ROSS MIRKARIMI - MARKET STREET - GLBT HISTORICAL SOCIETY
JANCAR JONES - CENTER FOR SEX AND CULTURE - OCTAVIA'S HAZE
ZONAL - MICHELLE O'CONNOR - BELLJAR - NEEDLES & PENS
GALERIA DE LA RAZA - MOLLUSK SURF SHOP - LAKE GALLERY
06.19.09
(with assistance from Laura Chenault, RWM, Sandra Silvoy and Dormain Geyer)

Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi: Juneteenth Celebration.

Artists: Malik Seneferu, Michael Ross, Jason Austin, Bill A. Dallas, more.

Comment by AB: Group show celebrating Juneteenth features eight artists, organized by AfroSolo, curated by Orlonda Uffre.

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Market Street Gallery: 20/20 New Photographic work by Najib Joe Hakim.

Comment by AB: The blurred perspective approach is typically emotive and atmospheric, but it has to be nuanced just right or you run the risk of putting the viewer in the rather irksome and distracting position of continually straining to focus things (it's something eyes do instinctively).

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GLBT Historical Society: E.G. Crichton - LINEAGE, Matchmaking in the Archive.

Review and images by Laura Chenault: E.G. Crichton bridges the decades by pairing items from historical collections of the GLBT archives with contemporary creatives (artists, writers, filmmakers, etc.) in unique dialogues. The entrance to the exhibition is marked with a tansu-cabinet-like arrangement of stacked banker boxes made of Plexiglas. The boxes contain selections of personal and artistic belongings from these GLBT collections, and are labeled with their respective former owners' names. Throughout the gallery area, other historic objects are beautifully arranged alongside their respective contemporary "responses" from the individuals Crichton has paired with them. In addition, Crichton has created evocative portraits of each historical/contemporary pairing (the person who once owned the objects with the individual Crichton has chosen to respond to them). The large window of the gallery is filled checkerboard-style with crisp white banker boxes, reinforcing the archival element of the exhibition. Lucky the show is up for four months, because the layered installation deserves a good long look.

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Jancar Jones Gallery: Chris Lux - Give Me Some Peppermint Freedom.

Review by Laura Chenault: Chris Lux is showing a variety of work in this petite gallery space. Large modern paintings fill the walls. Some dark and layered with collage elements, others are brighter and geometric. The center of the space is dominated with a display case filled with sculpture and a few altered books. Chris works in a variety of mediums and styles.

Comment by AB: Unconventional art and installation by Chris Lux captivate from compositional as well as display and arrangement standpoints. But there's always one thing I wanna see at shows like this-- a classic example of a polished, technically superior, professionally executed work of art. Why? Just so I know the artist possesses the skills (and has the option) of whether or when to set traditional methodologies aside and advance beyond craftsmanship as the primary means to an end. Can Chris Lux do that? I have no idea from what's on exhibit here. A stellar example of an artist who could... and did? Philip Guston (retrospective at SFMOMA in 2003).

It's either "Yep, I can do that, but my calling is to do this" or "Nope, I can only do this, 'cuz I can't do that." I far and away prefer the former to the latter.

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Center for Sex and Culture: Fakir Musafar - Erotic Embrace of the Corset.

Review by Laura Chenault: The perfect gentleman returns to show his photographs of his corseted models. Fakir Musafar also has his own corset displayed with his famous self-portrait and his image of Anne Sprinkle. Another wall is filled with black and white photographs of tiny waists and hourglass figures created by corsets he has made. A wonderful lecture and beautiful photographs by the fabulous pioneer in body modification arts.

Comment by AB: Fakir Musafar's photos date from 1958 to the present. During the course of the opening, Musafar talks about his dedication to the corset and how his life's work has evolved, and I must say it's rather fascinating-- one of them "only in San Francisco" kinda sagas. For those of you keeping score at home, Musafar is also consummately accomplished at body piercing and branding.

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Octavia's Haze Gallery: James Michalopoulos.

Review by RWM: Nice to see fresh images from Michalopoulos who has new paintings up of residents of the animal kingdom, hot girlz, Icons, stars, New Orlean's streets, and cool old houses. Michalopoulos is generous with the paints and the colors. His work is imbued with vibrancy but not necessarily psychedelic. One may instead be reminded of Van Gogh-- brightness, contrast, and texture. Invigorating.

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Zonal: Leslie Morgan - Dive In.

Review by RWM: It would be so nice to just jump into a pool, but here in San Francisco you might need a coat, even during the summer (or maybe especially during the summer), when you get out of the water. Leslie Morgan captures the wonders, joy, and abandon of swimming. She succeeds in expressing the sense of weightlessness and fluid motion. Her art is soothing yet playful, and the best part? You don't have to hold your breath.

Review and images by Dormain Geyer: Featuring aquatic themed prints and paintings by Leslie Morgan, the show will be up through July. The nostalgic elements of Morgan's work fit well with Zonal's aesthetic. Most of the art in the show consists of paintings over photographs, including some from the "Pool Glee" series. A couple of Morgan's oil paintings from the "In-Sync" series are downstairs. Grab your suit and don't forget the sunscreen! Live music by Grinn & Barrett.

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Michelle O'Connor Gallery: Seed - Alex Potts, Frank Callozzo, Camille Willis.

Comment by AB: The centerpiece of this event is an impressive sound sculpture by Alex Potts which meanders it's way through much the gallery, and consists of speakers embedded in dried, hollowed out and highly polished gourds. Potts tells me the speakers are wired and connected in such a way that they can play a number of separate tracks simultaneously. The totality of this painting/sculpture/installation exhibition is notably serene and meditative, including a "tea garden," "wall altar," and more. Worth a visit... and a listen.

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BellJar: John Casey - Red Handed.

Review by Laura Chenault: Meticulously drawn men in black and red on white fill the gallery walls. They are whimsical and gruesome at the same time. Over-exaggerated heads and hands are drawn in red emphasizing their outrageous proportions. Immaculately visceral and charming, the figures seem to tell a story. All of the images are framed almost invisibly with one exception-- a large cut out figure nursing his engorged red hand. John Casey has created a wonderful cohesive body of work.

Review by Sandra Silvoy: Inner turmoil is expressed through some rather distressing bodily situations. It is supposed that an exceedingly enlarged hand can out way decapitation on a scale of preferability. Yet, John Casey¹s ink drawn and at least partly human characters show determination. At times, the fighting spirit challenges the odds of one¹s upper body turning into a bouquet of sunflowersŠor maybe he was born that way.

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Galeria de La Raza: Contrabando - Dignidad Rebelde, Jesus Barraza and Melanie Cervantez.

Review by Laura Chenault: The gallery is filled with beautiful graphic silkscreens produced by Dignidad Rebelde, an artist/activist collective composed of Jesus Barraza and Melanie Cervantes. Dominated by political themes punctuated with the occasional band poster, the work is powerful and bold. This is the first of a three-part exhibition where the artists are invited to work in the space. During the show, silkscreens are being pulled and given away free-- some in English, others in Spanish. Barraza and Cervantez focus on social change through their work. They achieve this through easy-to-read designs and bright colors. A copious amount of inexpensive posters are also for sale at the gallery.

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Mollusk Surf Shop: Alex Kopps - A Turn for the Worse.

Review and images by Sandra Silvoy: All is quite mysterious and peaceful. A surfboard rests in waiting against a gallery wall displaying artworks that possess serenity in a crème, burgundy, and light pink-toned manner. Incorporated is a natural flow of line creating the ebb and flow reminiscent of the ocean water. A bit of money is shredded in an ode to a mysterious elder, his photo appearing amidst this nest of loot. Good pit stop as you meander your way to the beach.

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Addendum:

Julia Wertz & "The Fart Party, Volume 2" book release and signing at Needles & Pens. The event's only half over and the book's already sold out. I smell success.

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