SF ARTS COMMISSION - CENTER FOR THE BOOK - AMPERSAND

ROMER YOUNG - ART AT THE DUMP - 6025 THIRD STREET

01.21.11

(with assistance from Anneliese Vobis, Meredith Winner and RWM)



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San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery: Isn't It Obvious? San Francisco Artists Consuming the Banal.

Artists: Arthur/Allan (Brion Nuda Rosch and Chris Sollars), Matt Kennedy, Kristina Lewis, Jasmin Lim, Lindsey White, Daniel Nevers.

Review by Meredith Winner: This collaborative exhibition uses site-specific installation, video, photography and sculpture to challenge the way we experience everyday objects and situations. The playful highlighting of such mundane items and spaces prompts the viewer to step back and reexamine how we go about our lives, what we pay attention to (or don't), and in so doing, also poses the question of 'what is art?'

The show's humorous approach has a Duchampian quality about it as each artist's art serves to dignify the commonplace. Lindsey White, for instance, shows a series of rocks, while Kristina Lewis pieces together a slew of inverted umbrellas.

The exhibit's title, "Isn't it Obvious?," is certainly fitting because, well, it is... Whether or not the viewer should pay this kind of attention to ordinary places and/or objects is not apparent, but there's no need to over think it. Overall the body of work is lighthearted, and it's clear that the artists had fun creating it.

Review by RWM: At times kind of touchy feely, but inspired and brave nonetheless. You'll find the work surprising and a bit terrific, but not necessarily all that obvious. You may be taken with some of these mundane revelations, though not all works are as serious as they initially seem.

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San Francisco Center for the Book: Cuban Artists' Books And Prints 1985-2008. Curated by Linda S. Howe.

Review by RWM: Memorable encounter with the exotic. Cannot help but be impressed by the passion and emotion. One may find some angst here, but there is also style and protest which enliven and expand the artisitic milieu.

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Ampersand International Arts: Walking on Thin Ice (WoTI).

Artists: Miguel Arzabe, Leo Bersamina, Kristina Bell DiTullo, Lori Gordon, Dee Hibbert-Jones & Nomi Talisman, Carrie Leeb, Kristina Lewis, Kirk Maxson, Abner Nolan, Sarah Smith, Jennifer Starkweather, Marie Van Elder.

Review by Anneliese Vobis: Somewhat of a wake up call about political and natural issues, among other matters addressed. The artists use high contrast between the concept and the real, sometimes beautiful appearance. Kirk Maxson's butterfly shaped cut outs from US Magazines reflect, for example, on US involvement in past and recent wars. Sarah Smith's works highlight the destructive effects we have on nature and animals.

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Romer Young Gallery: Progression Minus Progress. Curated by Sarah Lehrer-Graiwer.

Artists: Dianna Molzan, Brian Kennon, Lisa Williamson, Erika Vogt, D'Ette Nogle, Piero Golia.

Review by Anneliese Vobis: There is no common thread among the works as curator Sarah Lehrer-Graiwer really challenges the audience to study deeper in order to expose the underlying concepts.

Comment by AB: According to the diatribe, this show's mainly "about claiming, even demanding a way of thinking through things that prolongs and extends and multiplies the privately plumbed recesses of time." Hmmm. Do tell. Lemme cogitate on that one and get back to you.

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Art at the Dump - The Artist in Residence Program at Recology San Francisco: Suzanne Husky - Sleeper Cell Raising; Ferris Plock - Hunt and Gather; Bill Russell - Recology Sketchbook, Portraits and Stories.

Comment by AB: Out on the patio, Suzanne Husky creates two elaborately detailed and solidly constructed pod-like structures that are actually habitable, and courtesy of fellow resident Ferris Plock, landscaped with discarded Christmas trees. To round it all out, she puts together a time-lapse video showing her constructing a structure, and creates a fine ink and watercolor drawing of one of her domiciles set in a fantasy landscape. Terrific outcome and certainly the best endeavor I've seen The Dump. It's that simple and no more complicated. The photos don't do justice; you gotta go see for yourself.

As for the gallery proper, Ferris Plock informs me that his paintings are created entirely from found materials-- including the paint. And just for good measure, he throws in an orderly fabric-in-bottle installation.

Journalist and caricaturist Bill Russell, meanwhile, interviews Recology employees and then immortalizes them in hand-drawn vignettes that he then scans and digitally colors. Nicely done.

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6025 Third Street, San Francisco, CA 94124: Self Portrait #3 - A Kinetic Installation by Aaron Geman.

Comment by AB: An exceptionally elaborate and ambitious kinetic endeavor by Aaron Geman intends to materialize and dematerialize an abstracted figure every fifteen minutes via an intricate Rube Goldberg apparatus consisting of ropes, motors and pulleys. Unfortunately, technical difficulties rule as the "performance" never really gets off the ground. But it's a sight to behold nonetheless.

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