111 MINNA - NEEDLES & PENS - INCLINE

SEX AND CULTURE - EMERALD TABLET

TELEGRAPH HILL - NAIVASHA

06.06.14

(with assistance from Marian Ferrara)



How any artist can sell more art. Click Here.

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111 Minna Gallery: Empty Kingdom.

Artists: Adam Caldwell, Caleb Brown, Christine Wu, Johnny Ruzzo, Michael Ward, Michael Reedy, Michael Page, Orlando Sanchez, Andreas Englund, AJ Fosik, Alicia Martin Lopez, Amanda Elizabeth Joseph, Brin Levinson, Denis Peterson, Derek Gores, Erin M Riley, Jamie Vasta, Joel Daniel Phillips, Miju, William Wray, Eric Alos, Karen Ann Myers, Lucien Shapiro.

Comment by AB: This exhibition at 111 Minna Gallery is presented in association with the website Empty Kingdom, whose mission it is to change the world through art. According to Empty Kingdom, "Our goal is to share only the best Art we find with every part of the world. Our mission is to connect, promote, and educate through our programs and partnerships, and we do this through our worldwide volunteers. We believe Art can serve a higher purpose than self-expression or the monetization of someone's self-expression. We believe Art can have a direct impact on our social environment rather than an esoteric one. We believe every person deserves to have a chance to experience, appreciate, and practice Art in their lives. We are going to do all we can to help make that a reality, and we have just begun." And here's how they're doing it...

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Needles & Pens: CLUTTER - Troy Lovegates aka Other.

Comment by AB: Internationally renowned outdoor artist Troy Lovegates aka Other takes his talents indoors for an exhibition of his impressively detailed paintings, drawings, polychrome wood carvings and prints. Good art; worth seeing. In other news, Needles & Pens is one of Ess Eff's most enduring counterculture bastions, treating us to a consistent calendar of talent from near and far, art and literature you won't see anywhere else in town. You always get more than you pay for here, which can only mean one thing: Head on over there and buy something... NOW!

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Incline Gallery: Stop Being Poor - The Art Show.

Artists: Taylor McElroy, Alexandra Barao, Daniel Toribio, Ammo Eisu, Vain Hein, Tyler Holmes, Persia, Diego Fuqing Gómez, Benae Esquibel, Yesi Castro, Sloane Kanter, Jon Gourley, Abel Morfin, Gina M. Contreras, Karen Thomas, Brynda Glazier, Jessica Amaya, Manuel Rodrigues, Cabure A Bonugli, Aaron Isaac Joshua, Andrew, Cle Torres, Nicholas Terry, Antonio De Lucci, Elena Gurulé, Julz Hale Mary, Craig Calderwood.

Comment by AB: Based on the famed instant fix to poverty everywhere, that quote of FOX News commentator Todd Wilemon on The Daily Show, "If You're Poor, Stop Being Poor," artists essay on the no-option-but-to-opt-out scenario currently playing itself out in San Francisco's creative community. Yes, our artists are leaving. Why? Skyrocketing rents, lack of support, eviction notices galore and an inexplicable unwillingness of those who make the rules to acknowledge that it's not always about whoever has the most money. Who's gonna pay attention to shows like this? Probably no one until it's too late. Or maybe it's time for a cleanse. I suppose we'll know soon enough.

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Center for Sex and Culture: The Mayor of Folsom Street - The Life and Times of Daddy Alan Selby, aka Mr.S.

Comment by AB: This show's more about San Francisco history than art, being a display of memorabilia and effects related to Alan Selby, the "S" in Mr. S Leather, one of the originators of the "hanky code" (look it up), and a major profile and activist in the gay community from the early 1970s through 2004, the year of his passing.

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The Emerald Tablet: Down the Avenue of My Imagination - Menlo Macfarlane.

Comment by AB: Fanciful scenarios by Nevada City artist Menlo Macfarlane vacillate between cryptic symbology and magical actualizations of reality. Guaranteed get your mind wandering into some rather uncommon spaces. Check 'em out.

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Telegraph Hill Gallery: Shan Shan Sheng - Open Wall Project.

Comment by AB: See glass sculptures and a scale model of Shan Shan Sheng's glass installation project from the 2009 Venice Biennale and 2010 Shanghai Exposition. Recommended viewing. Images c/o Marian Ferrara. Stop on by.

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