DON SOKER - ARTERRA - ELECTRIC WORKS

CARTOON ART MUSEUM - AZALEA BOUTIQUE

08.27.09

(with assistance from RWM and Pakayla Biehn)

Don Soker Gallery: Jenny Bloomfield - Landmarks, Recent Paintings.

Comment by AB: According to the comminique, Jenny Bloomfield's recent paintings have to do with an "accumulation of impressions along a track (trek?) from California to the big empty West Texas landscape, and the wide, full Hudson River." The paintings somehow relate to that, referencing her trip or portions of it or something or other, I think, as she recalls the journey in her studio. Apropos of I'm not sure what, she is also apparently "drawn to the colors of photographs." Does that mean she's painting from photos? And what happened between West Texas and the Hudson River? I'm completely lost in one of the more disjointed dysfunctional show statements I've ever had the pleasure of being bewildered by. That said, Bloomfield's smooth muted layered abstractions are quite commendably executed. Confident, direct, purposeful, and far easier to appreciate than their explanatory.

In other news, Don Soker's managed to snag himself an impressive 10,300 square foot space, he tells me; it's on the fourteenth floor of 100 Montgomery Street with some pretty cherry views. So don't forget to look out the windows while you're enjoying Bloomfield's art.

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Arterra: Organica - Abstractions of the Natural World.

Artists: June Li, Eve Shen, Cecilia Welden.

Review by RWM: Nice use of colors which defy traditional forms with blends and contrasts. The abstractions with mixed color schemes are not all soothing. Wondrous geography and nightscapes with night lights illuminate the fuzzy and color-rich images.

Comment by AB: According to the instruction manual, "not only does Arterra have amazing art, we are the only LEED-Silver Certified residential high rise in San Francisco. The building features many unique green and sustainable attributes and is a great example of how sustainability does not have to come at the expense of amenities and value-- stop by to learn more." Yes, they're selling properties, but they're doing it in part by showing art... and that's just fine with me. Can we ever show too much art in too many places? I doubt it.

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Electric Works: A Sobering Affect - Queer Portraiture by Brandon Norris. Curated by Natalie Pavlovsky.

Comment by AB: Photographer Brandon Norris tells me the subjects of his sensitive genuine portraits are all denizens of a Wednesday night affair at QBar in The Castro called Booty Call. It's precisely that simple and no more complicated. Nice work.

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Cartoon Art Museum: Monsters of Webcomics - Final Frames, Behind the Scenes at the Perry Bible Fellowship.

Artists: Nick Gurewitch, Michael Capozzola.

Comment by AB: I hereby confess cluelessness; I have no idea what the Perry Bible Fellowship ("the popular web comic") is, but plenty of people do, as the line to meet and get autographs of Nick (Nicholas) Gurewitch, its creator, extends the entire length of the museum. Also on tonight's docket (I think) is Michael Capozzola, "stand-up comedian and creator of the San Francisco Chronicle's Surveillance Caricatures." So there you go.

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Azalea Boutique: Caitlin Foster - New Drawings.

Comment by AB: A mix of detailed pen and ink pattern drawings and forthright portraiture by Caitlin Foster. Very affordably priced; plenty available for under $100.

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Addendum:

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