By: Alyssa Laverda, Assistant to the Directors and Head of Sales

Fig 1: Photo Courtesy of MuralARTS

Seraphin Gallery artist Phillip Adams has recently installed a new mural in celebration of a citywide love and favorite, The Philadelphia Eagles.  Collaborating with Jonathan Laidacker, this new public project entitled, Philadelphia Eagles Mural (fig 1&2), was installed this month at the Lincoln Financial Field.  This 17,000 square foot undertaking was developed in coordination with the MuralArtsProgram of Philadelphia, and was sponsored by our home team.  During the Fall of 2014, the Eagles invited fans and members to become part of the process of painting this work of public art.  “The design illustrated the full experience of going to an Eagles game: the anticipatory travel to the stadium, the excitement of being part of the crowd, and the thrill of the game itself.  This concept, tied together with strong Philadelphia iconography, including the Eagles stadium, Philadelphia skyline, players and fans, creates an image and project that inextricably links the Eagles with the city of Philadelphia,” states a release by the MuralArtsProgram of the City of Philadelphia.

Fig. 2: Photo Courtesy of MuralARTS

This is not the first public art project that Phillip Adams has been party to.  Adams created Ortleib’s Brewery (fig 3) last year as part of a series entitled Industrious Light-- designed to illuminate Philadelphia’s industrial history.  It is the first of many in this MuralArtsProgram series to be completed.  Adams has touched Philadelphia in many other places including SPIN (Orthodox St., 19124), Woodland Ave., 24th and Fairmount, and the concourse below City Hall among others.  His work is recognizable as being particularly imaginative, carefully composed, and beautifully detailed.  The perfect medium to reach out to the public and brighten our commutes, events, and daily life. His public work can also be seen in the cities of Trenton, Montreal, Huntingdon and across the world in Mwanza, Tanzania.

Fig. 3: Industrious Light, Ortlieb's Brewery, Photo Courtesy of the Artist

Adams is a local artist who is based in Philadelphia.  He graduated with an MFA from the University of Pennsylvania in 2006, and in 2002 he received a BFA from the University of Georgia.  Seraphin Gallery has been representing Adams since 2010 and was last shown at the gallery in 2014 in his exhibit Peaks and Valleys. Previously, in Love at the Matterhorn, Adams exhibited not only landscapes, but portraits as well.  Former Assistant to the Directors, Jennifer Bickel, wrote, “Phillip creates a mysterious environment, with hip looking individuals concealed by their reflective aviators and hooded figures shrouded in blue camouflage, as inaccessible as the Matterhorn peak itself.  These modern portraits confront you head on, aggressive yet distant.”