Gross McCleaf Gallery

Gross McCleaf Gallery Bringing Art to Philadelphia for over 50 years!

06/20/2026

How do you paint a self that is constantly changing?

In “Shifting”, Mickayel Thurin uses self-portraiture and mixed-media to explore identity as something layered and evolving. Handwritten reflections, and unexpected materials are brought into conversation with one another, composing the many versions of our selves that coexist, and what they might have to teach one another.

Take a closer look at the exhibition in our latest reel.

Mickayel Thurin: Shifting
On view through July 11

Gross McCleaf Gallery
123 Leverington Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19127

Fridays & Saturdays, 11–4 pm
or by appointment | [email protected]

“Love Letter to Longing” (2026) by Timothy Carr.Wrapping around the vessel is a vibrant cast of characters, storefronts,...
06/19/2026

“Love Letter to Longing” (2026) by Timothy Carr.

Wrapping around the vessel is a vibrant cast of characters, storefronts, passing cars, fragments of graffiti, and moments drawn from memory and imagination. Like much of Carr’s work, the piece merges personal history with invented narratives, inviting viewers to circle the form and discover new details from every angle. Constructed from stoneware and layered with underglaze, engobe, glaze, decals, and gold luster, “Love Letter to Longing” transforms the ceramic vessel into a site for storytelling.

Timothy Carr: New Works
On view through July 11

Fridays - Saturdays, 11 AM - 4 PM
Or by Appointment | [email protected]

Gross McCleaf Gallery
123 Leverington Ave, Philadelphia, PA

Featured:
Timothy Carr, “Love Letter to Longing”, 2026
Stoneware, underglaze, engine, glaze, decals, and gold luster, 24” x 24” x 36”

“‘A Multidimensional Queen’ is a soul encountering itself in a godhead form (or its higher self) in the astral realm.The...
06/16/2026

“‘A Multidimensional Queen’ is a soul encountering itself in a godhead form (or its higher self) in the astral realm.

The piece references the cosmic scale of life.

According to quantum physics, we are all the same electrons moving through space and time, and it is consciousness, our attention, that runs the show. The godhead originally started as a self-portrait, but then I began playing with materials and added the figures.

Animals, bugs, nature, stars, objects: we are all the same awareness. Energy playing in costume. The universe experiencing itself through infinite perspectives.”

- Mickayel Thurin, excerpt from Art Sync | Energy Playing in Costume: Conversation with Mickayel Thurin

Read the visual interview at grossmccleaf.com.

Mickayel Thurin: Shifting
June 5 - July 11

Gross McCleaf Gallery
123 Leverington Ave, Philadelphia

Fridays & Saturdays, 11 - 4 pm
or by appointment

Inquire: [email protected] | 215.665.8138

A ceramic rendering of the story behind Geneva, Switzerland’s largest historical festival, “Fête de l’Escalade” by Timot...
06/13/2026

A ceramic rendering of the story behind Geneva, Switzerland’s largest historical festival, “Fête de l’Escalade” by Timothy Carr.

At the center is Mère Royaume (“Mother Kingdom”), who according to legend helped defend Geneva during an attempted invasion in 1602. She was preparing a cauldron of hot soup when the city came under attack by troops seeking to scale its walls under cover of darkness. Once the alarm was raised, she is said to have poured the soup onto the attackers below, helping to thwart the invasion and save the city.

More than 400 years later, the story remains at the heart of Fête de l’Escalade, an annual celebration filled with parades, costumes, music, and historical reenactments. One of the festival’s best-known traditions is the breaking of chocolate cauldrons filled with marzipan sweets, a tribute to Mère Royaume’s famous act of defiance. Before breaking the chocolate, participants traditionally proclaim: “Thus perish the enemies of the Republic!”

Born in Geneva, Switzerland, before moving to Philadelphia at age nine, Carr reimagines the tale through the playful visual language of illustration, glaze, and ceramic surface. Medieval architecture, folk motifs, hand-drawn lettering, and the dramatic moment of the city’s defense unfold across the platter’s interior, transforming a centuries-old story into a contemporary artwork.

Timothy Carr: New Works
On view through July 11

Gross McCleaf Gallery
123 Leverington Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19127

Larry Francis is featured in “Philly Voices: Celebrating the Heartbeat of a City”, a group exhibition at the Frances M. ...
06/11/2026

Larry Francis is featured in “Philly Voices: Celebrating the Heartbeat of a City”, a group exhibition at the Frances M. Maguire Art Museum on view June 20 – August 2.

Presented in honor of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Maguire Art Museum brings together 29 local artists whose work reflects Philadelphia’s neighborhoods, landmarks, communities, and daily life. Through scenes of architecture, nature, public spaces, and the people who inhabit them, “Philly Voices” explores the city as a place of creativity, resilience, and connection.

Francis’s “St. Joe’s Rowing” is featured on the exhibition postcard, one of several works included in the exhibition.

Philly Voices: Celebrating the Heartbeat of a City
June 20 – August 2, 2026
Frances M. Maguire Art Museum
Saint Joseph’s University

Learn more at sju.edu/maguire-art-museum

Art Sync | “Energy Playing in Costume”: Conversation with Mickayel ThurinIn a new interview for Art Sync, Mickayel Thuri...
06/10/2026

Art Sync | “Energy Playing in Costume”: Conversation with Mickayel Thurin

In a new interview for Art Sync, Mickayel Thurin speaks with Elizabeth Johnson about the ideas behind Shifting, her current exhibition at Gross McCleaf Gallery.

The conversation explores self-portraiture, caregiving, shadow work, and the ongoing process of personal transformation. Reflecting on the exhibition’s title, Thurin describes “shifting” as a continual practice of realignment, one that extends beyond the studio and into daily life.

“Shadow work helps me accomplish the shift. Integrating the unconscious bits of myself lets me be me. All the paintings are self-portraits, and with some I am more successful at being myself than others. ‘Shifting’ is a continual practice, a verb, not a one-time thing. It works on the emotional level, the art practice level, the life stage level.”

Read the full interview, Art Sync | Energy Playing in Costume: Conversation with Mickayel Thurin, by Elizabeth Johnson, edited by Matthew Crain, in News/Press at grossmccleaf.com (link in bio).

Mickayel Thurin: Shifting is on view through July 11 at Gross McCleaf Gallery.

Join us today from 1–4 PM for the Opening Reception & Artist Talks for two new exhibitions at Gross McCleaf Gallery:Mick...
06/06/2026

Join us today from 1–4 PM for the Opening Reception & Artist Talks for two new exhibitions at Gross McCleaf Gallery:

Mickayel Thurin: Shifting
Timothy Carr: New Works
Stanek Gallery presents
Donna Quinn: Decisive Moments

Through painting, mixed-media, and ceramics, the artists explore personal histories, identity, memory, and transformation through distinctly individual visual languages.

Artist talk begin around 2 PM.

On View:
June 5 - July 11

at Gross McCleaf Gallery
123 Leverington Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19127

“All the paintings are self-portraits, and with some I am more successful at being myself than others.”- Mickayel Thurin...
06/03/2026

“All the paintings are self-portraits, and with some I am more successful at being myself than others.”
- Mickayel Thurin

In her new solo exhibition “Shifting”, Mickayel Thurin’s figures mirror, comfort, question, and recognize one another. Visual conversations take place through self-portraits, between the many versions of ourselves that coexist at once: the person we were, the person we are becoming, and the one looking back at both with greater understanding.

Through painting, collage, pattern, and written language, Thurin’s mixed-media works consider what becomes possible when we look beyond familiar ways of seeing ourselves. She notes, “My paintings use mismatched material to represent these drastically different frequencies of energy, perspective, and potential.” Layered with symbolism and portraiture, Thurin portrays the range emotions and perspectives that can exist within a single self.

This Saturday, June 6, join us for the Opening Reception and Artist Talk for Mickayel Thurin’s new exhibition, “Shifting”, at Gross McCleaf Gallery.

Mickayel Thurin Shifting
June 5 - July 11
Early Collector Preview Available Now

Opening Reception & Artist Talk:
Saturday, June 6, 1 - 4 PM

at Gross McCleaf Gallery
123 Leverington Ave, Philadelphia, PA

Featured:
“Me? We Love Her”, Acrylic and Paper On Canvas, 30” x 24”

Introducing Timothy CarrGross McCleaf Gallery is delighted to welcome Timothy Carr to our roster of represented artists....
06/02/2026

Introducing Timothy Carr

Gross McCleaf Gallery is delighted to welcome Timothy Carr to our roster of represented artists.

Part vessel, part sculpture, part illustrated folklore, Timothy Carr’s ceramic works bring together traditional pottery techniques with contemporary visual culture.

“From the earliest form of human writing on cuneiform tablets, to the porcelain dental fillings in our teeth, to the tile lining on the exterior of rocket-ships that blast off into space, ceramics not only serve a function but also captures a story.” - Timothy Carr

A Philadelphia-based ceramic artist, Carr combines wheel-thrown and hand-built forms with painting, illustration, and narrative imagery, creating works that blur the line between functional object and contemporary sculpture.

Ancient forms become surfaces for graffiti, pop culture, personal narrative, and references drawn from his Swiss-Canadian upbringing, family history, and life in Philadelphia.

His studies in Philadelphia, alongside residencies in Jingdezhen, China and Seto, Japan, have enriched his understanding of global ceramic traditions and the transmission of craft knowledge. These cross-cultural experiences inform a practice that bridges functionality, storytelling, and conceptual exploration.

Carr earned his BFA from Tyler School of Art and Architecture in 2024, and his MFA from the University of Delaware in 2026.

Join us Saturday, June 6, from 1 - 4 PM to meet the artist, and view a special installation of new work alongside Mickayel Thurin’s: Shifting.

Visit www.grossmccleaf.com for details.

This Saturday, join us at Gross McCleaf Gallery for the Opening Reception and Artist Talk for “Shifting”, a new exhibiti...
06/01/2026

This Saturday, join us at Gross McCleaf Gallery for the Opening Reception and Artist Talk for “Shifting”, a new exhibition by Mickayel Thurin.

Mickayel Thurin: Shifting
June 5 - July 11
Early Collector Preview Now Available

Opening Reception & Artist Talk:
Saturday, June 6, 1 - 4 PM

at Gross McCleaf Gallery
123 Leverington Ave, Philadelphia, PA

In “Shifting”, Thurin reflects on the ongoing process of self-examination and shadow work, offering works that embrace vulnerability, growth, introspection, and the complexities of personal change. Combining painting, collage, pattern, and written language, the exhibition gives visual form to moments of reckoning, acceptance, and transformation.

Featured:
Mickayel Thurin, “Getting Perspective”,
Acrylic on canvas, 56″ x 40″

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Saturday 11am - 4pm

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