CATHARINE CLARK - JACK FISCHER - 886 GEARY

MERCHANTS OF REALITY - GLAMA-RAMA - THE LOIN

02.21.15

(with assistance from Tami Tsark and RWM)



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Catharine Clark Gallery: Chester Arnold - Mad Abundance; Kurt Stallaert - Man with Lamb.

Review by Tami Tsark: Chester Arnold's newest show, "Mad Abundance," is rich deep and wide. As one collector at the opening mentions, "It seems sparser than previous shows but no less full." The canvases are brimming with palpable & allegorical narratives. The surfaces are rich with texture and filled with symbolic objects. The viewer looks over brick walls, climbs ladders, peers into mines, walks up wide seemingly littered steps, and is brought face-to-face with a volcano erupting with fiery hot lava. We are even struck by lightening, literally and figuratively. In each of the paintings, we are confronted, simply and most directly with nature, and with ourselves.

Arnold's paintings are complex worlds woven and constructed in ways that lead us to grand conclusions. The theme of the "prospector" resurfaces in these narrative paintings. According to the artist, "(the prospector) has been a peripheral interest ever since the early eighties, taking different shapes as I developed different skills to apply to the process. The name Prospector was used for my little book of poems from the show of 2008, which had in it the signal work of that name..." We are reminded of discovery of new excavations. We become the toiling worker resting from a weary day at the mines. We find solace in the journey and challenges of everyday travails.

Review by RWM: Fantastic paintings by Chester Arnold. Great journeys to castles, encounters and holes in the ground. Rambunctious. In the media room, an interesting video by Kurt Stallaert defies an easy artistic encounter or experience. One wonders where it is all going, but close observation reveals that movement is underway. It is stop and start here for the lamb whch is lost in motion. For the man watching the lamb there is some consternation and awe. An unusual art experience which is worthy of more chairs and a larger audience.

Comment by AB: Buyers have a choice of simiar paintings in different sizes; not something you see everyday. Highly recommended.

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Jack Fischer Gallery: Constructs - Marc D'Estout and Jay Kelly.

Review by RWM: Strange and odd. Great conversation starters. Interesting sculptural entities that ask the question, "Where did this come from?" Fantastic feats of habitable creations.

Comment by AB: Objects, exceptionally well-made, that serve no purpose other than to confound viewers with their consummate pointlessness and impracticality. And there you have one of the great gifts of art-- it keeps our minds open to the fact that accomplishment can be demonstrated, achieved and appreciated in all kinds of ways. Worth a visit on both counts.

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886 Geary Gallery: Un-Formal - Geso & Poesia.

Comment by AB: Freeform paint pours by Geso contrast with mixed-media works by Poesia that combine paint, folds and collage.

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Merchants of Reality: Ad Infinitum.

Artists: Kendall Berardino, Daisy Collazo, Edo Escobedo, Airy Feller, Philip Gann, Jessy Gaumann, TJ Giovannio, Larissa Grant, Joshua Nissen King, Emilia Loomis, Chris Love, Allen Myers, Dani Padgett, Will Ratliff, Michael Torchia.

Comment by AB: Some work worth considering at this salmagundi salad of a group show.

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Glama-Rama Salon: Oomph - Adam Ansell.

Review by RWM: Portrait paintings of all kinds of people, candid and personal. The crowd is watched by the paintings on the walls, sometimes hard, sometimes grimacing.

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