In the galleries: Art picks for March

The art scene is bustling this month. From loads of color to a photographic trip to Costa Rica, things are looking good, Philly.

From large-scale sculptures to intricate designs, the Esther Klein Gallery (3600 Market St.) houses a group exhibition based on crystals until Friday, March 20. Stop by the gallery between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Applying a musical term to painting, Philadelphia artist Diane Lachman creates a color progression in her geometric pieces, showing at Muse Gallery (52 N. 2nd St.) until Sunday, March 29. "Portamento" — in music terms, the gliding from pitch to pitch — is available to view Wednesday through Sunday from noon until 5 p.m.

A four-panel painting of a bird's-eye view of the snow and ice melt at the North Pole by Philadelphia artist Pamela Tudor is on view at Fairmount Water Works (640 Waterworks Dr.) until Tuesday, March 31. The center is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Through painting, work on paper, and sculpture, 12 artists, sharing an interest in geometry, color, pattern and repetition, present "Territory of Abstraction" at Pentimenti Gallery (145 N. 2nd St.). Running through Saturday, April 4, the show is available to view during gallery hours, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and noon to 5 p.m. Saturday.

This month, E-Moderne Gallery (116 Arch St.) presents Dustin DeYoe's photographs of three communities: the rodeo, a wolf pack and the Alaskan Tlingit Tribe. "The Forgotten" runs until Sunday, April 5 and can be seen during gallery hours, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

Jean Plough followed four rules when painting the works in "Reflection:" 1. Do not have any goal, 2. Do not try to make it look like anything, 3. Do not try to salvage any area, and 4. Do not be attached to the outcome. The abstract images are on display from Friday, March 13 until Saturday, April 4 at Twenty-Two Gallery (236 S. 22nd St.) from noon until 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. An opening reception will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, March 13.

Back from a recent trip to Costa Rica, Eileen Neff presents photographs and mixed media works from an artist residency in the tropical rainforest in "Traveling Into View" at Bridgette Mayer Gallery (709 Walnut St.). See it Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. until Saturday, April 18.

Six artists draw on destruction, warfare and turmoil in Latin America in the 1950s and 1960s for a mixed-media presentation at Haverford College's Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery (370 Lancaster Ave.). Opening Friday, March 20 with a gallery talk and tour at 4:30 p.m., "Archaeologies of Destruction 1958-2014" runs until Friday, May 1. Check it out 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday (and until 8 p.m. on Wednesday) and noon to 5 p.m. on weekends.

Shelley Spector's wood-and-textile-based sculpture installation, drawing on cultural inspirations like Pennsylvania German, Indian and Jewish folk art, "Keep the Home Fires Burning" is the latest addition to the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Perelman Building (2525 Pennsylvania Ave.). From the museum's textile collection, the installation will show until Sunday, Sept. 27. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

For more Things to Do, check out our calendar for the most up-to-date happenings.