SAN FRANCISCO ART GALLERIES OPENINGS

FIRST THURSDAY - 03.05.15 - Part I

(with assistance from RWM)



The benefits of saving certain works of your art. Click Here.

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Dolby Chadwick Gallery: Personages - Ann Weber; Matt Gonzalez - Dérive: Situationist Encounter in San Francisco.

Review by RWM: Have encounters with sculptures that almost take on the form of other beings. Travel off the planet with them here. They are wild, strange and defy expected shapes and embodiments. Maybe they are extraterrestrials or spirits that have temporarily materialized. Great show for fans of fantasy.

The work of Matt Gonzalez is equally impressive. Get lost in the monochromatic color schemes; spend time in the collaged abstractions. Nice work that can be more serious than playful.

Comment by AB: Matt Gonzalez tells me his intricate color-field collages consist almost entirely of found paper. An impressive crowd is in attendance for the show. Good art on both counts.

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Scott Richards Contemporary Art: Peter Fox - Telemetry.

Comment by AB: Lush cascades of flowing paint are frozen in motion. Occasionally you can peer through the polychrome opulence to glimpse branches, leaves and sky. Stop on by.

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Altman Siegel Gallery: Trevor Paglen.

Review by RWM: Great to make contact with the Oceanic Frontier and view the horizon. To shrink in the presence of the ocean reminds us that we are small in a big world, in these encounters with Nature which is beyond our control. We can go to the ocean to dream and otherwise share in the delight.

Review by Lorna Stevens: Trevor Paglen tackles the issue of mass data surveillance and privacy in his show at Altman Siegel, which includes large scale photographs, video, a mixed media sculpture and prints with collage elements. A large-scale photograph of a beach where fiber optic cable connects to land in Point Arena, CA is paired with a maritime map and related contextual and historical information. "Automony Cube" is a mixed media sculpture that serves as a WiFi hot spot on the Tor network, which is designed to maintain Internet privacy. His video titled "Code Names of the Surveillance State" is a rolling list of code names used by American and British government agencies.

Comment by AB: The seas may be glorious from the beach or a boat, but beneath them run fiber optic cables for enabling NSA activities. Shorelines and oceanscapes are paired with documents that demonstrate the extent to which we are all being watched and monitored. A darkened side gallery shows aerial footage of the Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ), the United Kingdom's equivalent of the NSA. On a pedestal in the main gallery, a computer sculpture housed in thick protective acrylic serves as a Wi-Fi hotspot for an Internet which strives to protect privacy. Definitely worth seeing... and thinking about those who do whatever they must to stay in power and control.

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Corden Potts Gallery: Elisabeth Sunday - Mystics and Healers.

Review by RWM: Profound to be among those who we don't fully understand. They are foreign though not quite exotic. Interesting anthropological experience. Strange to see these personages as if photographed with curved lenses or mirrors. Maybe they can help us through our troubled times.

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Addendum:

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If you enjoy my nonstop art show coverage and are ever inclined to contribute to the cause, you're more than welcome to do so here.

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First Thursday - February 5, 2015

First Thursday - January 8, 2015

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