San Francisco Art Institute: Bruce McGaw - Paintings.

Comment by AB: What a refreshing change of pace! Finally SFAI shows an artist for everyone-- Bruce McGaw. Believe it or not, he makes art the old fashioned way; he paints. Plus special added bonus. There's no smut, murders, feces, or other vanguard vulgarity that this venerable institution, so respected for so many decades-- founded in 1871-- has imploded into embracing in its intractable pursuit to raise eyebrows, appall the public, and most importantly, to prove to art snits everywhere that they can be players too. Well, one way to be a player is to exhibit art that has antecedents dating back further than last month's issue of Art Forum-- and I'm not talkin' about the Urinal School either-- so tired and over-referenced and incessantly presented as justification for just about anything. The art world's a big place and it's heartening to see SFAI acknowledge that there's more to the creative impulse than one slivery little brink-of-the-edge-of-the-tip-of-the-crest-of-the-precipice-of-the-wave perspective.

Speaking of Bruce McGaw, his artistic roots date back to California Abstract Expressionism and Bay Area Figurative painting of the 1950's, but then he blends in everything from Reginald Marsh, Regionalism, Surrealism, and Diebenkorn to Old Masters and academic realism. The results? Big bold exciting action-packed forays to everywhere from the corner store to the edge of Hell.