Rodger Lapelle Galleries

One of the «best» galleries we visited during «First Friday» in April. Visiting friends in Philadelphia, they took me gallery walking when I arrived. Even on a rainy day, they galleries in the Old City were quite busy, and we managed to visit a handful before we had dinner in the area.
The entrance walls were covered with beautiful portraits this Friday. The characters capture your eye immediately, and it is something about them that make you stop and have a closer look. Although you don’t the people in the portraits, it is still something familiar about them; you have the feeling you have met them before. Without particular art knowledge, I am impressed with the use of the brushes in these paintings; it really adds an element.
Further in to the gallery, you find a variety of pictures, representing different techniques. I found some favourites amongst the small circus paintings.

I can’t believe I’ve never gone into this gallery before! My bf and I were strolling down 3^rd street exploring the various open studios and participant galleries for Design Philadelphia when I noticed the open gallery door. We wandered in and immediately were intrigued by their current show of artist Nick D’Angelo’s work. His work was humorous and nostalgic and quite broadly appealing, and the pricing was what I would expect given the quality. We were really interested in a few pieces, but they were either waaaay out of our price range or had already been purchased. *sigh* Maybe someday…
The space itself is very typical gallery aesthetic, white blank walls, bare floor, and all the way in back a small office that looks into the room. We’ll definitely have to return for future shows, given how eclectic the art in their back room was.

This gallery is awesome! There was a lot of art that appealed to me and some that just made me want to stare at it a little longer. The gallery itself is truly expansive with lots of nooks and crannies. I felt like just as I thought I had seen everything, there was another little room! I bet they hold some awesome receptions here.

Not your typical art gallery. walk inside and you may come across Gothic imagery, pop art that doesn’t feature celebrities that you would expect to see, and paintings that tell stories which go well beyond the norm. the oddest are perhaps it’s collection of nude imagery that features a woman among goats and other animals. you’re definitely going to see something odd every time you walk in here. But that’s what makes here a place that’s necessary to check out during your First Friday trip. It features traditional art forms that goes well beyond the traditional.