< < arts & new media

Symbiosis | Visions of Light

January 16 - March 13

Symbiosis | Visions of Light is a multisensory exploration that invites viewers to engage in a deep philosophical inquiry into the interconnectedness of the natural world and human civilization. Through a diverse range of media—including acrylic painting, digital montage, original music composition, animated film, mixed-media collage, and assemblage—Artist, Jon Krasner, blends themes of mathematics in nature, spiritual healing, and the complexities of human-made environments. This thought-provoking exhibition serves as both an aesthetic and intellectual invitation to reflect on the profound connections that shape our existence in the world around us.

Exhibition Dates: January 16-March 13, 2025

Opening Reception: Thursday, January 16, 5:00-6:00 PM

Artist Statement

My mixed media assemblages, titled “Coastal Relics,” began in the summer of 1995 while I was residing in Narragansett, Rhode Island. These dynamic artworks utilize found coastal materials to capture the breathtaking beauty of the ever-changing shoreline and naturally wind-swept surfaces, contrasting with the vibrant artificial colors of kayaks and rescue gear. The tactile nature of materials like driftwood, shells, lobster traps, fishing gear, and vegetation offers a refreshing alternative to the sterile environment of a computer lab.

My digitally-based montages are designed to compare the formal beauty of natural and human-made subjects, expressing humanity's quest for a rational, mathematical order in understanding meaning.

The third component of Visions of Light will showcase an animated film accompanied by original music, creating an immersive experience that explores themes of mathematics in nature, spiritual healing, and Judaic theology and culture.

Jon Krasner | Artist

Artist Bio

Jon Krasner grew up in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts and completed his undergraduate studies in art at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. He earned a Master of Fine Arts in painting from Pratt Institute in 1990, followed by a second MFA in graphic design from Boston University in 1994, specializing in digital media and motion graphics.

Krasner’s multidisciplinary practice spans painting, digital imaging, animation, and musical composition, blending these fields in both his work and teaching. Since 1999, he has coordinated the graphic design program at Fitchburg State University, where he developed courses in Motion Graphics, Interface Design, and the History of Graphic Design. He also teaches Drawing and Modern Art and has lectured at institutions including Ringling College of Art + Design, the University of Notre Dame, and Trinity College in Dublin, among others.

In 2021, Krasner delivered the Harrod Lecture, "Pure Perception: Raising Aesthetic Awareness," which explored the intersection of abstract art, music, and aesthetic experience. As an author, he has written textbooks on motion design, offering historical and critical insights, with contributions from global designers. His books are used in academic institutions worldwide, including NYU, Pratt Institute, and the University of Hong Kong.

Currently based outside Providence, RI, Krasner is preparing for an upcoming exhibition and live performance at the Jean McDonough Center for The Arts in Worcester, MA.

Connections to Mathematics

Jon Krasner, an artist known for his exploration of geometric abstraction and non-representational forms, examines the intersection of art and mathematical principles through various movements and artists. The Dutch De Stijl movement, led by figures like Piet Mondrian and Theo van Doesburg, sought harmony and order through geometric abstraction, aiming to eliminate illusionistic depth and reduce art to pure geometric forms like straight lines, right angles, and primary colors. This radical simplification, rooted in mathematical concepts, focused on balance, proportion, and symmetry as a way to transcend the chaos of the world.

In the 1940s, Abstract Expressionism emerged, pushing boundaries by rejecting traditional forms of representation in favor of raw, spontaneous expression. Jackson Pollock's "drip paintings," which incorporated principles of randomness and chaos theory, exemplified this approach. Pollock used unconventional tools like sticks and trowels, along with non-art materials such as sand and broken glass, to create compositions that embraced unpredictability, transforming motion, time, and space into abstract interactions.

Sculptor Louise Nevelson explored the relationship between sculpture, space, and geometry through her immersive, large-scale works made from industrial materials like plexiglass and aluminum. Her use of geometric shapes and a limited color palette (often black, white, or gold) created visually striking sculptures that evoked both the natural world and urban environments, emphasizing structure, proportion, and spatial harmony in a manner that aligned with mathematical and architectural sensibilities.

In the early 20th century, graphic designers in movements like the Vienna Secession and Russian Constructivism integrated geometric abstraction to create visually impactful posters and compositions. Using grids and precise measurements, they reflected the modernist belief in abstraction's ability to communicate complex ideas with clarity and efficiency, grounded in mathematical proportions.

The Digital Age brought new ways to explore abstraction in graphic design, with designers like David Carson experimenting with fragmented, digital imagery. Carson’s work, which often juxtaposed irregular typography with distorted or out-of-focus images, questioned traditional forms of communication and examined the mathematical relationships between form, space, and perception in the digital realm.

Today, contemporary graphic designers continue to use abstract and non-representational elements to provoke thought and challenge traditional notions of meaning. Whether through geometric grids, digital manipulation, or the deliberate obscuring of traditional representation, these designers embrace the legacy of mathematical abstraction, creating works that invite viewers to reconsider the relationship between form, space, and meaning.

In sum, the connection between art and math is a continuous thread that runs through diverse artistic movements, from the geometric rigor of De Stijl to the spontaneous chaos of Abstract Expressionism, the spatial geometry of Louise Nevelson’s sculptures, the structured designs of early 20th-century graphic designers, and the experimental work of contemporary digital artists. Each of these approaches demonstrates how abstract, mathematical principles continue to shape visual art, design, and communication, in both structured and unpredictable ways.

animated film

Community Hours

The public is welcome to join us at SCH's Barbara Crawford Galley on the following dates:

Thursday, January 16 | 5:00-6:00 PM (Exhibition Opening Reception)
Friday, February 7 | 3:00-4:00 PM
Friday, March 7 | 3:00-4:00 PM

Location: The Crawford Gallery (#16 on the campus map) is located steps from the historic Wissahickon Inn courtyard at 500 W. Willow Grove Avenue. You may find street parking on Willow Grove or park in the nearby Stadium Lot.

Atonal Study With Sea Urchin by Jon Krasner

Gallery Guide

PREVIOUS EXHIBITIONS AND HAPPENINGS

at SCH's Barbara Crawford Gallery

Visions of the Wissahickon (Fall 2024)

Exhibition Explanation

The 2024 Fall Barbara Crawford Gallery Exhibition: Visions of the Wissahickon: Art Inspired by the Wissahickon Valley will include works by artists who call the Wissahickon Valley home. Curator, Judy McCabe Jarvis '77, and Assistant Curator, Aimee Rush King, will showcase the beauty of the Wissahickon Valley, highlighting the landscape, historic structures, and scenic views. Springside Chestnut Hill Academy will make curricular ties to the exhibition with a focus on the environmental and historical significance of the Wissahickon Valley and watershed. By fostering a deeper understanding of and reverence for local natural resources, this exhibition aspires to cultivate a community dedicated to their preservation.

On display at SCH: September 5, 2024 – December 3, 2024

Artists Include:

Springside Alumnae

Pamela Bussey '75
Maggie Hodges ‘79
Patricia Ingersoll '66
Judy McCabe Jarvis ‘77
Kathryn Lynch ‘79
Trudi Green Smith '86

CHA Alumni

Joe Castle ‘79
Cort Morgan '76

SCH Parents

Carrie Blivice P’26, P’29
Anna Chandra P’37
Chris Ward P’10, P’12

Artists from the Larger Community

Lara Cantu-Hertzler
Paul DuSold
Nancy Granda
Mary Jarvis
Douglas Martenson
Robert Porter
Jack Ramsdale
Monique Sarkessian
Eric Spaeth
Radhika Srinivas

Artwork includes sculpture, paintings, photographs, and mixed media pieces showcasing the landscape, historic structures, and scenic views of the Wissahickon Valley and watershed. We hope this show encourages a new generation of artists and conservationists by showing the Wissahickon through the eyes of accomplished artists.

Curator Statement

Artist Joe Castle, Relationship Series 4

Curator Statement

The 2024 Fall Barbara Crawford Gallery Show: Visions of the Wissahickon: Art Inspired by the Wissahickon Valley is part of a celebration of the centennial of Friends of the Wissahickon, an organization founded in 1924 to conserve the natural beauty and wildness of the Wissahickon Valley.

The show is comprised of a collection of artwork from multiple artists, carefully chosen to reflect the beauty of the Wissahickon Valley Park. The park‘s jagged topography boasts of creeks, schist, walls, and bridges that transform throughout the year with the changing seasons. I was inspired to organize a show focused on the Wissahickon while reflecting on a speech by the Reverend Russell Conwell, the founder and first president of Temple University. In the speech, Conwell exhorted his listeners to find fame and fortune where they were, rather than look far afield, famously concluding his speech, “Your diamonds are not in far distant mountains or in yonder seas; they are in your own backyard, if you but dig.”

As I reflected on his words in recent years, I saw them in a new light. I had searched the world for great scenes to paint, largely ignoring the beauty in my (and SCH’s!) own backyard—the Wissahickon Valley. I realized that Wissahickon Valley Park‘s 1800 acres and 50 miles of trails were her diamonds—the beauty of which will be on display in the works of these selected artists.

Judy McCabe Jarvis '77 | Exhibition Curator

Educational Planning

SCH Educational Planning with Visions of the Wissahickon

Educational planning includes connections into the visual arts, sciences, Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, and English curricula with connections to community partnerships and Friends of the Wissahickon. In addition, special events for each division and the SCH community are noted below.

Community Engagement & Service

planting volunteer day with friends of the Wissahickon

Date: October 5, 2024 | 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

The Barbara Crawford Gallery is proud to partner this exhibit with the Friends of the Wissahickon as they celebrate their 100th year of stewardship! We hope you will consider joining us for this partnership days that honor this anniversary.

gallery is open to the public on these dates:

Friday, November 8: Community Hours, 3:00 - 5:00 PM
- Gallery talk with artist Chris Ward P'10, P'12
Friday, November 15: Community Reception, 3:00 - 6:00 PM
- Gallery talk with Tish Ingersoll ’66 & Doug Martenson

Lower School

Curator Connection with Lower School Student Artists

Overview: SCH Lower School student artists will join Visions of the Wissahickon assistant curator, Aimee Rush King, in the Barbara Crawford Gallery for stories inspired by nature, while surrounded by the beautiful, exhibition artwork. The reading will be followed by a gallery talk connecting to the goal of the exhibition and thinking about our responsibility as neighbors to care for the Wissahickon.

Location: Barbara Crawford Gallery | Upper School campus

Dates: October, 2 & October 4, 2024

Visions of the Wissahickon special assemblies with Lower School

Dates: November 13 & 14, 2024

Photography Workshops with artist,
Anna Chandra P’37

Overview: The third grade student artists will join artist, Anna Chandra, on SCH's campus and the Wissahickon trails. The artist will focus on various camera skills and composition, and reference personal examples of Wissahickon-inspired work.

Location: SCH Lower School Amphitheater & Wissahickon Trail

Date: October 21, 2024

Middle School

Curator Workshops with Student Artists

Overview: The fifth grade student artists will join Visions of the Wissahickon curator, Judy Jarvis, on SCH's campus overlooking the Wissahickon for this Plein Air Workshop set to celebrate the beauty of the Wissahickon Valley and inspire their artwork. The curator will demonstrate watercolor or oil techniques, reference personal examples of Wissahickon-inspired work, and encourage student expression.

Location: SCH Lower School Amphitheater

Dates: September 16-19, 2024

CEL6 Social Impact Project for
Friends of the Wissahickon

Overview: First trimester community partner (FOW) will be a case study for their work looking at community engagement & strategies for positive community change.

Gallery Talk with Paul Hines Middle School
Eco Club

Overview: SCH's Middle School Eco Club will join Paul Hines in the Barbara Crawford Gallery to learn about the historical significance of the Wissahickon Valley.

Location: Barbara Crawford Gallery

Date: October 8, 2024

Visions of the Wissahickon special assembly with Middle School

Date: October 9, 2024

Upper School

Gallery Talk with Paul Hines Upper School
biology

Overview: SCH's Upper School biology will join Paul Hines in the Barbara Crawford Gallery to learn about the historical significance of the Wissahickon Valley.

Location: Barbara Crawford Gallery

Date: September 16, 2024

gallery talk with George mcneely

Overview: George McNeely will present his lecture, The Wissahickon Valley: Nature Recreated, to SCH's Upper School biology students. The lecture focuses on the Wissahickon from its pre-European state through Industrialization.

Location: Barbara Crawford Gallery

Date: TBA

Gallery Talk with Local Artist and SCH Employee Mat Shetler

Reflections & Inspirations

Overview: Nature has a way of creating art without any influence and it also has a way of simply creating work. Mat Shetler will talk with students about his work and Upper Schoolers will reflect on work in the gallery through this lens.

Location: Upper School

Date: TBA

Exhibition Explanation

Perspective on the Past brings together over 20 paintings, prints, photographs, mixed media works, and sculptures by 14 internationally recognized artists of African descent that address defining moments and concepts in American history. Focusing on historical figures and events as well as cultural memories from familial and ancestral pasts, the work in this exhibition expands the limits of what has conventionally been labeled as “American history” by reconsidering familiar moments in the nation’s past and introducing lesser-known narratives. All selections are drawn from the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art whose mission is to “bring focus to the full range of African American visual creativity and its essential place in the history and discourse of American art.”

Educational programming includes assemblies with the guest curator, Susanna Gold, and workshops with Class of 1957 Resident Artist, Tawny Chatmon, as well as connections to the Arts, History, Language, AEIOU & Pollyanna curricula. Our gallery will not only host this powerful work but it will become a dynamic space for gallery talks for the SCH and larger community during SCH's MLK Jr. Morning of Service.

On View at SCH: January 11 - March 8, 2024

To learn more about the artists and works on display in this show, please refer to the Perspective on the Past Gallery Guide.

Prespective on the Past exhibition video

Jacob Lawrence, 1975

Jacob Lawrence Confrontation at the Bridge, 1975

Curator Statement

Susanna Gold has been active as an independent curator, scholar, and educator in the Philadelphia area for over 20 years. She served on the Art History faculty at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art for nearly a decade and has also taught at the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned her Ph.D. She has curated academic and community-based exhibitions for institutions such as Woodmere Art Museum, InLiquid, Drexel University’s Leonard Pearlstein Gallery, and Temple University's Tyler School of Art, and has curated several contemporary exhibitions at Unique Photo, Main Line Art Center, NoBA Artspaces, and Massey Klein Gallery in New York. She has published widely, presented papers, and delivered lectures at professional conferences and museums internationally, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Barnes Foundation, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Any questions can be directed to Susanna Gold at susanna@susannaWgold.com or 610-368-6927.

The Other Life: Faculty Art Show (fall 2023)

Fall Faculty Show Explanation
Exhibition Slideshow

Fall Faculty Show Explanation

The SCH Arts Department was proud to present the Fall Faculty Show: The Other Life. This exhibition displays works by 10 of SCH’s active faculty artists in a time and space that is both connected to and separate from their teaching practice. Through their work, they find their own unique space and medium to decompress, reflect, create, and rejuvenate which, as a result, gives a boost of authenticity to their teaching practice.

When they were art students, they wanted to know their teachers' creative work, what they thought, and what their working process was. They wanted to experience their teacher’s work as artists or their “other life.” Curator Daniel Brewer says, ”Our hope is that this exhibition can offer SCH students an opportunity to connect with us through our visual work and communicate in ways that words cannot express.”

Opening reception was Thursday, October 5, 5:00 - 6:30 PM. To schedule a visit to the gallery, please reach out to Director of Arts Megan Monaghan (mmonaghan@sch.org) or Barbara Crawford Gallery Liaison Heidi Painter (heidi.painter@sch.org).

On View at SCH: Thursday, October 5 - Friday, December 8, 2023

Work by Judy Callas, Middle School Art Faculty

Judy Callas, MS art faculty, painting for Faculty Art Show

Exhibition Slideshow

MARK MY WORDS: Dawn Kramlich (spring 2023)

Mark my words: VISUAL/VERBAL TRANSLATIONS OF POWER

Dawn Kramlich: Mark My Words, Resistance Persistence It Takes Us to Make You

“There are few, if any, things more powerful and political than language,” says local artist Dawn Kramlich. We are pleased to announce the Barbara Crawford Gallery spring Art Show: Mark My Words, which features Kramlich’s work using various 2-D and 3-D media, including encaustic paintings (a technique in which pigments are mixed with hot liquid wax), and laser-cut matboard installations.

What happens when artwork is both a painting and a poem? Or, when a poem is also an occupant of three-dimensional space? Kramlich, fascinated with the text+image relationship, centers her work on these questions due to “our existence in a society that barrages individuals with memes, ads, and digital conversations.” As a member of the millennial generation, she is keenly aware of—and influenced by—societal interpersonal shifts due to computer-mediated communication, and through her lens as a LGBTQ+ American woman, she often uses common phrases in her work to challenge or analyze power dynamics in society.

On View at SCH: February 9 - March 24, 2023

Exhibition video

Dawn and her work

Dawn Kramlich, Philadelphia Artist and featured at SCH's Barbara Crawford Gallery

Questions?

Artwork inquiries can be directed to Dawn Kramlich at dawnkramlich@gmail.com.

Dawn Kramlich: Mark My Words, Minds' Forge

Dawn Teaches SCH Students

Chronic Creativity: Jessie Jane Lewis (2022-2023)

ART + ACTIVISM BY JESSIE JANE LEWIS

Jessie Jane Lewis (1947 - 2011) was an artist and disability rights activist who graduated from Springside School in 1965. Growing up she loved surfing, skateboarding, and adventure. After receiving degrees from the former Philadelphia College of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts she worked in painting, printmaking, and performance art. She created profound video work focusing on artists with disabilities, the challenges they live with, and how they persevere to maintain their practice. She was a member of the board of trustees at the Woodmere Art Museum and worked as an art therapist for more than 20 years. She’s most well known for her work as an activist for people with disabilities. In the late 1990s, Ms. Lewis created the Voter Accessibility Reform Initiative. After many years of work, she convinced the city to honor the rights of disabled Philadelphians to vote at accessible polling places on machines that can accommodate those in wheelchairs, people who are blind or with low vision, and people who are deaf or hearing impaired.

On View at SCH: October 13, 2022 - January 26, 2023

Exhibition Summary

Jessie Jane Lewis protesting in wheelchair in Philadelphia

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Jessie Jane Lewis was an Artist and Disability Rights Activist. Her artistic practice was grand, encompassing painting, printmaking, illustration, and video performance. Her work was widely shown in Philadelphia and beyond including being accepted to the Whitney Biennial in 1994. In addition to her practice, she was a Recreational Therapist at Montgomery Hospital specializing in the elderly population. One of her goals as a counselor was to teach those who become disabled to live a productive lifestyle. She died from the effects of Multiple Sclerosis after living with, working with, and challenging it for more than half of her life.

Ms. Lewis is best known for her Art and Activism, fighting for the rights of Disabled Americans to vote at accessible polling places on accessible voting machines. She is the reason that every polling location in the City of Philadelphia is accessible to all people with disabilities and every voting machine can accommodate those in wheelchairs, people who are blind or with low vision and people who are deaf or hearing impaired.

All of the work in this exhibition documents her journey, and the journey of her body after MS began to claim her sight, her legs, her muscles, but never her spirit. In her own words Lewis stated that she became a part of a minority that any of us can join in an instant. She examined this vulnerability and created work that was self-referential focusing on limitations and barriers.

Programming and workshops will include a student art making project that will take place in the gallery based on a body of work by Ms. Lewis, special guests will be invited to speak to students about Voters Rights and Accessibility, video screenings for the school community and special alumni events.

Any questions can be directed to curator Melissa Haims at inquiry@mmhaims.com.

Student Plate Project

Sam Feinstein (2020-2021)

Sam Feinstein: The Early Years

Run Dates: 2020-2021

Sam Feinstein: The Early Years was an exhibition at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy that was on display from September 26, 2020 to Spring 2021 in conjunction with Group ’55, Midcentury Abstraction in Philadelphia, and Sam Feinstein: Immersive Abstraction at the Woodmere Art Museum.

Painter, illustrator, filmmaker, and writer, Sam Feinstein was the Director of the Arts and taught at Chestnut Hill Academy from 1938-1942. The exhibition will feature his watercolors, oil paintings, and illustrations from the 1930s until the mid-1950s, showing his journey towards abstract expressionism—including the movie, Hans Hofmann, where Sam clearly explains Hofmann's artistic philosophy by capturing the artist immersed in the act of painting The Window, 1950. Weekend art classes and opportunities to view both exhibits will be available.

This exhibition was made possible through the Samuel L. Feinstein Trust.

our sincerest gratitude

This exhibition could not be made possible without the generous support, mentorship and generosity of Patricia Stark Feinstein and the Samuel L. Feinstein Trust. She shared stories, a wealth of information, archival photos, films, research, and guided us in choosing materials and canvases for the exhibit.

Thank you to the Chestnut Hill Academy and Springside School alumni who passionately shared their stories of Barbara Crawford and Sam Feinstein with us: John Wenzel ‘41, Theodore Clattenberg ‘59, Thorpe Feidt ‘59, Bonnie Warwick ‘61, Binney Meigs ‘72, and Lewis Tanner Moore '71.

We extend our thanks to Sascha Feinstein who generously contributed an essay on his father for our catalogue. Thank you also to Ellen Fishman (P ‘11, ‘15), current Director of the Arts and New Media at SCH, for spearheading this venture; Melissa Maddonni Haims (P ‘21), parent volunteer and curator of the arts at SCH; Pia Druggan (P ‘17), art historian and assistant curator for this show.

View the Feinstein catalogue

The Legacy of Feinstein at SCH

The journey that led to this exhibition began in the Fall of 2018, when Patricia Stark Feinstein approached the school and generously offered to loan SCH a canvas by her late husband Sam Feinstein. Tasked with selecting an original Sam Feinstein piece, Ellen Fishman, Melissa Maddonni Haims and Pia Druggan set off to meet Pat at an arts storing facility in New York City. Surrounded by a vast collection of spectacular art from this first-generation abstract expressionist artist in America, Pat shared stories of Sam, his life, his years at Chestnut Hill Academy (CHA), the boys school at the time, and his marriage to Barbara Anne Crawford, who took over Sam’s role at CHA in 1942 and taught there for almost 50 years. On that fortuitous day, the Woodmere Art Museum team led by William Valerio was also present, and the idea of collaborating in a joint exhibition was discussed.

The Sam L. Feinstein Trust generously loaned us three beautiful and breathtaking abstract canvases, along with some of Sam's early figurative works, that currently adorn the walls of the McCausland Lower School at SCH. When one walks into the main entrance of the building, both Starry Night and Opposing Elements capture the eye of the observer with their bright colors of swirling blue, red and yellow hues. Upstairs in the Doran Hall, you cannot help but be mesmerized and immersed into the explosion of colors and light coming from the canvas Untitled, 1990-2002.

Patricia Stark Feinstein Comes to SCH

in the sch ARTS curriculum

In the Fall of 2019, Pat Feinstein spent the day with students of all ages and introduced them to Sam Feinstein's work. The students were energized by her stories about Sam and her insight into ways to “see” these abstract works of art. Students were also introduced to Sam’s earlier figurative work and they lined up for questions at the end of each session.

ARTS & NEW MEDIA ProgramS

Music, performing arts, visual arts, and new media—SCH provides an extensive and ever-growing list of creative opportunities throughout all divisions. Beginning with Pre-K, students are taught skills woven around artistic principles, concepts, and habits that grow in complexity from year to year.

Learn more about
OUR Arts & New Media OFFERINGS.

Interested
iN A PERSONAL TOUR?

Visit SCH's Barbara Crawford Gallery with a member of the SCH Arts Department.

The gallery is open to the public by appointment only. Note: tours will take place when school is not in session.

Questions? Email our Director of Arts, Megan Monaghan, at mmonaghan@sch.org

< < arts & new media

Symbiosis | Visions of Light

January 16 - March 13

Artist Statement

Community Hours

PREVIOUS EXHIBITIONS AND HAPPENINGS

at SCH's Barbara Crawford Gallery

ARTS & NEW MEDIA ProgramS

Interested iN A PERSONAL TOUR?

Interested
iN A PERSONAL TOUR?