Monterey and More

This weekend, I continuously found myself getting in cars with people I didn't know, having a rad time. The drive with Kevin Taylor, Eric Otto, Kristin, Jillian, and Mike, in a van all carpool style to Monterey was the perfect start. Jillian brought sufficient snack munchies, Eric had his fisheye camera lens, and Kevin apart from driving brought a well stocked iPod. It was a fabulous adventure I will share more about later, with a little video action involved.

John Patrick McKenzie

I made it to Creativity Explored for the first time last Thursday. Some friends of mine own a print by John Patrick McKenzie, who has studio space there, and I found some more by him that I liked.





If you're into his work, it's extremely affordable and you're supporting outsider art. Also, it's fun visiting Creativity Explored. There is a real happiness in the air, which can be playful and a break from other more serious art locales.

Gavin Bunner

I've been helping some folks find art for their house. Little Paper Planes sells a lot of prints and small original works from artists online. Here's one I found from Gavin Bunner. I like his strong colors, use of illustration, how some pieces are reminiscent of instruction pamphlets seen in airports or parks, and the pure ridiculousness of it all.

Here are some more from tinlark gallery:

Stillness

For the mood I'm in today and the memories theses photographs conjure, the fact they are in black in white is more appropriate than color.




Looking through Hendrik's photography gallery, I found some closeness to my past and to what he's seen. Many of the locations he's visited, I've traveled as well and am reminded of my desire to get somewhere new soon.

Kris Chau at Rowan Morrison

Artist: Kris Chau
Gallery: Rowan Morrison
Opening Reception: Friday, June 27th, 2008 from 7-10 p.m.
Exhibition Dates: June 27th- August 2nd 2008
Address: 330 40th Street (at Broadway), Oakland


Opening receptions at Rowan Morrison work. If you are someone who doesn't enjoy openings you should go to this on Friday. It's busy and friendly and often there's a bonfire in the back for more space to chill and talk. It's Oakland, so that might explain it but I think it is also the way Pete and Narangkar make it.

Eleanor Harwood Exhibits at Lincart

Artists: Eleanor Harwood and Penelope Krebs
Gallery: Lincart
Opening Reception: Thursday, June 26th, 2008 from 6-8 p.m.
Exhibition Dates: June 24th - August 2nd 2008
Address: 1632 C Market Street.

I haven't seen Eleanor's own art before, so I'm going purely for that reason. Maybe you too?

Congratulations Queens Nails Annex

Last Year with Sylvia Ji

Through YouTube searching I found this series of "Art Adventures" done by Matt Petty who writes for SFgate and posts videos to their blog.

He's got the right stuff.

Tonight: Lafe Eaves at Gallery Three

Artist: Lafe Eaves
Gallery: Gallery Three
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 21, 2008 from 7- 10 p.m.
Exhibit Dates: June 21, 2008 - July 12, 2008
Address: 66 Sixth Street

Come check out Lafe's first solo exhibition.

His works are primarily done in ink & watercolor on paper and mounted onto wood. Using muted tones of vibrant colors, he presents a subdued environment where mammals and plant life interact like humans. With a hint of the bizzare, he effectively takes the viewer to another version of our world.

The Artforum Critics' Pick for SF = Jacques Villegle

Jacques Villeglé
MODERNISM
685 Market St. Suite 290
May 15–June 28

"At once fields of images and urban artifacts, layered comminglings of figurative forms and histories of those forms’ nuanced desecration, Jacques Villeglé’s décollages cannot be pinned down, as it were. Consisting exclusively of torn posters mounted on canvas, the décollages invert the operations of collage, stripping away slices of imagery rather than pasting them together. Since the 1950s, Villeglé has gleaned his raw materials from the walls and billboards of Parisian streets, where various strata of advertisements and political posters provide the palimpsest for a new image, reframed and reaffixed. It is impossible to tell which areas of the works’ surface have peeled naturally and which have been subjected to Villeglé’s more tendentious tearing. The bottom section of one work, titled Rue Simon Le Franc, 1974, seems to unpeel in an echo of a wavelike design in the upper portion. The unresolved play between chance erosion and the conscious intercession of the artist’s hand suspends each work between being a readymade and an object of purposive (if dissembled) intervention.

Like their Dada and Merz precedents, the décollages transvalue the language of advertising on its own turf. Many of the works still bear the name of the street where they originally hung. But the ludic play between word and image attains an exceptional range in Velleglé’s work—from spare, almost total abstraction to a stage-managed cacophony of competing texts, fonts, and slogans. In some works, the lettering for certain advertisements is intermittently swallowed by letters beneath. Apart from word fragments and homeless phonemes, we find whole phrases unhinged—by virtue of a sudden tear—from their original purpose, floating now as pure poetry. SI VOUS DÉSIREZ reads one such phrase, adrift in Rue des Halles, 1972. Other, more explicit language appears as well, such as the call for a LUTTE OUVRIÈRE, which on one work has been demonstrably scratched out (probably while the poster hung on its original wall). A partially effaced paragraph invoking LE CAPITALISME . . . DICTATURE . . . HUMANITÉ is legible on a different poster beneath the pale skin of a model’s face in Rue Vaugirard (bas Meudon), 1990. Even here, when Villeglé has not altered the surface, his choice of framing plays a fundamental role.

The consistency of Villeglé’s general technique for more than half a century is countered by the extraordinary variety of the décollages themselves—a variety ensured not only by his own subtly varying processes but also by the evolving nature of advertising and graphic design. An upcoming major retrospective at the Centre Pompidou and several new monographs confirm Villeglé’s stature within not only the realm of French Nouveau Réalisme and Lettrism but also the history of the avant-garde and its shifting strategies—a stature affirmed in this small and compelling show."

— Ara H. Merjian

RVCA Opening Tonight

"PRESSURE"
Opening Reception: Thursday, June 19th, 2008 from 7 - 10 p.m.
RVCA Blog

Palladino's Opening

Palladino's exhibit rocks and I'll have to go back, since the opening was so crazy busy.

Check out what Mike said about it on his blog Sketchypad.

Zack Houston

Zach, in his element of creativity, pulling together sentences for hipsters, art school students, and others gathered around the street entrance of 49 Geary. He even personalizes them with his signature on the back.

Zack other places:

Moleskinerie
IVRPA

and a little You Tube

Rodney Ewing

Exhibit at Frey Norris Gallery through June 29, 2008

I have a particular interest in artists who grew up in military/navy/army families. There is a shared bond I feel, having grown up in a missionary family. I get their traveling around for something that is very serious, dealing face on with life & death, while its purpose is questionable.

Here's a bit about Ewing:
"Ewing grew up in a highly mobile military family. His father was a non-commissioned officer in the Air Force and they lived, over many years, in Louisiana, Virginia, Maryland, New Mexico, Kansas, Colorado, the Phillipines and at Lakenheath Air Force Base in England... received his MFA in printmaking from West Virginia University... Ewing routinely spends summers teaching art to teenagers in underserved parts of the world, such as a refugee camp in the Palestinian West Bank and an orphanage in Trinidad. He was a finalist for the 2007 SECA award at SFMOMA."

Reverse Graffiti

Yellena Jones at Giant Robot SF

Artist: Yellena
Gallery: Giant Robot SF
Opening Reception: Saturday, Jun 21, 2008 from 6:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Address: 618 Shrader Street


It seems like forever, since Giant Robot SF had a solo show. Yalena's ink drawings and acrylic paintings allude to the vibrancy of oceanic life. Most are mini, averaging a size of 10" x 10."

Along with her website you can visit her blog and etsy shop.

Something More Cerebral

While opening hoping last night, I stopped by Little Tree for something more mellow.

Eduardo Consuegra's sculpture stood out the most. I didn't realize what the tall box in the corner was until he started joking about it. His idea came while rinsing out paint brushes in the sink, when he saw a sponge collecting the run off paint and water residue. After a couple other models, he came to the large rectangular cube. In talking about the concept behind the work, he continued to mention "absorption." Absorption beyond art, leading into the way life patterns are repeated and relived in new ways.

Flavorpill picked this art opening as one of their recommended events. Little Tree continues to get good coverage across the board.

Know Hope at Charmichael Gallery in West Hollywood

"The End of the World Will Never Come" artist Know Hope, originally uploaded by Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art.

"The End of the World Will Never Come" artist Know Hope

Was just checking through Carmichael Gallery's recent photo uploads and liked this set.

You check out the artist's site here: http://www.thisislimbo.com/

Taking a Picture of Taking a Picture

Alan managed to get this photo of me taking a photo, when I went dashed to openings with him last Thursday. I like it!



At Dolby Chadwick Gallery with painting by Jeffrey Beauchamp.

Sandow Birk at Catherine Clark Gallery

Sandow Birk has a drawing in "Speaking to The Unspeakable," the most recent exhibit to open at Catherine Clark. Overall, his work is refreshing with new visuals, while keeping to the same vein of serious political themes.

This drawing of LAX is more smile worthy than past works I've seen of his at Catherine Clark. It's composed of 8" x 12" pieces of paper assembled in a grid, alluding to the way a map unfolds or fragility of blue prints. I like it. Great lines and minute details.

Greg Gossel at Shooting Gallery

I spent my morning writing up the price list and other details for Greg's show. At 3 a.m. this morning, everything else was complete when Greg finished the mural. It's rad to see it all up and ready for a kick ass opening.

Artreview.com

Aviva Beigel on Artreview.com

This is one of few art magazines online where you can read back issues of the printed publication for free. Maybe because it still beta but get it while it's good.

"The Beast In Me" at Ping Pong Gallery

Exhibit Title: "The Beast in Me"
Curated by: Allison Cummings
Gallery: Ping Pong Gallery
Opening Reception: Friday June 20, 6-9pm
Exhibition Dates: June 20 - July 18, 2008
Address: 1240 22nd Street (between Pennsylvania and Mississippi)


Of the beast in me that everybody knows
They've seen him out dressed in my clothes
Patently unclear if it's New York or New Year
God help the beast in me
-excerpt from The Beast in Me by Nick Lowe


This exhibit brings Reuben Lorch-Miller, who lives in New York City, back to San Francisco. He just finished an exhibit at Catherine Clark Gallery, which rocked. I was able to meet and talk with him about the way he uses color and geometric shapes in his work. His relationship with the meanings of his pieces is exceptional.



Themes and ideas behind this show:

Bringing together the work of six different artists from a variety of disciplines including painting, drawing, sculpture, video and sound—The Beast in Me presents a rich and dynamic environment within the gallery itself. A subtle dark undertone pervades the exhibition, made poignant by the occasional juxtaposition of humor and beauty. Physical incarnations of creatures, the structures they inhabit, and narratives they inspire, exist adjacent to non-representational forms that evoke a darkness which is simultaneously intimate, vast, and austere.

Little Tree Gallery Group Exhibit

SOFT UNDERBELLY RECOGNITION
curated by sarah lehrer-graiwer

Artists:
eduardo consuegra
heather cook
eli langer
sidonie loiseleux

Exhibition Dates: June 14th - July 12th, 2008
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 14th 6pm - 9pm


From the exhibit's "suggested guidelines for recognizing signs of artistic agency in our contemporary culture of high performance:"

2) Claim and occupy time according to your own terms. Open it up. Question regimented notions of time that perpetuate social expectations of increased speed, productivity, efficiency, consumption, and cyclical obsolescence. The ineffable, often invisible and intangible, process of conceiving and making art alone in the studio can be a way to reconfigure one’s experience of time. Re-commit to abstraction that testifies to an interrogated logic of decision-making. Maximize time given to looking and thinking, minimize gratuitous spectacle and budgets. Art promises continual questioning, mutability, and delayed fulfillment.

Frida Opening at MoMa Tonight

What: Member Previews and Receptions for Frida Kahlo
When: Wednesday, June 11, 2008 from 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.


Upper-Level Preview and Reception
Museum-wide

Mexican artist Frida Kahlo began painting in 1926, while recovering from a near-fatal bus accident, and soon became captivated by the medium's expressive possibilities. Kahlo's folkloric style, influenced by Mexican popular art, and her fantastical imagery earned her recognition among the Surrealists, but her intriguing persona and unmistakable originality propelled her beyond the confines of a specific movement to become a leading figure in modern art. This exhibition, commemorating the centennial of the artist's birth, brings together paintings that span her career, along with a selection of her own collection of photographs, most of which have never been on public display.

Leigh Wells at Gallery 16

Leigh Wells' art, originally uploaded by libbynicholaou.

great exhibit

Mudd Guts

Mudd Guts


Entertaining art in simple format. Some stuff for sale. Pretty much a collection of someone's art picks. Check it out!

Matthew Palladino at Park Life

Artist: Matthew Palladino
Gallery: Park Life
Opening Reception: Friday 13th from 7pm - 10pm
Exhibition Dates: June 13th - July 13th
Address: 220 Clement Street


''Matthew Palladino's paintings allude to influences by early Mission School artists; colorful, flat, almost folky. From there his work diverges. His subject matter is raw, sexual, and violent; inspired by current media events and the rough edges of society. His shockingly honest portraits of American life expose all-too-real events in his ongoing narrative that tie his current works together."

Tara Foley

You've seen her work at Triple Base and now can find her in Hayes Valley at Fecal Face Dot Gallery.

Clipping from Catherine Clark

SFCamerawork

Artist: RongRong & inri
Gallery: SFCamerawork
Opening Reception: Thursday June 5, 2008 from 5-8 p.m.
Exhibition Dates: June 5 - August 23, 2008
Address: 657 Mission Street, 2nd Floor

Amy Ross at Rare Device

Artist: Amy Ross
Gallery: Rare Device
Opening Reception: Friday June 6, 2008 from 7-9 p.m.
Exhibition Dates: June 6 - July 8 2008
Address: 1845 Market Street @Guerrero


The exhibit includes images from her "Shapeshifter" series. These here are my favorites from her online gallery, but not part of the current series.




Bio:
"I am interested in the idea of artist as mad scientist. My drawings offer visual hypotheses to the question: what would happen if the DNA sequence of a plant or mushroom were spliced with that of an animal? Using graphite, watercolor, and walnut ink on paper as well as directly on gallery walls in site-specific installations, I portray animals morphed with branches, mushrooms, berries, and blossoms, thus forming implausible hybrid creatures."

Ryan Martin at Mark Wolfe

Artist: Ryan Martin
Gallery:Mark Wolfe Contemporary Art
Opening Reception: June 5, 2008, 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Exhibition Dates: June 5 – July 31, 2008
Address: 49 Geary 2nd Floor





"Martin’s paintings are titled after popular songs by artists such as 2Pac, Madonna, and the
Smiths, and ostensibly serve as interpretations of the songs’ lyrics. At the same time, the
paintings are imbued with an ineffable symbolic code, falling somewhere between the pagan and
the biblical, the art-historical and the collective subconscious."

Chris Lawson at Ghost and Bread

Kyle Mock

Kyle Mock was born in 1981 in San Jose, California. He graduated from the California College of the Arts in 2005 with a B.F.A. in Painting/Drawing. Most recent, he was included in Affair, Tart, San Francisco, California (2006). His work was also included in The Family Room Show, Cinders Gallery, New York (2005/06), For Landscape, Queen’s Nails Annex, San Francisco (2005) and Infinite Fill Show, Foxy Production Gallery, New York (2004). He performed in the Music for Artists, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, California (2005). .