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SFMOMA ARTISTS GALLERY - JENKINS JOHNSON

ANDREA SCHWARTZ - ARTHAUS - PAXTON GATE

A.MUSE - ADOBE BACKROOM - CELLSPACE

BEDFORD - HOTEL BIRON

03.13.11

(with assistance from Clare Coppel, RWM and Meredith Winner)



Art Consulting for Collectors. Not sure? Ask. Click here.

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SFMOMA Artists Gallery: Mirang Wonne, Jenn Shifflet, Kathryn St. Clair.

Comment by AB: Unusual media alert-- Mirang Wonne "paints" with a blow torch on stainless steel mesh. Also on the docket are amorphous forms by Jenn Shifflet and atmospheric landscapes by Kathryn St. Clair.

Art by Mirang Wonne.

Stainless steel mesh & blow torch art by Mirang Wonne.

Pinkie cam detail of art by Mirang Wonne in above image.

Art by Mirang Wonne (left) & Kathryn St. Clair (right).

Art by Mirang Wonne (left) & Kathryn St. Clair (right).

Kathryn St. Clair art.

Art by Kathryn St. Clair.

Art by Jenn Shifflet.

Jenn Shifflet art.

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Jenkins Johnson Gallery: T_XT_RT. Curated by Courtney Johnson.

Artists: Jeremy Bert, Samantha Boudrot, Brian Dettmer, Tim Etchells, Ariel Goldberg, Claudia Goulette, Cody Hoyt, Glenn Ligon, Jack Pierson, Jessica Rankin, Burt Ritchie, Hank Willis Thomas.

Comment by AB: Text meets art. Assess the outcome of that confluence here.

Text-based art at Jenkins Johnson Gallery.

Installation art.

Installation art in above image closer.

It doesn't get much more optimistic than this.

Text-based art at Jenkins Johnson Gallery.

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Andrea Schwartz Gallery: Group Show and Gwen Manfrin Book Signing.

Artists: John Belingheri, Cara Barer, Philip Buller, Emilio Lobato, Gwen Manfrin, Shawn Weeden.

Review by Kathryn Arnold: A lovingly arranged exhibition of gallery artists. On one large wall is a maximum-sized painting containing multiple views of a single figure, like taking a Vermeer portrait into a 3D modeling program to gain access to profile and frontal views, and then dynamically creating a juxtaposition of each vantage point. Also notable are digital photographs of books, folded or rather unfolded into abstract shapes, sculptural in feeling, posed against a black backdrop. Patterns of ellipses and multiple other works are on view.

Gwen Manfrin's works, photographs and archival digital prints of gravestones and burial sites with cliché titles such as "Wish You Were Here" and "Front Row Seats," are inspired by the burial of her father, projections about other families and their loved ones, and the isolation of a cemetery in the East Bay. But these could be anywhere, universal.

Digital art by Gwen Manfrin (photo c/o Andrea Schwartz Gallery).

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ArtHaus Gallery: Suzanne Benton - World Piece.

Comment by AB: Sculpture and monoprints with collage by Suzanne Benton reflect her extensive travels around the world.

Art by Suzanne Benton.

Art by Suzanne Benton closer.

Suzanne Benton art.

Art by Suzanne Benton.

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Paxton Gate: Shelley Monahan - Seen, Not Heard.

Review by Meredith Winner: Paxton Gate is not your typical art gallery. It actually operates more as a store, featuring artwork and crafts made by local artists, along with books, toys and other novelty items-- an abundance of taxidermy animals, for instance. In a room at the front of the space, Shelley Monahan's monochromatic paintings source their imagery, mainly of children playing, from found vintage photographs. Reminiscent of the American past, their nostalgic quality feeds into the overall vintage feel of the store.

Review by Clare Coppel: Paintings by Shelley Monahan-- black, white and gray images of children at play, larger than life and somewhat eerie, lacking in context and quite strong.

Art by Shelley Monahan.

Shelley Monahan and her art (photo c/o Clare Coppel).

Art above by Shelley Monahan closer (photo c/o Meredith Winner).

Art by Shelley Monahan closer (photo c/o Clare Coppel).

Paxton Gate proper.

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a.Muse Gallery: Change is the Only Constant - Panoramic Photographs by Seth Dickerman.

Comment by AB: Seth Dickerman tells me his camera automatically shoots the photographs and advances the film while he manually sweeps it from one end to the other of the landscapes that are to become his panoramas.

Panoramic photography by Seth Dickerman.

Photographer Seth Dickerman and son.

Seth Dickerman photograph.

Panoramic photographs by Seth Dickerman.

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Adobe Books Backroom Gallery: The 770 Show. Curated by Arden Sherman

Artists: Eric William Carroll, Sarah Hotchkiss, Sean McFarland, Paul Schiek, Parker Tilghman, Suné Woods, Kelli Yon.

Comment by AB: Seven artists explore the shelves of the Adobe Bookshop, peruse the tomes, cogitate on their contents, get jiggy in the studio, and voila-- art.

Art inspired by books at Adobe Bookshop Backroom Gallery.

Art.

Art.

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CELLspace Gallery: Vanesa Gingold - You Can Never Go Back.

Comment by AB: No, you can never go back, but Vanesa Gingold takes a pretty valiant whack at it with her whimsical and imaginative womb-like constructions and installations.

Art by Vanesa Gingold.

Constructions and installation art by Vanesa Gingold.

Vanesa Gingold art.

Art by Vanesa Gingold.

Vanesa Gingold art (you can crawl through this one).

Constructions and installation art by Vanesa Gingold.

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Befdord Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA: Nature's Beloved Son - Rediscovering John Muir's Botanical Legacy.

Review by RWM: Nice to gather with other John Muir fans to learn about his fascination with the botanical world. One can find all sorts of wonders in the natural world, some of which are presented here. Muir found theology in Nature and was inspired by its beauty. He also reveled in the wonders of it's minutiae, some which are on display; see the fruits of these observations. Muir's legacy has been a bulwark against a more sociological environmentalism, but if you like to walk outdoors, this man should still be thanked.

Rediscovering John Muir (photo c/o Bedford Gallery).

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Addendum:

Art by Obi Kaufmann at Hotel Biron.

Another from Obi Kaufmann art show at Hotel Biron.

One more from Obi Kaufmann at Hotel Biron.

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