ARTS FUND - JOHN PENCE - SILVERMAN - VARNISH
DEFINITIVE STORIES - FIRST AMENDMENT
ARTIST-XCHANGE - BIBLIOHEAD
ADOBE BACKROOM - CITY ART - SECESSION - D-STRUCTURE
06.05.09
(with assistance from Laura Chenault, DeWitt Cheng, and Sandra Silvoy)

The Arts Fund: David LeBatard aka LEBO.

Comment by AB: According to their website, "The Arts Fund commercializes innovation in the high arts, motion pictures & social sciences... Arts Fund general partners work closely with entrepreneurs, artists & scientists translating theory into practice. Housed within San Francisco Sentry Investments... the Arts Fund portfolio includes high art, film, music & design." The bottom line is that The Arts Fund not only patronizes the arts, they also support select artists and projects from a funding standpoint. Tonight, The they honor Miami artist LEBO (David LeBatard), best known for his mural work and live painting. Among his numerous accomplishments, his art been seen on MTV "Cribs," he's produced works for the Latin Grammy Awards, and been featured in the Miami Herald.

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John Pence Gallery: Greg Gandy, Jeremy Mann.

Review by Sandra Silvoy: Greg Gandy specializes in hyper realistic San Francisco city scenes and neighborhood nooks. If you zone in on the paintings and forget the surrounding wall space, you can easily imagine yourself walking up hills past lines of cars to reach your very own destination. Jeremy Mann takes on San Francisco with a more impressionistic view of the streets, while his still-life paintings are amazingly realistic and lovely. At work in the studio, he hangs the cadaverous fowl himself and strings Christmas icicle lights around for good measure. But his lounging ladies are quite alive and exquisitely handled. Mann enjoys balance between the realism of a still-life and the freedom he brings to his San Francisco perspectives.

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Silverman Gallery: Yuval Pudik - Enduring Patiently.

Comment by AB: Fine graphite drawings by Israeli artist Yuval Pudik essay on archtypal masculine authority by deftly combining heirloom European and Continental fashion flair like capes, gauntlets, tights and armor, with contemporary references such as jet engines, high performance automobiles, guns, spike heels, and the like. Nicely done.

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Varnish Fine Art: Eminent Domain Awareness - Group Show.

Artists: JennyBird Alcantara, Rita Alves, Beth Bojarski, Albert Dicruttalo, Ron Donovan, Ron English, Jose Fernandez, J.C. Garrett, Carlos Huante, Grant Irish, Eunkang Koh, Lex Lucius, The Oyster Pirate Workshop, Michael Page, Kevin Peterson, Jennifer Rogers, Dan Romo, Reuben Rude, Kristen Sard, Wayne Shaffer, Winston Smith, Joe Sorren, Chuck Sperry, Kerri Stephens, Stanislav Szukalski, Sri Zeno Whipple, Ken Whitaker.

Review by Laura Chenault: The Eminent Domain Awareness Group Show is unfortunately themed because this gallery is being demolished to make way for the new Transbay Terminal in downtown San Francisco. The gallery is packed with well-wishers who are listening to anti-eminent domain speeches. The artwork is an eclectic mix of sculpture, painting, and works on paper. Kerri Stephens has a gorgeous female bust prominently displayed. A detailed work in ink by Eunkang Koh is filled with aliens and spaceships. A painting of twin figures combined by a single heart is a lush piece by JennyBird Alcantara. Chuck Sperry is on site producing two amazing original silkscreened posters. They are hung on the gallery railings to dry, and handed out to the audience during the evening.

Speakers at the event include Melinda Phillips Zumski (owner, Phillips Business Consulting), Warren Hinckle (author, newsman, and current Editor of the Argonaut), Matt Gonzalez (former President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors), and Jello Biafra (artist and former lead of the Dead Kennedys punk rock band).

Comment by AB: Via the edict of Eminent Domain, San Francisco's Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) is evicting 33 small businesses (including Varnish Fine Art) and numerous residents in order to make way for this major high-rise constuction project.

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Definitive Stories Gallery, 950 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103: Fragments - BADA (Bay Area Documentary Association).

Photographers: Brittany Boyer, Kevin Burdick, William Campos, Michael Costa, Aimee Guymon, Rory Hejtmanek, Andre Hermann, Lindsey Leger, Irwin Lewis, Annie Martin, Michael Mees, Victor Prieto, Unnikrishnan Raveendranathan, Patrick Roth, Anastasiia Sapon, Theo Slavin, Amanda Smith, Fran Smith.

Review by Laura Chenault: This new gallery in downtown San Francisco is an airy bright space filled with beautiful black and white documentary photographs. The walls are strung with tension wire and the photographs are casually hung with clips. This simple display allows the photographs to be the focus. There is no glare, no inconsistent frame jobs, and no variation in the 16" x 20" format. A variety of subjects is portrayed spanning cultures and aesthetics. Simple and balanced architecture photography hangs next to gritty voyeuristic images. This is the premier exhibit by the Bay Area Documentary Association.

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First Amendment Gallery: Into the Darkness.

Artists: 64 Colors, ADDEccenteric, Aeirsick, Albert Art, AttemptedArtistry, Ayleen Gaspar, Boompooper, brainstrikers, ARTDENKA, Brian Colin, BrownKidd, Bryan Collins Catherine J. Cruz, Collin David, Cris Rose, D-LuX, DrilOne, Flyin Bear, George Gaspar, Hariken, InfamousAdam, Jenny Wolf, Jon Paul, Kaiser, KaroGaro, Kat Brunnegraff, Keith Poon, Kel7alpha, Kelly Vetter, Leecifer, Leonard Amaral, Lily Black, Lunabee, Lysol, Max Bare, MeSmithy, Mike Maraldo, Nathan Lumm, Nerviswr3k, OsirisOrion, Patrick Francisco, Phoneticontrol, Pretty Poopie, RazhoR, REdYOdA, rustedhalo, Three, TIBONG, Trevor, Zammit

Review by Laura Chenault: 1AM Gallery is filled with shelves and shelves of toys. Re-worked, re-created, and re-imagined these artists combine childhood whimsy with adult themes. Some pieces are clearly sculpted from raw materials while others are drastically modified from existing toys. An angry doll in traditional kimono is a nice contrast to a grumpy-faced, bloody-pencil wielding fellow who glows in the dark. A shadowbox of creatures in a forest evokes the children's story "Where the Wild Things Are." There are some really nice pieces of hanging art including a stitched eye juxtaposed with a screaming mini-monster.

Review by Sandra Silvoy: Modified toys line the walls with a smattering of paintings here and there. A collection of some really cool dioramas of relevance hangs in the back room.  The contributing group of artists hale from countries around the world. Featured is an exuberant local guru of toy modification, Lily. He holds classes at the gallery, which you're going to want to jump at once you see what he can do with a blank toy. Lilly notes that the original toys have their own character, but he destroys and reconstructs them into marvelous miniature industrial detritus worlds of darkened humor.

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Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica: Joshua Greenberg - A Selected Survey. Curated by Phil Linhares of the Oakland Museum.

Review by DeWitt Cheng: Since noticing the Italian stone inlays (pietre dure) in the marquetry floors and furniture at the old DeYoung Museum in 2001, SF painter Josh Greenberg has been carving into plywood sheets and filling in the grooves with colored epoxy resin-- more familiarly, that staple of auto body repair, Bondo. The paintings have a mosaic look, with the Pompeii-suggestive animal and plant motifs rendered parallel to the picture plane, but they are more painterly, since the infill easily follows the strokes of the router; the surface are sanded flush and coated with a sealer layer. Also showing are earlier works fashioned from hundreds of carved wooden elements into coral-- or nestlike structures-- and small white figurative sculptures of plaster, some of which are outfitted with faux-flame lightbulbs. Artist's talk July 11, 4pm.

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Artist-Xchange Gallery: June Art Exhibit - New Works.

Artists: Tomoko Maruyama, Gabrielle Gamboa, Whitney Elridge, Katja Leibenath, Mr Rogers, Audrey Welch, Sabine Brunner, Kirk McCarthy, Stephanie Hamilton Designs, Andrey Leyba, Beth Bloom, Colin Williams, Pete Hickok, Michelle Waters, Andre Nobrega, Steve Javiel, Vicki Morawietz-Vam, Anna Efanova, Emily Keyishian, Mimosa Studio, Michael A. Levin, Slim Arts, Walter Koning, Meri Page, Laura Walls Taylor, Diane Julia Flick, Pat Markle, Wayne Jiang, Mary Patterson, Hilary Williams, Brad Wright, Michael-Che` Swisher, Niana Liu, Mary Tivadar, Aaron Johnson, Edward Freeland, Joshua Ellingson, Missy Feigum, Alice Gibbons, Hiroko Sakai, Steven Wilber, Lisa LaRocca.

Review and images by Laura Chenault: The June show as always features an impressive amount of local artists each with a distinct style and vision. Mr. Rogers is an artist who creates bright painted scenes on both canvas and discarded windows. Another eye-catching group is a large selection of high-gloss mixed media pieces by Audrey Welch featuring vintage comic book imagery and color schemes. The small mixed-media squares of Emily Keyishian are charming and whimsical. Artist DLISH's paintings feature urban and gritty imagery immaculately rendered. And that's just the tip of the iceberg in this packed gallery.

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Bibliohead Bookstore: Kristin Farr & Jeff Meadows - Forest Station.

Comment by AB: Fun lighthearted upbeat affordable collaborative foray by Kristin Farr and Jeff Meadows. You gotta look up to find the art though-- on display along a narrow area just above the tops of the bookcases and below the ceiling.

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Adobe Books Backroom Gallery: First Exposures Zine Release Party.

Artists: Marcio Ramirez, Karla Santos, Aaron King, Franchesca Hernandez, Stephanie Rivera, Daniella Espinoza, Diana La, Tanashati Anderson, Erin Harris, Mariana Castro, Isabella Molina, Rebekka Williams, Kayla Moore, Jose Sanchez, Victor Morazan, Gregory Lawrence, Diamond Stephens, Naomi Castro, Nicka Tiglao, Curt Demafeliz, Norberto Hernandez, Emi Nakamura, Lyly Lam, Shantel McNeal, Lais Gama.

Review and images by Laura Chenault: Creatively displayed zines hang from every inch of this gallery. The books are the creations of SF Camerawork's First Exposures group of young artists. All of the books are photographic, and most combine words with their images. A variety of modern stories are portrayed in the zines ranging from the personal to the political. Some pieces are gut-wrenching while others are whimsical. These works truly represent the range and depth of their creators.

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City Art Gallery: Monthly Group Show plus Visual Aid Artists.

Artists: Robin Bordow, Colin Sjostedt, Leslie Morgan, Trish Tunney, Amy Levine, Tom Heinz, Mary Patterson, Angelo DiPietrantonio, Katie Gilmartin, Lynn Mechanic, Marisa Escolar, Jill Schwab, Sue Kopcho, Visual Aid, Maria Rodriguez, Jeanne Hauser, Ford Minton, Richard Dodds, Geoff King, Carol Nelson Ceres, Tony Torrez, Sonja Ljubinkovic, Lauren Shahroody, Matthew Felix Sun, Stephen C. Wagner.

Review and images by Laura Chenault: This co-operative gallery features a wide range of artists working in different mediums. Printmakers, photographers, painters, and mixed-media artists nicely co-exist on the walls of this bright gallery. Many of the works in this month's show feature queer-positive work. A large series of medium linocuts by Katie Gilmartin presents delightful visual pairings of two definitions of various words including fag, dish, fairy, dyke, and bottom. Richard Dood has two very hip triptychs reminiscent of old advertisements. Stephen C. Wagners shows a nice group of powerful diminutive collages. Traditional black and white photographs by Geoff King are powerful and poignant. Plenty more to see at this gallery of local artists.

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Secession Art and Design: FuryOne and Anna Simson.

Review and images by Laura Chenault: FuryOne is an artist whose work literally comes right off the streets. After 25 years as an outdoor artist he is now in the gallery. His dark splattered canvases depict iconic San Francisco images and range in scale from mere inches to feet. Graphic and bold, this artist is definitely suited for indoor art. Sharing graphic roots, Anna Simson's beautiful monoprints are colorful and layered. Satellite images of lights overlap with graphic representations of urban landscapes. Industrial equipment is presented as beautiful hanging forms, positioned over a city of stacked boxcars.

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D-Structure: Halsey Chait - Macrolecule.

Comment by AB: Confident intricate meditative mandala-like paintings, drawings and prints by Halsey Chait appear rooted in science, biology, mathematics and universal truth.

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