted Dr. Physick about lung hemorrhages and was told to stop smoking.

Many of Physick's medical accomplishments were years ahead of his time. He pioneered use of the stomach pump, used autopsy as a regular means of observation and discovery, excelled in cataract surgery, and was responsible for the design of a number of surgical instruments and operative techniques. Dr. Physick was affiliated with America's first hospital, Pennsylvania Hospital, and was one of the most sought after medical lecturers of the 19th century.

Between Worlds is part of an exciting line-up of upcoming contemporary art exhibitions and artists' projects at Landmarks' four historic house museums: Grumblethorpe, Physick House, Powel House and Waynesborough. Some of the additional artists scheduled for 2006-2008 include former Whitney Biennial artists David Gatten and Zoe Strauss; Roxana Perez-Mendez; Caitlin Perkins; Karen Kilimnik (in partnership with the Philadelphia Institute of Contemporary Art); and Virginia Maksymowicz.