OAKLAND ART OPENINGS - JOHANSSON PROJECTS - MG GALLERY - Reported by John Casey - 1.17.09

Johansson Projects: Winter Group Show - Collective Compulsions; Zach Houston - Sad Little Quiet Psychotopography.

Artists (group show): Amanda Hughen, Val Britton, Anna Fidler, Nathan Cordero, Tadashi Moriyama, Michael Meyers, Kristina Lewis, Jill Gallenstein, Yvette Molina, Andrew Benson, Katy Stone, Jen Stark, and Misa Inaoka.

Review by John Casey: Johansson Projects kicks of the 2009 season with a group exhibition of gallery artists. This survey solidfies the gallery's emphasis on works that dispaly meticulous detail and pattern and often includes works produced using mixed media processes.

Zach Houston explores his stream-of-consciousness through words and text constructing almost sculptural sentences on paper that at first seem to be a series of non-sequiturs but after some study reveal a collection of cohesive and poetic thought connections.

MG Gallery: Daniel Nevers - Unconstructed.

Review by John Casey: Daniel Nevers follows his month-long residency and show at Southern Exposure with this tidy show at the compact MG Gallery. His use of Home Depot Building materials has a visceral quality. Attic insullation seems fleshy and stiff; wire marker flags penetrate a cinderblock wall like large acupuncture needles.

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