MUSEUM OF CRAFT AND FOLK ART - PAULE ANGLIM - STEPHEN WIRTZ
FECAL FACE DOT - SACRAMENTO STREET STROLL
06.11.09
(with assistance from RWM)

San Francisco Museum of Craft and Folk Art: Warren MacKenzie - Legacy of an American Potter.

Comment by AB: Extensive retrospective exhibition of the ceramic art of Minnesota potter Warren MacKenzie consists of over 300 pots, bowls, vessels, cups, saucers, jars, platters, plates and vases dating from 1948 to 2005 (and a lone abstract print dating from 1946). Mackenzie has taught ceramics at the University of Minnesota since 1952 where he is now Professor Emeritus. I manage to catch Mackenzie at the museum's front desk signing copies of a 200-page boxed catalogue of his work available for $70. A most congenial fellow. Excellent show; go see.

***

Gallery Paule Anglim: John Beech, John Zurier.

Comment by AB: A pretty spiffy two-fer here-- paintings by John Zurier married with sculptures by John Beech. The commonality would be the minimalist reductive nature of it all. Beech's twist on the issue is that a number of his ingredients look like they're fresh off the junkpile, but he combines them in such strikingly novel ways and with such reverence, astuteness and professionality that you kind of never want to throw anything away again for fear it might end up in a gallery with an $18K pricetag on it. That said, several of his pieces appear to stretch the envelope a tad beyond the boiling point (apologies for that), but I think he's just having a couple of yucks on us.

So then I ask John Zurier to explain his paintings in several sentences or less (for fear that if it goes much beyond that, he'll surely lose me), and he replies that they're all about light, movement and airiness. Makes sense, 'cuz when you look at many of 'em, you can easily imagine soft breezes, clear skies and wide open arcadian spaces. Upon reading the fact sheet, I see that the paintings are based on a trip Zurier took to Sweden and Finland, and are named mainly after towns in Finland. Now the dealie bob becomes even more credible. Yo! Good show on both counts. Tootle on by.

***

Stephen Wirtz Gallery: Kathryn Spence - Cloudless White; castaneda/reiman - places we have never been.

Comment by AB: The first thought that crosses my mind when I come upon Kathryn Spence's installation in the main gallery is "Yard Sale." It's like I'm walking around on somebody's front lawn, perusing unwanted items they're selling for whatever pocket change they can get, while their two dogs look on. It's so convincing, I'm even tempted to sift through it all to see if I can find any pricetags. I mention as much to a local artster of some repute and she looks at me like, "Maybe I didn't hear that." Hey... it's not like I'm commiting heresy. It looks like a yard sale. Cut me some slack. But wait. The saga doesn't end there, my artful darlings. The punchline is that according to the synopsis, "This exhibition presents a sort of outdoor habitat, re-imagined and adapted for an inside space..." Hah!

Meanwhile in the side gallery, the collaborative installation by artists castaneda/reiman looks like some type of edifice under construction. Nondescript landscape paintings in varying states of completion and cheap decorative copies of antique paintings are irregularly spaced along the unfinished woodwork and drywall "units" which line the floor, perhaps representing land surrounding the unfinished structure. Cast plaster rocks embellish the illusion.

***

Fecal Face Dot Gallery: Jamie Nelson.

Comment by AB: Jamie Nelson's solo show kicks off Fecal Face Dot Gallery's IN-N-OUT summer exhibition extravaganza, a series of one-week shows running for five weeks and ending on July 18. The good news here is that the art's absurdly affordable at $175-$350. You can't possibly go wrong buying this size, quality and detail at these prices.

***

Sacramento Street between Broderick and Spruce Streets: Sacremento Street Stroll.

Review by RWM: It's so fine to take an urban stroll and to participate in the Sacramento Street art walk on Thursday. Vendors show their wares and all sorts of ornaments and and art is presented, from the ornate to the exotic. One can find here many wonderful choices for the home. Standing out, however, are the landscape paintings and nature, art which inspires one to have a piece of the outdoors, even if just an image of a potted plant, right there in one's home. For the artful players in the crowd, the landscapes are presented with wonder.

Comment by AB: Ever mellow and perennially poofy, upscale Upper Sacramento Street shoppes (they can afford the extra "p") open their doors for an evening of casual after-hours confabulation. For artsters, there's a healthy dose of antique and contemporary art at about a half-a-dozen venues. Check it out...

Josh Hardy Galleries, 3350 Sacramento Street, San Francisco, CA 94118: Fine Period California Paintings:

Paul Mahder Gallery: Gallery Artists.

Monique Arnon Fine Art and Antiques: Gallery Selections.

T. Reggiardo Antiques, 3599 Sacramento Street, San Francisco, CA 94118: Fine Period Furnishings, Arts and Decoration.

Lederer Gallery: Period and Contemporary Fine Art - Gallery Artists.

***