OAKLAND ART GALLERY OPENINGS
FRONT - MERCURY 20 - CHANDRA CERRITO - FORT - ROCK PAPER SCISSORS - MAMA BUZZ - HATCH - 21 - GRAND AMOEBA ART SHOW
Reported by John Casey
3.6.09

Front Gallery: Aftersight.

Artists: Rocky Angel, Francesca Pera, Carolyn Haydu.

Review by John Casey: Rocky Angel's work contains religious and sexual overtones. Francesca Pera creates colorful and highly detailed encaustic paintings, and Carolyn Haydu's elaborate wall installations often incorporate natural materials.

Mercury 20: Vexing History - Charlie Milgrim and Eric Bohr.

Review by John Casey: Charlie Milgrim sculpts using precariously balanced bowling balls on various other found objects. Eric Bohr creates mixed media paintings which chronicle his family's migration from farmland to city dwellings.

Fort Gallery: billow / ripple - Eliza Fernand.

Review by John Casey: Now it's off to the Fort Gallery (not to be confused with Front). This is Fort Gallery's first solo show and Eliza Fernand has filled each of the gallery's rooms with her soft-media installations and sculptures. Eliza and Fort Gallery get the award for funnest show of this month's Art Murmur.

Rock Paper Scissors Collective: Formations.

Review by John Casey: Excerpting from the RPS press release, "For the last two months, RPSC has led cardboard sculpture classes with developmentally disabled artists at Creative Growth, taught by local artist James Ferrell as part of RPSC's Community Collaborations Project. Twice a week, Ferrell and RPSC volunteers have guided students through the process of creating their own cardboard sculpture from original 2D drawings to large-scale 3D sculptures. The finished pieces will be installed in RPSC's gallery with the help of Mark Inglis Taylor (www.youarealreadythere.blogspot.com) and Nat Russell (www.thisishowwedo.com) who will add their fantastic imagery to complement and reflect the imaginations of Creative Growth artists, creating the backdrop for the exhibition."

This show could also vie for funnest Art Murmur show for March.

Buzz Gallery: Sacrificial Bliss - Works by Danny Neece.

Review by John Casey: Berkeley artist Danny Neece executes well done and inventive illustrations. Another solid show from Curator Lisa Aurora Calderon.

21 Grand: Daniel Healey and Damon Smith.

Review by John Casey: Daniel Healey's mixed media collages (or are they paintings?) are quite elaborate. The canvases are filled with what appear to be everyday objects but the overall effect is map-like. Damon Smith works abstractly, possibly a refection of his avant-garde musicianship.

Amoeba Art Show: Factory Party.

Review by John Casey: Andy Warhol and The Factory are the inspiration for Amoeba Record's 3rd Annual Art Show. The artists are primarily Amoeba employees, and the live music is a big plus. Thousands turn out for this extravaganza.

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