HAYES VALLEY ART COALITION - MERCURY CAFE
JANCAR JONES - 63 BLUXOME STREET - SPARE ROOM PROJECT
GALLERY 1988 - SPACE GALLERY - ON THE CORNER
07.24.09
(with assistance from RWM, Jessica Rosen and Pakayla Biehn)

Hayes Valley Art Coalition at the intersection of Hayes and Octavia Streets: Mark Baugh-Sasaki - Adaptations.

Review by RWM: More manipulation here than living with Nature. Let the wild branches blow in the wind.  Let the Fall leaves fall. Though technically well done, the work is a disappointment for those who understand the importance of and appreciate the wild. There are those who believe that we should adapt to the wild world rather than alter it according to our desires.

Comment by AB: "Adaptations," Mark Baugh-Sasaki's site specific sculpture may appear fragile and delicate with so many intertwined branches and twigs, but it's remarkably sturdy... and I'll even go so far as to say immovable. Baugh-Sasaki tells me that not only are the branches and twigs buttressed with welded metal supports, but they're also nailed together. Nicely done.

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On The Corner: Sonya Genel: Works on Paper.

Review by RWM: Sonya Genel explores the psyche with what appear to be more like nightmares than dreams. One can observe her ingestions and exhuming. The drawings are soul stirring. The nudes are sometimes in pain. Genel explores the conflicting emotions of being human.

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Jancar Jones Gallery: Michael Guidetti.

Comment by AB: Michael Guidetti tells me his illusionary faux 3-D painting/video amalgamations are conceived and designed on a computer and then actualized by hand. Basically, he paints interior perspectives according to computer-based paradigms, and then designs and projects videos of moving beams or "balls" of light onto them that appear to bounce in and around said interiors. The resulting synchronized "video paintings" impart eerie three-dimensional effects to two-dimensional surfaces. Like 'em.

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63 Bluxome Street Gallery: Clam Lynch - Ouch Brain.

Review by Jessica Rosen: A month ago this gallery space was a dark cluttered storage area in the front of the Babylon Burning Screen Printing shop owned by Mike Lynch. Mike's brother Clam, with a lot of love and a little drywall,  transformed the space, and thus 63 Bluxome St. Gallery was born. At the opening you'll find information about the history of the building which has housed artist studios and independent art spaces since the 60s. Clam Lynch himself kicks off the gallery's program with a series of glossy paintings on wood inspired by animals and online language translators.  The initial whimsy of the figures is complicated by the depth created through Lynch's obsessive working and layering of the ground. Definitely worth checking out in person... and keep your eye out for upcoming shows in this space.

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The Spare Room Project: The Fiber Show. Curated by Sonya Philip.

Artists: Stephani Martinez, Chris Motley, Sonya Philip, Elaine Rogowski, Melissa Townsend.

Comment by AB: "A diverse collection of Bay Area artists whose two dimensional and sculptural pieces blur the lines between art and craft." Plus live knitting in the gallery and out back.

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Gallery 1988: Beasts From The Bay.

Artists: Adam Flores, Anna Chambers, Chrystal Chan, Dave Crosland, Ethan Scott, Ganyan, Gene Guynn, Irma Rivera, Isaac Pierro, Jessica Van Hulle, Johnny Siu, Joshua Ellingson, Ken Keirns, Lawrence Yang, Lee Gajda, Peabe, Phoneticontrol, Sawyer Collins, Wednesday Kirwan.

Comment by AB: Bay Area art aspirants trot out their tiptop attainments for public adjudication. All kinds of urban and, of course, no deficit in veneration to the undisputed Queen of Big Eye, Margaret Keane.

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Space Gallery: Meanwhile...

Artists: Audrey Welch, Betsy Lam, Chris Conroy, Eli Maness, Matt Delight, Meredith Scheff-King, telephone & soup, Travis Nichols, W.A.M. - Women's Art Movement.

Comment by AB: According to the instruction manual, "'Mission: Comics & Art' will be a retail book store and art gallery that specializes in graphic novels, monthly comic books and fine art." It ain't here yet, but it's gonna be soon at 3520 20th Street in the heart of the Mission... and this is the official preview for that.

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Addendum:

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