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False Alarm
April 5 @ 7:00 pm - April 18 @ 10:00 pm
Blah Blah Gallery
907 Christian St
Philadelphia,
PA
19147
United States
Press Release
“False Alarm”
Opening Reception: April 5, 7-10 PM
On View: April 5 – May 17, 2025
907 Christian Street, Philadelphia PA 19147
Blah Blah Gallery is pleased to present False Alarm, a two-person exhibition by Lee Maxey and Libby Rosa, opening Saturday, April 5, from 7-10pm at 907 Christian St.
False Alarm features new work by Lee Maxey and Libby Rosa. Their distinct artistic practices unite around the coexistence of beauty and fear in everyday life. Motifs of fire, smoke, and barriers touch on the power dynamics of these familiar icons, and revel in their theatricality.
Lee Maxey’s paintings ruminate on pedestrian objects, transforming the mundane into emblematic representations of a mystical and controlling world. With an upbringing rooted in religious, apocalyptic narratives, in her work Maxey now addresses paranoia and the allure of power. Egg tempera is an ancient painting medium most associated with ecclesiastical imagery, and Maxey uses it in curt compositions that give her commonplace subjects a weight that echoes spiritual imagery.
Libby Rosa’s work stems from her desire to reclaim agency over her environment, influenced by her life in constantly changing surroundings. She employs symbols laden with meaning—a match, a flame, a fresh Poppy blossom—in exaggerated size and bold style, laying bare their melodrama. Her recent exploration involves altering architectural elements within the gallery and embedding her canvas paintings into the gallery walls, exemplifying her control through architectural manipulation. Rosa’s work Unexpected Shape draws inspiration from Magritte’s door paintings and the iconic mid-century Tofani row home doors of surrounding South Philadelphia.
False Alarm invites us to engage with the nuances of power in our personal histories and the larger world, reminding us that beauty can thrive in the most unexpected places. Lee Maxey and Libby Rosa come together to reflect on the duality of control and vulnerability, fabricating an immersive experience that oscillates between fear and fascination.