MCLOUGHLIN - JOHN PENCE - CHANDLER

CIIS - ELECTRIC WORKS - DA ARTS

111 MINNA - CITY ART - MODERN EDEN

04.01.11

(with assistance from Geoff Smith, Anneliese Vobis and RWM)



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The McLoughlin Gallery: No Fooling We Mean It! - David Middlebrook, Jeff Schomberg and Doug Thielscher.

Review by RWM: Significant collection and variety of sculpture. Some defy explanation or protest. Others will amaze with their unusual forms and physical characteristics. And then there are those that magically capture emotion.

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John Pence Gallery: West Coast Painters.

Artists: Juliette Aristides, Noah Buchanan, Carl Dobsky, Adam Forfang, Greg Gandy, Carin Gerard, Tara Keefe, Dean Larson, Jeremy Mann, Clark Mitchell, Stock Schlueter, Randall Sexton, Will Wilson.

Comment by AB: We've got some prodigiously talented representational painters way out West, and this show leaves no doubt about it. Landscapes, cityscapes, figures, nudes, portraits, still lifes, trompe l'oeils, the works.

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Chandler Fine Art: Kumi Korf.

Review and images by Anneliese Vobis: New abstract works by Kumi Korf on sensitive,thin paper. Korf uses the intaglio process to achieve a timeless quality in her work. The chosen pastel colors impart a sense of peace and tranquility.

Review by RWM: Kumi Korf's abstract works are filled with pleasing colors. One may also find calmness, sensuality and warmth.

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California Institute of Integral Studies: Christina Mazza - What's Mine is Yours.

Review by Anneliese Vobis: Christina Mazza reclaims used materials in a highly sophisticated manner. She uses her exquisite drawing skills on used wooden materials to bring the hidden stories to life. Delicate textures and imagery transform the surfaces and enable these objects to have second lives.

Review by RWM: Nice exploration of found objects transformed into art. The work follows the tradition of the pop artists who found beauty among what we normally discard, and also reminds of what we are losing in our throw away society. Maybe there could also be a separate residential recycling container for discards that can be reincarnated as beautiful works of art.

Review by Geoff Smith: This one person show entitled "What's Mine is Yours" features Bay Area artist Christina Mazza. Mazza's work typically combines her considerable drawing skills with materials derived from found objects. In Mazza's own words, "My own life's story compels me to find value in everyday, discarded objects."

The show encompasses multiple large mural installations, assemblages of smaller drawings, and two three-dimensional installation pieces constructed out of waste materials. Her eight foot long mural "Threads of Consciousness" is painstakingly rendered with latex paint, ink and pencil. The smaller drawings in the Forsaken Articles series are archival prints of ball point renderings of various found objects, such as "Seagrass V," a rendering of a found object washed up on the beach. "Patchwork Stream" is constructed from strips of reclaimed, multicolored wood symbolizing America's ethnic melting pot. Mazza's three dimensional "City Scape" is made from reclaimed wood panels and metal strips with latex paint and pencil renderings, symbolizing the residues of human urban life. The grey-blue center of "Packing" consists of ink and pencil renderings set in and surrounded by a found scalloped baking dish. This rendering appears to be three dimensional but is in fact on (flat) found book paper.

Mazza recently completed Recology's Artist in Residence (AIR) program as well as the Artist Studio program at the De Young museum. Her work causes us to reflect on the latent value and beauty in things that we might otherwise thoughtlessly discount and discard.

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Electric Works Gallery: Bryant Austin - In the Eye of the Whale; Chris Jordan - Whale, 2011.

Review by Anneliese Vobis: Bryant Austin's photographs of whales capture our full attention, especially his monumental works. Austin successfully manages to bring us close to the deep sea mysteries. In the project room Chris Jordan's photographs deal with environmental issues like pollution. Dead sea animals remind us how destructive and serious our impact on nature is.

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DA Arts Gallery 135 Sixth Street, San Francisco, CA 94103, (415) 269-3477: Reynaldo R. Cayetano Jr. & Chris Beale - 6th Sense, A Photo Dialogue in the Heart of SoMa; Airbrush by Sketch; Live Collage by Big Face.

Comment by AB: Lively street corner convocation venerates music and art.

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111 Minna Gallery: Art Almighty.

Artists: Atticus Wolrab, Buff Monster, Danni Shinya Luo, Doze Green, Gary Arlington, Isabel Samaras, Jay Howell, Joe Sorren, Jud Burgeon, Karen Hsiao, Kathy Staico-Schorr, Last Gasp, Mark Bode, Mark McCloud, Michael Hernandez de Luna, Miso, Nora Rodriquez, Rockin' Jelly Bean Justin Green Charles Kraft, Rogelio Marinez, Ron Donovan, Ron Turner, Scott Musgrove, Scott Saw, Seonna Hong, Shawn Barber, Spain Rodriguez, Todd Schorr, Vaugh Bode, Vaughn Bode, Wednesday Kirwan, Winston Smith.

Review by Anneliese Vobis: "Art Almighty" group show presented by Last Gasp,eminently esteemed publishers of underground books and comics, includes drawings, paintings, prints, collages and more. The art transforms the space into a storytelling atmosphere. Some of the work invites viewers look close and discover their hidden secrets. Some real treasures await you.

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City Art Gallery: First Friday Group Show.

Artists: Amy Levine, Yvonne Jones-Most, Hilary Williams, Marisa Escolar, Jeanne Hauser, Katie Gilmartin, Mike Kimball, John Kraft, Stephen C. Wagner, Joseph S. Kohls, Ryan Bieber, Andreina Davika, Kayla Garelick, Anne Marie Hodrick, Maria Rodriguez, Beka Brayer, Suzanne Beabrun, Kaya Suttva, dk haas, Valerie Harris, Marianne Bland, Prashant Oaloskar, Sonya A. Ljubinkovic, Amelia Lewis, Tom Heinz, Kate Moore, Diana Hartman, Rachel Lyra Hospodar, William Rhodes.

Review by Geoff Smith: There is something here to suit everyone's tastes including a wide variety of paintings, lithographs, photographs, mixed media, jewelry and more. This time what catch my eye are the mixed media ink, pencil and gouache nudes by Yvonne Jones-Most, and the playful and colorful mini-monsters portrayed by Diana Hartman-- while my wife is intrigued by Gabrielle Lessard's jewelry.

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Addendum:

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