BRAUNSTEIN/QUAY - CATHARINE CLARK - PAUL MAHDER

ROOT DIVISION - STEVEN WOLF - GUERRERO - SOAP

HUNGRYMAN - SHOOTING GALLERY - WHITE WALLS

MARKET STREET - MANIAC - SPACE - LOPO

04.09.11

(with assistance from RWM)



Want to leave the big city & make art in the country? Read this.

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Braunstein/Quay Gallery: Jane Rosen - Wild Life.

Comment by AB: Jane Rosen was raised in New York City, but has since gone rural, now living on a ranch near the Central California coast. You can learn plenty about people by living in the big city, and you can learn plenty more by observing animals in their natural habitats way out in the wild. This exhibit has to do with what our furry and feathered friends have to offer, and as you gaze at Rosen's serene meditative sculptures in glass, stone and marble mix, you can almost feel what she means.

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Catharine Clark Gallery: Sandow Birk with Elyse Pignolet - American Qur'an; Al Farrow - New Reliquaries; Media Room - James Pollack.

Review by RWM: Powerful work that finds blame and presents not only an American narrative. You can't help but be impressed by the fine details and bold materials. Tough tales are told with revelations.

Comment by AB: Sunday school will never be the same after witnessing the critical supercharged assessments of the sacrosanct by Al Farrow and Sandow Birk. The truth can hurt in more ways than one.

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Paul Mahder Gallery: Yisrael Feldsott - Still Standing.

Comment by AB: Yisrael Feldsott's petroglyphic primitives come off as colorful and upbeat at a glance, but you're soon to be whiplashed by the raw emotion and intensity of the personality and politics behind certain of the works.

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Root Division: Second Saturday - TASTE 2011 Preview Reception.

Artists: Alexis Arnold, Christin Boggs, Jay Dion, Rebecca Foster, Lou Haney, Emily Heller, Beth Jacobson, Cathy Lu, Monica Martinez, Vincent Romaniello, Surabhi Saraf, Kristen Spickard, Jen Susman, Hui Y. Tsai, Cristina Victor, Raymond Wong. Curated by Dana Hemenway and Cathy Lu.

Review by RWM: Sometimes tasty, other times gruesome. You can't help but be bothered by the artificial carcasses hanging from the ceilings. As the saying goes, you are what you eat. There are also wonderful still lifes and ceramic pieces; the food works are also fun at times, inspiring interesting ruminations. Not a lot of animals or fish to speak back at this one. The animal spirits were not invited to this dinner table.

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Steven Wolf Fine Arts: Derek Boshier in the '70s.

Comment by AB: Fascinating array of artworks, knick knacks and memorabilia not only speak to the vanguard brain of Derek Boshier, but also wend viewers along a most peculiar and circuitous route to the twilight-zone junction of art, music, video, concept and commercialism. Recommended viewing. And make sure you check out the video in the rear gallery.

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Guerrero Gallery: Freedoom - Cody Hudson; The Golden Land - KC Ortiz.

Comment by AB: In the main gallery, Cody Hudson treats us to an array of freeform forays in two and three dimensions. In the rear gallery, KC Ortiz presents a dark disturbing assessment of day-to-day life in Burma.

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Soap Gallery: I Heart Ponyrides - Lisa Mendelson.

Comment by AB: Artist and Soap Gallery owner Lisa Mendelson materializes the profusion of oddments that abound in her brain and splays 'em out for our amazement, amusement and contemplation.

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HungryMan Gallery: Really Something - Joel Dean, Alex Heilbron.

Review by RWM: Art devoid of color with nice images and picture schemes nonetheless. This minimalism of sorts holds your attention despite the monotone.

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The Shooting Gallery: Island of the Colorblind - New Works by Paul Chatem.

Comment by AB: Paul Chatem lets loose with yet another wild ride, freak show slew of mechanical paintings. Grab the handle, turn in either direction, and watch the whole painting move. But wait; there's more. Each composition includes a complimentary test for colorblindness. Appreciate art and diagnose possible vision afflictions at the very same time. Does it get any better than that? I doubt it. Fun stuff! Check it out.

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White Walls Gallery: New Works - ROA

Comment by AB: Weathered wood and sheet metal paintings by ROA spotlight on animal life ravaged and mutated by an increasingly hostile environment. They're the first to feel it; guess who's next?

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Addendum:

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