Best of Philly 2014 Preview: Arts and Culture

Best Art Gallery: Fleisher/Ollman

This unassuming gallery near Chinatown is a gem for connoisseurs and nascent collectors alike, with a fantastically diverse selection that ranges from contemporary mixed-media pieces to the 20th-century masterworks that put the place on the map. Plus, prices are reasonable. 1216 Arch Street, Center City, 215-545-7562.

Best Free Museum: Fabric Workshop and Museum

Exhibitions here please even the most casual of art lovers, and include pretty much every visual-arts medium you can think of: painting, ceramics, architecture, video, sculpture and installations. 1214 Arch Street, Center City, 215-561-8888.

Best Quickie Culture: Rodin Museum

Auguste Rodin spent 37 years shaping his The Gates of Hell. You can take in that 20-foot masterpiece — along with The Thinker, the nude study of Balzac, and Rodin’s other greatest hits — in 37 minutes at this pint-size Philly treasure. 2151 Ben Franklin Parkway, Fairmount, 215-763-8100.

Best New Public Art: Symbiosis

New York artist Roxy Paine’s jarring sculpture, on loan to the city for a year, looks like two stainless steel trees stuck in stasis, one collapsing onto the other. It’s so sleek that the birds haven’t discovered how to do their business on it. Yet. Ben Franklin Parkway between Pennsylvania Avenue and Eakins Oval, Fairmount.

Best Theater Talent: Scott Greer

No other local actor has the comic timing and powerful stage presence demonstrated by this 44-year-old veteran of the Philly theater scene, who has performed more than 30 times at the Arden alone. See him kill it again in the lead role of the Beast in La Bête, opening at the Old City theater in September.

See the rest of our picks in the August 2014 issue of Philadelphia magazine, on newsstands now, or subscribe today. Then join us at the Best of Philly Bash at Citizens Bank Park on August 12th!