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BRAUNSTEIN/QUAY - LINCART - 871 FINE ARTS DE YOUNG MUSEUM - SCION DASHBOARD - SOAP GALLERY A. MUSE - SHOOTING GALLERY - NATIONAL PRODUCT - FINCH MOB DRUG STORE - LIGHT OPERA GALLERY 04.27-29.06 Braunstein/Quay Gallery: Arthur Okamura - Paintings & Drawings. Comment: The show includes landscape paintings, several with figures, based on a trip Arthur Okamura took around the base of Mt. Shasta, and figure drawings in watercolor and ink. Two months ago, I was priveleged to visit Okamura at his Bolinas Studio at which time he was preparing for this show. You can see and read more about that here. Art. Art. Arthur Okamura. Art. Art. Art. *** 871 Fine Arts: June Felter - Recent Paintings and Watercolors; Susan Felter - Digital Montages. Comment: Mother/daughter combo show with landscapes and still life paintings by mother June Felter; slick twisty digital images of birds, flowers, and plant life, fractionated and then reconfigured against various backgrounds by daughter Susan Felter. Susan Felter - art. June Felter. Art (June Felter). Art (Susan Felter). Art (June Felter). Art (Susan Felter). Art (June Felter). *** Lincart: Tucker Nichols - New Work and On-Site Installation. Comment: Tucker Nichols combines words, lines, and found objects into rudimentary petroglyphic paintings, sculptures and photographic images. The art trends abstrusely esoteric, particularly for us tinhorns, amusing at times, and requires a not inconsiderable cognitive commitment (including familiarity with the artist's previous work) if you really wanna grip it. That said, Nichols demonstrates an aesthetic je ne sais quoi I can't quite put my finger on, and I'm not one of those dudes who has to understand it to like it (hold the rejoinders, please). In other words, the art works fine for me, and the presentation satisfies as well. But wait; there's more. In reaction to the recent demolition of buildings adjacent to Linc, to be replaced with condominiums, Nichols installates a gallery wall and front window with investigatory opinations on the "wide-ranging topic of housing in America." According to the docket, the installations are "sure to raise questions about the eating habits of construction workers." I contact the Amalgamated Vegetarian Construction Workers Alliance of America for a response, but they decline to comment (they're probably busy cooking). Art. Art (like it). Art. Tucker Nichols (right). Art (like that red one). Books and prints - five bucks (such a deal). Art. Art. Art. Wall installation. Art. *** Soap Gallery: Theory of Relativity - New Drawings by Erik Friedman and Ema-Harris Sintamarian. Comment: Best show I've seen so far at Soap Gallery. Erik Friedman combines elements of urban living, particularly debris and decay, into meticulous complex confident soft-tone floater abstractions. I've seen his work before; liked it then, like it now-- except now it's better than then. The dude could be on the verge. In a similar vein, Ema-Harris Sintamarian draws extra detailed, in color and black & white, infusing fantasy and reality into meandering metalogues, here headlined by a mungo 12-foot gordian gallivant. Interesting factoid-- more people ask me why I'm taking pictures here than at any other show I've photographed for San Francisco Art Openings. Art (Erik Friedman - like 'em). Art (Ema-Harris Sintamarian). Art (Ema-Harris Sintamarian, left - Erik Friedman, right). 12-footer art (Ema-Harris Sintamarian). Art (Erik Friedman). *** Scion Dashboard Gallery: Beyond Representation. Artists: Michael Hussar, Kent Williams, Sean Cheetham, Kevin Lewellyn, George Pratt, Mercedes Helnwein, Shawn Barber, Sterling Hundley, Kristi Ropeleski, James Kei, Jennifer Poon, Dennis Brown. Comment: A series of four consecutive one-week events running, April 22 - May 21, sponsored by Scion at the old Hayes Valley Market, 580 Hayes St. near Laguna, this week's episode curated by Shawn Barber. I get there just as the opening's closing, shoot a couple of quick shots, and that's that. The artists are from SF and LA for the most part, the art's all premium grade, and I gotta go hats off to Scion for stepping up and throwing so much support to the creative community. Yes, it's all about building brand loyalty and bulking the bottom line, but what an excellent way to do it, right? I've never met anyone who doesn't like art and Scion is apparently well aware of that. Art. Art. Art. Art.
Thank you, Scion. *** The Shooting Gallery: Beyond Scion. Artists: Michael Hussar, Kent Williams, Kevin Llewllyn, Jennifer Poon. Comment: Here's the deal-- Scion declines to hang a dozen or so pieces at Shawn Barber's show based on content issues, and The Shooting Gallery hangs 'em. Fine. I check it out, and the art's absolutely excellent, but I come down with Scion. Why? First of all, Scion is a major international corporation and major international corporations are notoriously not interested in controversy. Second, art events sponsored by major international corporations are rare, we in the art community would love to see more of them, and the way we do that is to be cool with the kind of art we submit for their shows. (Remember Andres Serrano and his "Piss Christ," poster child for the disembowlment of the National Endowment for the Arts? That dude's monumental I-love-me envelope push of an ego trip continues to cost the National Endowment for the Arts-- and artists and arts organizations everywhere-- many hundreds of millions of dollars. Are you happy Mr. Serrano? You got yours; we all lost ours.) Third, don't you think a painting of a character with an arched up blue-balled fully engorged rock-hard cock, ready to pop a wheelie if you so much as look at it sideways, could possibly be a trifle much for a corporate sponsored art event? Fourth, don't you think a painting of a naked woman bent in two, clit-side up, could possibly be a trifle much for a corporate sponsored art event? These are brassy entries even for an erotica show. And I've got a hunch that if it wasn't for them and maybe one or two other paintings, that some of the more subtle sensual essays might have survived the cut and made Barber's show. But this set off kind of a domino effect where the excess brought down the whole bunch. I never say don't paint it, and I never say don't show it. I'm right at the head of the line when it comes to freedom of artistic expression. I am saying do it on your own dime (or at least ask first). Don't jeopardize a good thing and risk ruining opportunities for well-intended artists everywhere just to stand out or to make a point. It's not always about you. Plus if you're brave enough to paint it, then be brave to accept the consequences with dignity, and open-minded enough to understand and respect the opinions and actions of others. Art. Art. *** a. Muse Gallery, 614 Alabama St., San Francisco, CA 94110; 415.279.6281: No Such Thing - Works by Danny King & Chelsea Heimbuch-Skaley. Comment: Manipulated Polaroids, colored, texted, and enhanced with collage by Chelsea Heimbuch-Skaley; competent colorful urban animations with a folk art feel by self-taught artist, Danny King. New Gallery. Danny King - art. Art (Chelsea Heimbuch-Skaley). Art (Danny King). Danny King - Chelsea Heimbuch-Skaley. Art (Chelsea Heimbuch-Skaley). Arena. *** Addendum: Josh Simpson glass art at Light Opera Gallery. Josh Simpson glass paperweights at Light Opera Gallery. Light Opera Gallery outer. Sacha Eckes - art at National Product. Sacha Eckes art at National Product. Final Sacha Eckes - art at National Product. Gregory Gavin, Artist-in Residence, at the de Young Museum. One more Gregory Gavin "Social Sculpture," de Young Museum. Atticus Wolrab art at The Drug Store Gallery ($40-$475). Clare Cupcake art at The Drug Store Gallery ($60-$320). Atticus Wolrab - Clare Cupcake at The Drug Store Gallery. Art and performance at Finch Mob Gallery. Finch Mob show organizer. Finch Mob Art and Performance Collective. Finch Mob Gallery frontal. *** |
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