SAN FRANCISCO ART GALLERIES OPENINGS

FIRST THURSDAY - 01.14.14 - Part II



Pros & cons of selling art at alternative venues. Click Here.

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Stephen Wirtz Gallery: The Optimists.

Artists: Maysha Mohamedi, Rebecca Morris, Ruby Neri, Laurie Reid.

Comment by AB: Laurie Reid explains this show's title as follows... "What motivates an artist to return to the studio time and time again? Surely, among other things, it is an almost feverish optimism-- or a sense that, no matter how long the wait or how difficult the work, something interesting and meaningful will come of it-- that one can indeed approach, in this manner, 'the wild heart of life.'" 'The wild heart of life' refers to a quote from the James Joyce novel, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. My faves? Ruby Neri ceramic sculptures and sculpture groups.

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The McLoughlin Gallery: Sorry Entertainer - Daniel Healey.

Comment by AB: In one of the more fascinating and unique processes I've ever come across, Daniel Healey takes illustrations from mail order store catalogues like Victoria's Secret and sticks short lengths of clear tape to them which he quickly removes, thereby transferring ink directly from the illustrations onto the tape. Then he tapes those inked sections onto paper, arranging them into elaborate abstract collages. The results are as remarkable as the process itself. Go see.

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Gallery Paule Anglim: James Sterling Pitt - Hello Green Cosmos; Nathaniel Dorsky - Film Stills.

Comment by AB: Like journal or diary entries, each of James Sterling Pitt's carved painted wood sculptures corresponds to a specific event in his life. If you point to one and ask him, he'll tell you exactly what that event is. As sort of a recollection backup, he also records these events as small watercolor and pencil drawings on paper, each serving as a working sketch for a sculpture. These drawings arranged into grids; some have brief penciled texts just beneath them recounting details of the events they represent. Good art; stop on by.

In the anteroom gallery, Nathaniel Dorsky crops "perfect moments" from his short experimental films into small photographic prints. While there's no end of Dorsky talking about his films online, try as I might, I could find none the films or even snippets of them available for viewing. What's up with that, Nat?!

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George Krevsky Gallery: Beth Van Hoesen - Portraits from the Castro.

Comment by AB: Portraits of Castro neighborhood characters by Beth Van Hoesen (1926-2010) who she painted from personal sittings circa the late 1980s and 1990s at her upper Market residence. Makes for an entertaining art show as well as an historical documentation of the times.

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Hespe Gallery: Eric Zener - Inspirations.

Comment by AB: Eric Zener has taken plenty of photographs over the years that he uses as reference when painting his paintings. Here he shows select images from that archive. Not only do they deepen our understanding of his paintings, but they also stand on their own as commendable works of art.

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Spoke Art Gallery: Third Annual Supersonic Invitational.

Artists: Brett Amory, Glenn Arthur, Tom Bagshaw, Oliver Barrett, David Bray, Hsiao Ron Cheng, Dan Christofferson, Kristina Collantes, Seamus Conley, Sam Wolfe Connelly, Jason Edmiston, Jeremy Enecio, Cam Floyd, Ken Garduno, Andrew Hem, Stella Im Hultberg, Allan Innman, Martine Johanna, Erik Jones, Steve Kim, Jason Levesque, Jen Mann, Alessandra Maria, Soey Milk, Mike Mitchell, Aaron Nagel, Joanne Nam, Victo Ngai, Charmaine Olivia, ONEQ, Alex Pardee, Jeff Ramirez, Conrad Roset, Joao Ruas, Tina St. Claire, Tatiana Suarez, Ken Taylor, Sachin Teng, Casey Weldon, Matthew Woodson, Zoltron.

Comment by AB: Group show highlights "emerging as well as established artists in the New Contemporary art movement." Not exactly sure what the New Contemporary art movement is, especially in the context of this show since it encompasses a smattering of pretty much everything.

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Addendum:

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Those of you who use these reviews to peruse the galleries from the convenience of your computer screens rather than having to visit in person might occasionally think about supporting the cause.

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First Thursday - December 5, 2013

First Thursday - November 7, 2013

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