Coffee. Tea. Espresso. The city of Philadelphia has a vast variety of coffee shops to choose from. So where do you go to get your morning or afternoon pick me up? I always find myself making my way down to Benna’s or B2. Not just for the coffee, tea, soup, and cupcakes; I like that Benna’s and B2 host monthly art exhibits. The shows are not your monthly first Friday. Benna’s (at the corner of 8th and Wharton Street) has their monthly exhibits on the second Friday of each month; while B2 does the second Saturday of each month.
Benna’s and B2 are brought to us by owner Nancy Trachtenberg and the art shows are curator-ed by Kat Moran (Snyderman Gallery 303 Cherry Street). They feature a new artist every month in both coffee shops.
I stopped into B2 for their monthly opening to view the works of Andrew Johnson-Lally. Andrew is a local tattoo artist working for No Ka Oi Tiki Tattoo located at 610 South 4th Street. Andrew has a very illustrative style and is an amazing tattoo artist. He does like to keep his paintings and tattoos separated so he doesn’t get bogged down with the same stuff. They are different forms of art. His troll paintings have taken him some time to complete and the end result is phenomenal. This is not Andrew’s first exhibit with the shops. He has had previous shows and has also been involved in some group shows.
If you are interested in any of the reasonable priced painting you can stop by B2 to see Andrew’s paintings in person. To view more works by Andrew check out his site at www.andrewjohnsonlally.com.
If you are an artist who would like to exhibit your work in either shop you can reach Kat Moran at art.bennas@gmail.com. and check out the Art At Benna’s page on facebook for monthly show updates.
