In my book, little is more exciting than a new gallery in Philadelphia. The newcomer to Old City’s gallery community is Fourth Wall Arts, which, in its infancy (the gallery itself is only a month old), already has some very fine art hanging on all four of its walls, as well as some salon events planned for outside the gallery space. After all, what’s the use of a fourth wall if you don’t break it every now and then?

Its current exhibition showcases two fairly different artists: Claes Gabriel and Brad Carney. The two artists’ work face each other in the gallery. Both individuals offer plenty of color and texture, but in very distinct ways.

Gabriel stretches canvas over wooden frames to construct face-like, 3-dimensional paintings. They are sentinels — squinted eyes always staring — but far from intimidating. The bright circles of color he paints along their surfaces draw in viewers for closer examination. There is no mistaking the visual references to African tribal masks, yet, instead of earth tones Gabriel opts for a vibrant palette of yellows, oranges and blues. The patterns are raised enough to offer subtle texturing up close. At a distance, the hallucinatory shapes blend into splendid facial tattoos that would make any Maori jealous.

Carney mostly works in fields of color and indistinct shapes with thick, textured paint, although a few ink drawings round out his contributions. His hues are slightly darker than Gabriel’s and often appear to spin and twist like smoke or the clouds of a brewing storm. With most of these paintings, the inclination is to step back to take them in after examining the ridges of paint up close. At a distance, it is easier to see the carefully divided, almost-geometrical areas of similar shades. Like a Rothko, it is easy to get lost in the color, but the tempest of pigments keeps the eyes roving steadily around the canvas.

Fourth Wall also hosts salon events every month, which incorporate music, art and lectures into a multi-faceted array of creative inspiration. This month’s event is planned for July 23 at the Painted Bride Art Center and features music by Kuf Knotz, Jimmy Crack Corn Experiment and DJ Supreme. Guests can also expect dancer Khalil Munir and visual arts by Lisa Murch, Shuilong Phan and Charles Barbin. For more info, visit the Fourth Wall Arts website.

The new Fourth Wall Arts Gallery is located at 158 N. Third St. in Old City; 215.645.2424.