In celebration of Women’s History Month, Hyatt Centric Rittenhouse Square Philadelphia is presenting Divine Fragments, a thoughtfully curated exhibition in partnership with InLiquid, spotlighting local artists Wendy Liss and Dolores Poacelli. The show opens with a Meet the Makers reception on Tuesday, March 3, from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm, and Divine Fragments will remain on view through Monday, May 11.
Divine Fragments, the exhibit, is positioned right in the middle of a neighborhood that already thrives on walkability and discovery, aligned with the hotel’s rebrand energy: not just “in Center City,” but truly in Rittenhouse, in conversation with the city around it. Divine Fragments brings together two distinct yet complementary artistic voices exploring tension, resilience, and material transformation, and it invites you to slow down and look closely at how fragility and strength can coexist in the same frame.
Divine Fragments spotlights two artists with real range
The dual-artist structure of Divine Fragments is where the exhibition’s emotional depth starts to build. Dolores Poacelli arrives with a major résumé, having participated in more than 65 exhibitions over the past 25 years, including 18 solo shows. Her work is held in public and private collections across the United States and Germany, and her recent highlights include a solo exhibition at Box Spring Gallery in Philadelphia in 2024 and inclusion in a group exhibition at Carter Burden Gallery in New York City in 2023.
In Divine Fragments, Poacelli’s newest body of work confronts isolation, environmental crisis, and political uncertainty. Influenced in part by the expressive, cartoon-like gravity of Philip Guston, she juxtaposes playful shapes and saturated color with sobering subject matter, using multi-layered acrylic and oil to build textured, emotionally charged compositions that respond directly to climate change and denial.
Wendy Liss brings a different kind of intensity to Divine Fragments, one that’s structural and tactile. A graduate of Moore College of Art & Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Art Education certification, Liss has worked in fine art restoration, interior design, and the curation of local exhibitions, and her sculptures are included in public and private collections. She currently teaches “Find Your Edge” at the Community Arts Center in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, which feels like the perfect title for an artist whose work so clearly balances control and surprise.
In Divine Fragments, Liss’s one-of-a-kind, hand-built ceramic sculptures explore line, texture, color, and composition, drawing inspiration from nature, architecture, and the human figure. Her process—tenting clay to reveal the material’s natural surface—highlights the inherent beauty and physicality of the medium, and the results feel grounded and dynamic at once.
Together, the pairing in Divine Fragments lands with a kind of satisfying tension: Poacelli’s layered paint and sharpened social gaze meet Liss’s dimensional forms and material honesty. It’s the duality that keeps you moving through the space, comparing how each artist handles weight, instability, and resilience.
Divine Fragments makes the opening night easy to say yes to
Divine Fragments is located on the second floor of Hyatt Centric Rittenhouse Square Philadelphia at 1620 Chancellor Street, making it an easy stop before dinner, after a stroll through the Square, or as a purposeful art detour on a weeknight. The March 3 opening reception adds a little extra polish without losing the relaxed vibe: attendees can explore Divine Fragments while enjoying complimentary light bites courtesy of Patchwork Restaurant, plus pay-as-you-go craft cocktails from the adjacent bar. That combination—art, a small bite, a good drink, and actual conversation with the makers—feels like the kind of community-forward event Philadelphia does best when it’s firing on all cylinders.
The hotel’s team clearly understands the bigger picture here, too. As Elizabeth Fricke, Director of Sales & Marketing at Hyatt Centric Rittenhouse Square Philadelphia, puts it, “We’re proud to continue partnering with InLiquid to provide a platform for artists whose work sparks meaningful dialogue. Divine Fragment offers a compelling exploration of material, memory, and contemporary experience that we’re excited to share with our guests and the local community.”
With Divine Fragments on view through May 11, there’s plenty of time to catch it, revisit it, and bring someone who needs a reminder that Philly’s art scene is as alive as ever—especially when the city makes room for women artists to take up space with confidence and nuance.
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