“By Simply Looking: The Art of Observation”

This exhibition asks us to slow down—especially right now, when our feeds are engineered to keep us skimming. Curated by InLiquid and installed at Park Towne Place on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, “By Simply Looking: The Art of Observation” runs from January 30 through May 12, 2026, and it leans into realism with rebellious confidence. The exhibition delves into the depiction of the mundane for what it is: “raw, frank, and ultimately human.” Realism is framed as a way of paying attention to life as it actually unfolds—unfiltered, unperformed, and beautifully imperfect.

“By Simply Looking: The Art of Observation” uses multiple lanes of realism—traditional realism, superrealism, photorealism, and hyperrealism—to make the everyday feel newly visible. It’s about truth, texture, and those small, blink-and-you-miss-it moments we usually forget to honor. In a city that’s constantly reinventing itself, this exhibit is a reminder that Philadelphia’s real magic is often right in front of us, hiding in plain sight.

“By Simply Looking: The Art of Observation” and the Artists

“By Simply Looking: The Art of Observation” holsters a seven-artist lineup—each working from a place of close study, emotional honesty, and craft that rewards repeat viewing. Mary Henderson brings detailed portraits drawn from daily life as the mother of an adolescent daughter, capturing the kind of scenes you can practically feel in your chest: backstage nerves at a ballet recital, under-cover giggles at a sleepover, and the shifting light of a family life that’s always moving forward. Her work reads like a visual diary, but with the polish of a painter who understands how intimate realism can be when it’s rooted in love and observation.

Jean Broden’s Philadelphia street scenes deliver another kind of familiarity—old brick buildings illuminated by soft sunlight—images that feel like a walk you’ve taken a hundred times, except now you’re seeing it with fresh eyes. Daniel Dalmann and Eric van der Vlugt, both experienced figure painters, bring intensity and clarity to people and still life scenes, using detail not as decoration, but as a way to honor the presence of the subject. Then the exhibit expands beautifully into sculpture, where Constance McBride uses clay to explore aging and gender—grounded themes with an immediacy that feels especially resonant in a space devoted to daily living.

Two artists, Emily Selvin and Darla Jackson, look to animals for inspiration in very different, deeply human ways. Selvin works to honor the lives of perished small beings, giving weight and dignity to creatures we’re conditioned to overlook. Jackson uses animal forms to represent and explore human emotion, turning the symbolic dial just enough to make you recognize yourself in the posture, the gaze, the vulnerability.

And hovering over all of it is a line that could serve as the exhibit’s mission statement for 2026: “In a time when the use of technology and AI blurs the lines between what is real and what is engineered, finding reality through an artist’s lens might be the answer.” That’s the power of “By Simply Looking: The Art of Observation”—it doesn’t argue with the modern world; it simply invites you back into your own senses.

“By Simply Looking: The Art of Observation” Visiting Details

“By Simply Looking: The Art of Observation” is on view from January 30 to May 12, 2026, and visits are available by appointment—an approach that actually suits the work, because it encourages a calmer, more intentional experience. The public can also step into the exhibition’s world during the opening reception on Wednesday, February 4, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

If you go, give yourself the gift of time. Let the realism do what it’s meant to do: pull you out of autopilot. Stand close enough to see the decisions in the brushwork. Step back and watch how light “behaves” across a painted street or a sculpted surface. The best compliment I can give “By Simply Looking: The Art of Observation” is that it made me want to look longer—not just at the art, but at Philadelphia itself on the way home.

About Post Author

Allan Lane

Philadelphia born and bred, Allan Lane is the Publisher and Editor in Chief of digital magazines. He launched his first publication, SportBikes Inc Magazine in 2010, followed by dosage MAGAZINE in 2019. Recently, Allan launched his third online publication, Club For Man. As a journalist, Allan covers fashion, lifestyle, culture, art, and motorcycles.

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