Landmark Show
Root Division:
Artists: Seza Bali, Youmna Chlala, Aditya Dhawan, John Yoyogi Fortes, Diana Guerrero, Jennifer Maria Harris, Hoyeon Olivia Im, Stephanie Inagaki, Christina Mazza, Noritaka Minami, Ming Mur-Ray, Adriana Oyarzun, Juan Carlos Quintana, Ari Salomon, Bijan Yashar, David Yun.
7/12/08
Group exhibition featuring 16 artists representing 13 different ethnic backgrounds. The artists' works relate to each other, collectively enhancing the strength of the show. In particular, I like the room set up with a video projected on a wall with a long 70s style couch in front of it-- definitely a great addition. Another piece that stands out is a divider, constructed out of two large clear plastic sheets sandwiching little sticks with plants names written one them, and arranged in a grid. Behind the divider is a mulched corridor, well lit with a table at the end. The layers and interactive elements of this piece create a space of its own reminding one of the coexistence of life & death. Overall, the most impressive show I've seen at Root Division in a while.
Images here.
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New Works
Lincart Gallery: Eleanor Harwood and Penelope Krebs.
6/26/08
Eleanor Harwood explains her artwork in relation to current life events, such as the war in Iraq. Her large scale collages require a closer look to see what elements are involved. Penelope Krebs's bird paintings, which have a delicate and decorative nature, are about sold out by the time I leave. It's an interesting mix of fine detailed isolated subject matter and large abstract conceptualism.
Images here.
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A Striking Twelve
Live Worms Gallery:Artists: Carrington, Jeffrey Thompson, Jerry Ferraz, Jurgen Trautwein, Kent Barichievich, Momo, Rebecca Peters, Roger Strobel, Ronald F. Sauer, Rosemary Manno, Tina Tarnoff, Tony Vaughan, Isabelle Piquet Brauchli, Michael Pedroni.
6/26/08
A great gathering of seasoned bohemian artists including San Francisco's poet laureate, Jack Hirschman. The exhibit includes works that demand attention, not to themselves but to the world's situation as it is. Hung salon style and in sections by each artist, the curatorial process seems to be more about past and current events than complexity of the art itself. Which in turn raises the question of what is art... the art of doing or art of being?
Images here.
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Recent Oil Paintings and Drawings
John Pence Gallery: Zack Zdrale6/26/08
Zack Zdrale's paintings provide a fresh take on traditional figurative realism. The most captivating piece, "Searching," presents a mirror image of two males facing each other, each with hands over their eyes, thereby preventing them from seeing each other's reflections. Zdrale is the gallery's Introductions Artist 2008, which lends understanding to the youthful nature of thes subject matter.
Images here.
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Summer Group Exhibitions
Catharine Clark Gallery:6/14/08
Shows/Artists: Speaking to the Unspeakable - Josh Azzarella, Sandow Birk and Elyse Pignolet, Stephen J. Shanabrook; The Audacity of Hope - Ray Beldner, Walter Robinson, Travis Somerville; Elyse Pignolet in the Viewing Room; Video Room - Anthony Discenza - (Another) Road Trip.
Lots of social politics, images of Kennedy and installations placing you in faux rooms decorated with previous and possibly future presidential candidates' pictures and paraphernalia. The best are the "Morgue Chocolates" (Do Not Touch) by Stephen J. Shanabrook, and counterpart, "Not Morgue Chocolates" in a bowl on the front counter which you may not only touch but also eat (right next to sparkling water and crackers-- cheers). A map of the LAX airport by Sandow Birk and Elyse Pignolet provides thoughts on Allah by blueprinting an interpretation of power and spiritualism where Middle Eastern terminology meets Western understanding.
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Shapeshifter
Rare Device: Amy Ross6/6/08
Amy Ross's pieces create a conversation about relationships between different forms of life. Both her watercolors and collages morph nature and its creatures. Her style, incorporating elements of antique and period art, blends the traditional with quirkiness. I'm excited to see new additions to her 'shroom series.
Images here.
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New Drawings
Gallery 16: Leigh Wells6/6/08
Leigh Wells presents a mixture of large sweeping line drawings and collage pieces in this exhibit. The natural movement in her lines provides a stillness for the viewer. While simple and clean, Wells' exhibit maintains a complexity in applied meanings.
Images here.
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A Fool's Errand
Gallery Three: Adam Flores
4/18/08
Adam Flores's paintings on wood panels remind me of illustrations from Medieval and Renaissance time periods. This exhibit plays with nostalgia and fairy tale fictions. He has dragon tails (or vines, depending on how you see them) breaking up castles next to orange construction cones and pinatas hanging from stone walls. He creates texture and depth with thick line patterns and makes the images seem larger than the space that contains them by having them run over the edges. Great turnout and several pieces sold.
Images here.
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Jonestown Had A Garden, A Taxonomical Installation
Mission 17 Gallery: Karin Smith
4/18/08
Karin Smith's documentation of the Jonestown massacre reminds me of an artistic take on a history project. While it's hard at times to read her handwriting, it adds a personal touch (handwriting, for those who don't know much about Jonestown, was key to the progression of events). Her diagrammatic intertwined tree of history, people, political movements is a helpful resource purposely positioned at the start of the exhibit. You can talk with her for hours about her research and how and where it leads her next with her work. Her concept of an art exhibit is hopefully one we'll see more of in the future.
Images here.
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Resident Artist Group Show
Million Fishes: Medicine4/5/08
Fourteen artist residents of the Million Fishes artistic industrial complex show their art in conjunction with each other. The video projections are the most interesting here. One by Carlos Marulanda is projected onto a hanging Plexiglas box filled with smoke in order to pick up the light rays, making for a hologram type image. A hanging diorama in a cardboard box that you stand under and stick your head in to see-- a castle scene-- is also worth a look.
Images here.
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Come Celebrate The Knowledge You Never Knew You Had.
Little Tree Gallery: Casey Logan 4/5/08
Casey Logan's show, "Come Celebrate The Knowledge You Never Knew You Had," is composed of kinetic sculptures and images that ask us to look at the sky, land, and the mechanisms that keep them running. I chat with Casey about one piece in particular-- a globe is suspended by elastic straps, connected to a 3D wooden frame. It replicates the packaging techniques he uses when packing fragile items for transport (part of his day job). Having the globe as the object being suspended provides a removed-from-the-earth perspective, which is found through out the exhibit.
Images here.
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Pull Here To Get Everything You Want
Soap Gallery: Matt Gonzalez4/5/08
Matt Gonzalez's color-rich collages, set on white backgrounds, are composed of collected materials such as playing cards, fabric, cardboard boxes, and more. With titles like "The Hurrying There Along The Wall" and "In Somber Wonders The Music," the viewer takes another look to see how Matt is expresses these movements. They allude more to Cubism than Surrealism, as in a single collage, the images and colors seem to work with each other as opposed to providing contradiction or surprise.
Images here.
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Misfits
Triple base Gallery: Todd Bura4/4/08
Todd Bura's paintings and right angle wood sculptures are part minimalism and part abstract formalism. A white canvas with a hint of two lines crossing off-center in the background, an upside down "T" cut made from wood stuck in the wall's corner, among others, comprise materials and concepts he uses every day. The actual frames he made for several works on paper repeat the shapes on display inside their respective frames, and play into the art of the entire piece. Displaying the architectural wood sculptures in precarious locations gives you a reality check. They remind you that familiar shapes have various meanings whether found in painting on canvas or lying on the ground
Images here.
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projecTILES
Ghost and Bread Gallery: Halide4/4/08
A French Noir photomontage on ceramic tiles. Black & white and color photographs assembled together in various formations. The movement and blurring within the photographs makes for mystery and attracts your imagination. The performance piece, quoted at 20min, lasts much longer and loses some folks' attention, considering the strong turnout. In the end, it's interesting to see a new form of developing prints.
Images here.
