Daniel Tierney
STEVEN WOLF FINE ARTS
49 Geary Street, Suite 411
May 1–May 31
"Though more lucrative and widespread than film, computer games, and in particular their visual style and youthquake energy, have had difficulty gaining purchase in the art world. This is part of what makes Daniel Tierney’s recent paintings and sculpture so fascinating—at first glance, a gallery visitor would never guess his sources. The show’s slangy title, “Ghost Hesh,” however, does betray roots in scraggly skater scruff. Tierney’s work hangs tough between the dude-friendly realms of computer games, heavy metal, and skating and knowingly experiments with abstraction, color, and the distinctions between real and virtual spaces. The artist's skill allows him to skirt the youthful stigma of his inspirations to create a fresh and sophisticated aesthetic. By manipulating kaleidoscopic color schemes in acrylic and spray paint, Tierney evokes free-floating psychedelic stained-glass windows arranged in what seem like three-dimensional spaces. A number of the paintings resemble melted David Hockney stage sets: Dimensionality is palpable, and yet the thin application of paint is clearly rooted in screen-based media. A few other works initially appear to conflate photographic and painted space—Tierney works in stages, drawing on photographs, rephotographing those compositions, then creating tableaux of his paintings that serve as the subjects for what are essentially still lifes—yet these works are clearly in dialogue with painting’s history. The canvases are treated with conceptual care, and yet the source material seems to be treated roughly—shapes are crumpled, the brushwork sometimes comes across as violent—an approach that serves as an affectionate challenge to the kid-glove reverence that often characterizes the medium’s young practitioners. The show also includes geometric sculptures made from painted two-by-fours, and the forms owe as much to a Grand Theft Auto motorcycle ramp as to Sol LeWitt or Malevich. As a group, the works manage the kind of thrill that Aaron Young should create with his motorbike extravaganzas. But Tierney seems to be having a lot more fun."
—Glen Helfand
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Artforum Picks Daniel Tierney
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Isabel Samaras
Stumbleupon is causing me to use up more countless hours (than usual) on the internet. Today I stumbled upon Pantalicious, "a blogzine of exciting contemporary art, designed to make your day a little more esthetically pleasing: by promoting artists and the arts." In a recent post David, the blogger, highlighted Isabel Samaris. To lure you to his site and hers, here's a painting titled, Song of Birth: The 3 Magi that she sold for $10,000 . She actually was at Varnish Fine Art in April, which I missed.
Her up coming exhibits include:
June, "VENUS" at Roq La Rue
Seattle, Washington
June, "VEGAS ROCKS" at M Modern
Las Vegas
August 11th, "LITERARTISTRY" at Corey Helford Gallery
Culver City, California
October 6th, "MONSTER BALLADS" (solo show) at Copro Nason Gallery
Santa Monica, California
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Rob Tarbell
Rob creates images with smoke. The curator at Les Yeux du Monde explained his process to me, which is executed by placing the paper or canvas onto the ceiling, then Rob burns with a torch below, moving the flames as one would a brush. Sometimes he will place stencils on the canvas or paper to get exact shapes and lines.
When I saw this horse I immediately loved it! Horses have a freedom that these smoke drawings convey and make you want to be part of.
Charlottesville, VA Has Art
While I was in Charlottesville this past week I got to check out a Rosemarie Fiore exhibit at Second Street Gallery. She does everything. Painting with lawn mowers to waffle iron paintings to "death scene" ceramic sculptures to Evil Knievel projects. I loved the variety in her work, yet the centrality of themes surrounding chaos being tamed and machines as tools for art.
...and when returning home from lunch with my mother we spotted David Ellis' painting outside of the Bridge Progressive Arts gallery.
A post from last November when Ellis was at Fifty24SF.
Friday, May 02, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Catherine Clark at PULSE NY
Catherine Clark Gallery is the only representative of San Francisco at the PULSE Contemporary Art Fair in New York this year. They will be exhibitihttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifng paintings by Masami Teraoka.
If you are in New York this weekend for the many art events, check out Pier 40 for Catherine Clark.
Marcel Dzama
Artist: Marcel Dzama
Gallery: David Zwirner
Represented by: Richard Hellar Gallery
Exhibit Dates: March 6 through April 19, 2008
"Untitled (Page 9 of 13)"
"The Banks of the Red River A Veritable Army of Underdogs"
"No one plays the blues like Rose Lind" 
"My Ideals were clay" 
"Weep our sad bosoms empty" 
"The Nursing child is a blower of hot flesh but not love hothouse cauliflower"
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Chris Johanson at Jack Hanley Gallery
Artist: Chris Johanson
Gallery: Jack Hanley
Exhibition Dates: March 08 - April 12 2008
Address: 395 Valencia Street
Chris, a painter who is included in the "Mission School," is showing bright colored works this month at Jack Hanley Gallery in the Mission. 
His paintings work largely with themes from Folk Art, portray scenes from daily life, and relate to the viewer on a personal level.
You can find photos from the opening reception on Art Business.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Michael Page Opening
Artist: Michael Page
Gallery: Varnish Fine Art
Address: 77 Natoma St.
Dates: March 2nd to April 12th, 2008
Opening Reception: March 6th, 2008 6-9pm
Michael about himself:
"I paint from instinct. From my unconscious mind to my hands, I give meaning to these oddities and otherwise voiceless beings.
I believe everyone at one point in their life realizes that there is a dark and beautiful side to them. Thrown before an audience, it is up to each person to explore which path they’ll take and ultimately how they’ll interpret my work. We all live from moment to moment. And so too do my paintings. Inherently, my art exploits this anxiety and unveils the beauty within the dark side of me."
Friday, February 29, 2008
"Solo Flight"
Artist: Mike Davis
Gallery: White Walls Gallery
Opening Receptiion: Saturday - March 8, 2008
Exhibit Dates: March 8, 2008- April 5, 2008
Address: 835 Larkin St.
The art work that challenges my mind, plants new ways of thinking, and provides me greater insight, tends to be pieces that I would not want to purchase to have hanging in my home.
Maybe such pieces are best in grande galleries. A place everyone can view them and gain internal growth and new insights. Everything has a place and is destined for it.
From the email press release for the show:
Mike will be showcasing 25 new works and some drawings that will be featured in his upcoming book titled "Blind Man's Journey" due out this year. Mike D's new work is about our journey through life, stumbling around in the dark finding our way through life experience and learning from our own mistakes.
His work,surreal and random, is inspired by pre-WWII art, Mannerist art and most things Renaissance. Heavily inspired by early Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch and infamous Lowbrow painter Robert Williams, Mike's work is full of symbolism. Everything has a purpose, everything means something.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Well Done I Say!
Artist: Caleb Sheridan
Gallery: Big Umbrella Studios
Address: Divisadero @ McAllister
Caleb's work takes the cake in this show.
I like it when I can see a concept in a piece and sense that the artist just let themself go with it.
For these pieces, his use colors make the more serious images easier to approach.
Martha Sue Harris @ The Lab
Artist: Marth Sue Harris
Gallery: The Lab
Address: 2948 16th Street
Interior Landscapes
Words from her site:
"Her work brings her endearing and sometimes menacing characters to the plant kingdom. Imagining plant-life that has evolved monstrous traits, 
Harris' strange chimerical trees, flowers, and fungi are displayed in their (un)natural habitat. Her deviant vision of botany illustrates relationships and issues within the plant kingdom, 
but is equally imbued with insights into human emotion and interaction."
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Hurvin Anderson
Artist: Hurvin Anderson
Gallery: Anthony Meier Fine Arts
Address: 1969 California St.
Dates: 22 January - 29 February 2008
The exhibit contains pieces from two different bodies of work, Barbershop and Mirror.
"The conversation between the two bodies of work speaks to a larger commentary...
relating to defining ones own personal space and time and the search for a concise visual language."
He "recreates spaces that are known to him. The juxtaposition of the social interiors of the Barbershop works to the personal, lived-in spaces of the Mirror works serves to illustrate the multiple layers of perspective that the artist strives to define."link
Rollicking Interview on Fecal Face Dot Com
Interview with Geoffrey Todd Smith
By Ryan Christian
While the whole interview made my morning...this is my favorite question and response.
"What is blowing your mind right now?
I have been listening to: (new stuff) The Animal Collective- Strawberry Jam, Jens Lekman- Night Falls on Kortedala, Sunset Rubdown- Random Spirit Lover. (old stuff) Bob Dylan- Blonde on Blonde, Galaxie 500- Today, Smog- Knock Knock, Yo La Tengo- Painful
Television: Mad Men- a great t.v. show. Sexy, sharp, wickedly funny and sad. America's Next Top Model-http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif a must watch in marathon form. I like to see a whole "cycle" in one sitting.
Dead Artists: Oyvind Fahlstrom, Paul Delveaux, Rene Magritte
New Artists: Garth Weiser- his show in Chicago at Kavi Gupta was very good. Sterling Ruby- When I saw his large installation in New York I was confused and it felt right!
Artists to revisit: Ray Yoshida- especially his collages, Mary Heilmann- not that she needs my help!
Chocolate Cream Puffs: My girlfriend made some.
Grey Goose Martini with blue cheese stuffed olives! Get fucked up!
Terry Boers and Dan Bernstein: Weekdays from 2-6 p.m. on Chicago a.m. sports radio 670- The Score. Interesting and critical sports radio with a sense of humor. "Meatball" fans be damned!"
Another entertaining interview with Geoffrey.
Link
Friday, February 01, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Creativity In The Fifties
Artists: Jess
Gallery: Gallery Paule Anglim
Exhibit Dates: February 6, 2008- March 1, 2008
Address: 14 Geary St
Jess, who founded the King Ubu Gallery, later called Six Gallery, was very influential in stirring up a creative environment in San Francisco in the fifties.
February, his drawings and paintings will be at Gallery Paule Anglim. 
"Many of Collins' paintings and collages have themes drawn from chemistry, alchemy, the occult, and male beauty..."link
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Patrick Dintino
Artist: Patrick Dintino
Gallery: Andrea Schwartz Gallery
Address: 525 2nd Street
Exhibit Dates: January 30, 2008- February 29, 2008
Patrick describes his "'Spectrum' paintings as abstract color bands derived from specific real world imagry painted in oil on canvas with a brush."link
Glacier, oil on canvas, 2006, 12" x 72"
I tend to look at a piece of artwork and then read its title and/or description. With Patrick's paintings, I like this process a lot. It is interesting to view the abstract image, which has some internal order that I am not aware of, and then by reading its title I get a clue as to what the creator's intention is. 
California Condor, oil on canvas, 2007, 24" x 24"
After reading the title I don't abandon my first interpretation of the work, but rather gain another one or add an extension onto my first one.
Bald Eagle, oil on canvas, 2007, 24" x 72"
It took some time for me to appreciate his Spectrum paintings. Once I did, I saw them more as music. They have this ability to be constantly moving or cause my eyes to be constantly moving over them. For me, this is in part due to the intensity of the colors and the blurred lines where the colors fade into each other.
Florida Panther, oil on canvas, 2007, 48" x 96"
From a blurb on his bio page:
"Yet the complex play between aesthetic and metaphor is crucial to Dintino’s work. He explores a fresh understanding of how we make meaning through ordering our experiences."Colin Stewart 
Grand Illusion, oil on canvas, 2006, 48" x 60"
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Eric White
There is a great interview with Chris White on Fecal Face. 
He is showing in New York right now and will be on the west coast this spring.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Lauren Cohen...Painter
Here is a painting from the bay area artist Lauren Cohen. Maybe we'll see more of her here soon!
"Turtle Hill"
Monday, December 10, 2007
Jenny DuPont
Jenny DuPont
I bought several mini notebooks she sold at the Lab's Post-Postcard show at the beginning of the month. She creates funny little portraits of people & animals caught in awkward interactions! Seeing her work causes me to smile.