DVAA Member since May 2021

Fran Lightman Gibson

About:

Fran Lightman Gibson is an artist working primarily with oils. She holds a BFA from University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA. She has since exhibited work at Cerulean Arts Gallery, Philadelphia Sketch Club, Heron Crest Studios, and the Cheltenham Art Center.

Artist Statement:

“This is the year of living vicariously. I started several paintings at the beginning of 2020 with the understanding that I was revisiting a familiar place, My City: Philadelphia.

By the time March came around, and the pandemic began for real, I was way invested in life on the streets. At that point, with the quarantine in full gear, I was afraid that the city was feeling abandoned and isolated. I worried for my fellow Philadelphians, living inside for an extended time.

By June, I decided to drive through the city and see for myself, only to find that life had started up again, reemerged and renewed in a unique way. New construction started or many projects continued. People were still the main attraction, in crosswalks and on sidewalks going to local shops and restaurants. They were tasting the places that were all so familiar.

I never stop feeling the enriched energy, but will always remember the quiet drone of underlying isolation and discomfort. When I walk through my city, Philadelphia, I hear the rhythms of The Roots, the harmonies of Boys to Men, the kick-ass smack of Patti Labelle, the audaciousness of Pink, the celebration of oneself in Walt Whitman, and the complex river patterns in Thomas Eakins’ Schuylkill River. It's crowded on the streets with all that activity, but it’s always the same. Philadelphia, my city.

When I paint the city, it's from a deep feeling of understanding the place I never left and always return to say: I know your strengths - I know your faults - I have an abiding love of you, My City: Philadelphia. If you need a place to go, take any road.”