MCLOUGHLIN - SANDRA LEE - CATHARINE CLARK

VARNISH - LUGGAGE STORE - ARC STUDIOS

NEEDLES & PENS - DREAMERS AND MAKE BELIEVERS

04.07.12, Part I

(with assistance from Mairead O'Connor, Clare Coppel, Neal Strickberger and RWM)



How to expand the audience for your art. Click Here.

***

The McLoughlin Gallery: Think Things - David Middlebrook.

Comment by AB: Whimsical yet serious sculpture by the multitalented David Middlebrook. Mediums include bronze, stone, tree branches, tree trunks, ceramic and more. Worth a visit.

***

Sandra Lee Gallery: Honorable Mention - Kathryn Arnold and Carol Levy.

Comment by AB: Of note here is Kathryn Arnold's 100!-- 100 small canvases that you can grid and order however you please. Both Kathryn Arnold and Carol Levy were finalists in The Abstract Exhibition, juried at the gallery by former Chief Curator of the Oakland Museum of Art, Phil Linhares, in 2011.

***

Varnish Fine Art: Have and Have Not. Curated by Lee Ballard.

Artists: Jon Wayshak, Rick Berry, Robert Bowen, Kiyoshi Nakazawa, Brad Isdrab, Morning Breath/Doug Cunningham, Scott Cambell, Lucien Shapiro, Barron Storey, Sam Keith, Lee Ballard, Ian Ameling, Rogelio Martinez.

Comment by RWM: Fantastic. Incredible. Troubling and dark.

Review by Mairead O'Connor: Once again, Varnish has put together an impressive group show. I can't say that I loved it all, but there were certainly a few gems. Lucien Shapiro and Robert Bowen were my favorites.

Comment by AB: From illustration to horror to urban to religious and political commentary, you'll find it here, all commendably executed. Some of it might even make you wince. Check it out.

***

Luggage Store Gallery: Me and My ____.

Artists: Rye Purvis, Erlin Geffrard, Henry Gunderson, Spencer Keeton Cunningham, Chad Hasegawa.

Review by Mairead O'Connor: This interactive group show of five emerging Bay Area multimedia artists explores themes of the Native Americans, nature and the more primitive aspects of our existence via paintings, video, sculpture and installations. These young artists are asking important questions and their pieces work nicely together.

***

Arc Studios & Gallery: Lost and Found. Curated by Matt McKinley.

Artists: Andrew Knipe, Arthur Comings, Brandy Eiger, Dianne Hoffman, Dolores Gray, John Whitmarsh, Kat Flyn. Kevin Grady, Leigh Ellison, Linda Raynsford, Liz Mamorsky, Mirto Golino, Robert Burg.

Comment by Neal Strickberger: Particularly notable work by Andrew Knipe-- dogs sculpted from burned wood projecting emotion and pain through posture and expression... evocative.

Comment by AB: Discards are rescued and transformed into art. No matter what it is, artists can surely recycle it.

***

Needles & Pens: Everything Ever and Nothing Never. Curated by Austin McManus.

Artists: Jai Tanju, Tahiti Pehrson, Deuce 7, Aminah Slor, Read More Books, Kevin Bouton-Scott, Grady Gordon, Michael Alvarez, David Jien, Jeff Canham, Bill Daniel, Joey Alone, Derek Albeck, Ross Farrar, Ken Davis, Ian Norstad, Nicolas Torres, Austin McManus.

Comment by AB: Austin McManus transits the art-o-sphere in search of emerging talent. The results of his exploits are on exhibit here.

***

Dreamers and Make Believers Salon: Hotel Party Zine Release - Photos by Jesse Pollock.

Comment by AB: A hotel party-- before, during and after-- documented by Jesse Pollock. Some have a great time, some overdo it, no one has any regrets. The zine release and photography show is a Hamburger Eyes production.

***

Addendum:

***