SAN FRANCISCO ART GALLERIES OPENINGS

FIRST THURSDAY - 04.07.11 Part I

(with assistance from Clare Coppel)



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John Berggruen Gallery: Conversations - Los Carpinteros, James Casebere, Iran do Espirito Santo, Callum Innes.

Comment by AB: James Casebere's antiseptic manicured townscapes look mighty inviting on first encounter, but attraction gives way to apprehension as you quickly realize nobody's home... and you have no idea why. Upstairs, a pair of black cans on a pedestal by Iran do Espirito Santo are actually sculpted granite. Good art on all counts; go see.

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Gallery Paule Anglim: Joan Brown; Robert Hartman.

Comment by AB: A number of figurative works by Joan Brown are here being exhibited for the first time. Some are familiar in terms of composition, others appear more experimental, yet others perhaps not even complete, but all worth a perusal. In the annex, cogitate on Robert Hartman's magma-like abstract photographs shot with infrared film.

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Haines Gallery: David Maisel - History's Shadow; David Simpson - Nonsense Poems.

Comment by AB: David Maisel always manages to make it interesting. This time around, he gets us thinking about history and art and the mysteries that lie within by photographing X-rays of antiquities that are on file at San Francisco's Asian Art Museum-- and in so doing, adding his own artistic twist. In the back gallery, David Simpson's little jewel-like paintings on canvas change color and iridesce depending on the lighting and where you stand. Sidle on by.

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Altman Siegel Gallery: Zarouhie Abdalian, Matt Sheridan Smith, Keller/Kosmas (Aids-3d).

Comment by AB: According to the fact sheet, three artists wax conceptual with simple materials "used in subversive ways to make cogent political commentary on the state of current cultural issues including terrorism, environmentalism, and immanent (sic) catastrophe." I'll table the interpretive for later.

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Stephen Wirtz Gallery: Kathryn VanDyke - Paint.

Comment by AB: Kathryn VanDyke's large paintings combine diverse and seemingly discordant shapes, colors, forms and techniques in harmoniously gratifying ways. Her small works on paper, painted over pages taken from book and manuscript auction catalogues, manipulate text in ways that add editorial dimensions to the overall aesthetics.

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Bekris Gallery: Beyond Axum - Etiye Dimma Poulsen and Mulugeta Tafesse.

Comment by AB: Etiye Dimma Poulsen's striking ceramic works fast-track African, Greek, South American and Asian effigies from ancient times to today, while preserving every iota of their eminence and integrity. Nicely done.

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Modernbook Gallery: Approaching the Unreal.

Artists/photographers: Maggie Taylor, Jerry Uelsmann, Tom Chambers, Jamie Baldridge, Brian Taylor, Susan kae Grant, Brent Townshend, Sara Friedlander, Holly Roberts, Mary Daniel Hobson, Julieanne Kost, Sienna Freeman, Jenny Honnert Abell, Brigitte Carnochan, Bill Bishop, Rachel Phillips.

Comment by Clare Coppel: A group show with lots of mixed media photography stuff, cut up body parts, floating hands and snow in the woods.

Comment by AB: Fantastic and imaginary realities on film, and in other mediums as well...

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Patricia Sweetow Gallery: Jamie Vasta - After Caravaggio; Jeanne C. Finley + John Muse - Manhole 452.

Comment by AB: This time around, Jamie Vasta works her wizardry in glitter with contemporary parodies of Caravaggio subject matters. In the side gallery, cringe with horror at Jeanne C. Finley & John Muse's dramatic disaster video of urban catastrophes. The surrounding walls are hung with drawings of manhole covers, the kind that occasionally go airborne as a result of underground explosions.

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Addendum:

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Here's a thought.... support the cause.

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First Thursday - March 3, 2011

First Thursday - February 3, 2011

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