301 Bocana Gallery, 301 Bocana St., San Francisco, CA 94110; 415.225.5427: Alexis D. Grant ­ Neighborhood Paintings.

Comment: Alexis is a recent grad from CCA. She began this project as a student; it ultimately became her thesis. Alexis describes the series as plein air paintings done in her neighborhood of Bernal Hill. As she worked on these paintings she began to have interactions with her neighbors. They might ask whether she'd painted so and so's car or invite her in to have KFC or invite her to see various neighbors' art collections. So, the project evolved into a collaboration between her and the neighbors.

She began the project by painting portraits of houses, then one day she also included a car. She soon became interested in connotations of different cars, for example as indications of class, particularly in a neighborhood like Bernal Hill where you might find, as Alexis mentioned, "...a doctor living next to a mariachi player." The reception that took place on Sunday, October 15th was conceived as an opportunity for the neighbors to actually meet. 301 Bocana was chosen as the site for this meeting because it's in "the neighborhood." Congratulations Alexis on creating an event which brings people together!