MERIDIAN - MARINA ABRAMOVIC - OAKLAND MUSEUM

SFMOMA - SF CENTER FOR THE BOOK - LAKE GALLERY

07.29.10

(with assistance from DeWitt Cheng and GETBIZI)

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Meridian Gallery: Latitudes|Longitude - Isabelle Sorrell & Bill Berkson; Text'o-&-Figura curated by Rolando Castellon.

Review by DeWitt Cheng: Two separate shows open here tonight. Latitudes/Longitudes features works on paper and canvas, respectively, by Isabelle Sorrell; the works on paper for Latitudes on the first floor are fairly abstract broadsheets accompanying letterpress-printed poems by Bill Berkson. Longitudes, on the second floor, features canvases (mostly) that seem to be based on photos of Versailles-like gardens, painted in a vigorous abstract style-- like the Richter cityscape in the Fisher Collection at SFMOMA, but in 2-3 colors, silkscreenishly.

Text'o-&-Figura, curated by Galeria de la Raza founder and former SFMOMA curator Rolando Castellon (now living in Costa Rica), pairs images and text. More than one hundred artists contribute to the show, which is installed on the third floor. Says Castellon, "Text'o-&-Figura... includes work that reflects the interrelation of language, body, and communication: figures that speak, text that flows, and symbolic gestures that inform. From the drawn line to the gestural paint stroke, or from the imprinted digital mark to the written work; from an accusative social lament to a personal identity code; from a versified line to a cryptic graphic calligraphy or a mechanical publicity statement-- these are some of the elements discussed in this project. The small sized works in this series have been realized on paper, cardboard, plastic, or simply on the wall, echoing popular street graffiti. Text'o-&-Figura is not a didactic exercise about language and meaning, it is a collective graphic manifestation of expressive and artistic work from any point of view or culture."

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Marina Abramovic Institute: Lital Dotan and Eyal Perry - Glasshouse.

Comment by AB: Israeli performance artists Lital Dotan and Eyal Perry configure the main floor of the Marina Abramovic Institute as an open home with no walls, no boundaries, entirely open, totally visible and vulnerable to you the viewer-- Glasshouse. Also on the docket, their premier of "two unique videos featuring iconic San Francisco backdrops."

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The Oakland Museum of California: PIXAR - 25 Years of Animation.

Review by GETBIZI: Finding Nemo is my favorite PIXAR animation of ALL time! When I heard that the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) was putting on a PIXAR retrospective exhibition, my heart started racing! "I want to see it.. I want to see it!" I kept thinking... I've been waiting for this since the OMCA reopened back in early May of this year.

Well, my wait was FINALLY over! OMCA opened the "Pixar - 25 Years of Animation" exhibit on July 31, 2010. For this exhibit, I set out to find Nemo. As I walked through it all, I saw amazing character sketch studies of "Toy Story," beautiful soft pastel drawings of scenes from "Ratatouille" and inspiring sculptures of characters from the popular animated film "Cars." The show affords a detailed view into amazing Pixar behind-the-scenes artwork, giving you an intimate glimps into their creative thought and production processes work.

If you are an avid Pixar animation fan, this is a must see exhibit-- for kids and adults alike. The show opens July 31, 2010 and goes through January 9, 2011.

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Lake Gallery: Yukako Ezoe & Naoki Onodera - Extension!

Comment by AB: Not quite sure what's being extended here, but the visual upshot is generally delectable. Prices range from $40 to $1200, so sidle on by and experience the perks of budgetary good fortune.

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Addendum:

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