|
|
NEEDLES & PENS - TRACE STUDIO - LITTLE TREE GALLERY RECEIVER - A.MUSE GALLERY - GEN ART ARSPACE - GRAY AREA GALLERY 11.04.06 Needles & Pens Julianna Bright & Jen Smith - New Work. Comment: Capable contemplative gouaches on paper by Julianna Bright, the most impressive of which, Peacable Kingdom (al la Edward Hicks), is already sold for $400 (somebody got a deal). Her work is flavored by early American folk art, but infused with contemporary concerns. Potential bright future here; like it. Plus everything's priced real reasonable at a modest $150-$400. Buy now before the rush. But wait. There's more. Jen Smith shows mixed media drawings, and also sews up a couple of white-on-white fringed flag-like wall hangings, my favorite being a banner sporting the phrase, "OUR PROGRESS." And that's only $650. Good show. Art (Julianna Bright - like 'em). Stitchery art (Jen Smith - like it). Art (Jen Smith). Art (Julianna Bright). *** Trace Studio & Gallery: Judith Deim - A Memorial. Comment: Retrospective of the art Judith Deim aka Barbara Stevenson (1911-2006), who cut her creative teeth during the WPA, worked with and then married artist Ellwood Graham, and settled in the Carmel/Monterey area in the 1930's. While there, she befriended such notables as author John Steinbeck, photographer Edward Weston, writer Bruce Ariss, and others. From 1959 to 1964, she left California and lived and painted in Europe and Africa, eventually to settle in Patzcuaro, Mexico. There's a movie about her life and art called "Ghost Bird," and according to the press release, she had a number of exhibits during her lifetime. As for the art in this show, it's largely dark, allegorical, and disquieting-- not exactly an easy sell. But who cares? Prices start around $4500, climb quick from there, and top out at $45K for a large triptych. Now that's a lotta loot in my humble opinion, so I flip on my appraiser's cap to see if I can locate comparable sales in this price range, and find only one recorded sale for $600 for an early work which appears to date from the late 30's. Most of the works in this show date from decades later, don't necessarily have the 30's panache that the $600 piece had, and that regionalist/WPA collectors prefer in their acquisitions. Erk. Art. Art. Art. Art. Art. *** Little Tree Gallery: Maria Forde - A Strange 31 Years. Comment: Maria Forde percolates up 32 folksy pastelly down home paintings that more or less represent, at the rate of precisely one per year, her 31 years of life in this current incarnation, not necessarily in an autobiographical sense, but perhaps more so according to events she remembers, both public and personal. For example, the 1998 painting recounts a monkey attack in Ito, Japan, which seems kinda weird and I'm thinkin' could be a case of artistic license, so being the inveterate corroboration junkie that I am, I search online to see whether such an attack actually happened -- AND IT DID-- in 1998. I sure am glad we don't have monkey attacks here in San Francisco, aren't you? Or do we? Hmmm. The basic layout. Monkey attack art (right). Maria Forde. Art. Art. Art. *** Receiver Gallery: Future Home Life. Artists: Jill Bliss, Veronica De Jesus, Matt Furie, Kenneth Lavallee. Comment: I'm not exactly sure what the unifying thread is in this quirky group show other than a vaguery in the communique purporting that waves, zigzags and related flourishes in the art "bring out various elements of human nature." I suppose that can mean just about anything. Anyway, the prize for unusuality goes to Veronica De Jesus for her daring white ink drawings on birch bark, daring because of the tricky nature of the medium. In the "happy ending" department, I finally get a picture of Matt Furie (standing next to a painstakingly meticulous agglomerate character klatch), so I guess I can close the book on the no-photo-of-Matt-Furie chapter of my life. Matt Furie - art. Birch bark art (Veronica De Jesus). Jill Bliss - art. Art (Matt Furie). *** a.Muse Gallery, 614 Alabama St, SF, CA 94110, 415. 279. 6281: 16. Artists: Erin Gallup, Betty Blake. Comment: Erin Gallup and Betty blake use the a.muse Gallery space to debut their elaborate rambling autobiographical text-rich one-night installation, representing the public culmination of a "six month long art project between two emerging San Francisco artists." In case you're interested, a.muse Gallery, in addition to putting on their own exhibitions, is also available on a rental basis. It's a superior venue for showing plus it's got gobs of free easy parking. Art. Art. Art. Art. Art. *** Gen Art: Luxe Preview Event for Emerge 2006 - 9th Annual Art Exhibition. Artists: Alexis Amann, Seth Armstrong, Brice Bischoff, David Borengasser, Yin-Ju Chen, Caleb Duarte, Nathan Haenlein, Dana Harel, Karrie Hovey, Katie Humphries, Sarrita Hunn, Misako Inaoka, Vanessa Marsh, Oz McGuire, Ashley Neese, Hilary Pecis, Lucrecia Troncoso, Kristen Van Patten, Kimetha Vanderveen, Michael Zheng. Comment: The annual preview event for Gen Art Emerge, aka Luxe, is without question one of San Francisco's finest art parties. You've got mega F&B (food and beverage), room after room full of eminently qualified art, tons of turntabular tunage, lounge areas, views of The City, and masses of affably captivating monsieurs et mademoiselles. It's everything inveterate artsters love all bundled up into one delightful night of consummately cultivated creative carousal, plus for you love hounds, it's dark, conducive, and just a teeny bit slinky. If you were unfortunate enough to miss Luxe this year, don't miss it next year-- or any year, for that matter. The Emerge exhibition itself runs through November 19th-- four floors of the Warfield Building on Market filled to the brim with art by a number of the Bay Area's most promising up-and-comers. Definitely worth a visit. Wanna help ID the artists? Please email me. Upside down lawn art (Misako Inaoka). Alexis Amann - art. Mini-monotype art (Kimetha Vanderveen). Art (Alexis Amann). Remarkable geometric gel pen art (Nathan Haenlein - pick). Geometric gel pen art (Nathan Haenlein - like it). Geometric gel pen art (Nathan Haenlein - like it). Geometric gel pen art (Nathan Haenlein - like it). Dana Harel - art about our obsession with altering our appearances Photography. Box 'em up and send 'em to nowhere art (Karrie Hovey). Art. Lucrecia Troncoso - art (like it). Intricate ink drawing art (like it). Drippy pedestal art. Drippy leany stick art. Waiting for Michael Zheng's performance art. Art. Art. Art. Art. The basic idea (bandaged house in background - Karrie Hovey). *** Arspace Gallery: Florida is a Death Metal Town... or Artifacts from the Far Side of Sleep. Artists: David Bryant (Passage), Antonio Diaz, Adam Drucker (Doseone), Liz Hodson, Shaun Koplow, David Madson (Odd Nosdam), Brandon Olsen, Erin Perry, Albert Reyes, James "Thesis" Sahib, Aiyana Udesen, Matt Velerio (Restiform Bodies), DJ Whelan, Yoni Wolf (WHY?), Ravi Zupa. Comment: Painting, drawing, photography, mixed media, installation, and music created by anticon musicians and special friends. anticon is a collectively owned record label that I'd never heard of before tonight, but Arspace and its immediate environs are crammed with hundreds of hipsters and hepcats, and I can barely move. Every once in a while, I receive a wake up call from Alan-you're-way-way-out-of-the-loop land, and this is one of those moments. Bottom line-- one mind-reamingly righteous occurrence. Wanna help ID artists? Please email me. Art (Ravi Zupa). Art (Shaun Koplow). Art (Antonio Diaz). Art (Albert Reyes). Art (Aiyana Udesen). Art (David Madson). Art (Erin Perry). Art (DJ Whelan). Art (Liz Hodson). Art (James Kirkpatrick aka Thesis). Art (Ravi Zupa). It. *** Gray Area Gallery: Half Past Midnight. Artists: Ver Mar, Trish Grantham, Trevor Christian, Tonya Silver, Michael Ryan, Leilani Edelman, Ryan Gannon, Peemonster, Norma Cordova, Myna Sonou, Laure Andre, Jon Todd, Jenn Porreca, Jason Felix, Evan B. Harris, Ethan Moore, Erik Siador, Bradley Platz, Bobby Duran, Angela Decenzo, Andrea Heimer, Anima Bech, Alphonzo Solorzano and Tyson Bodnarch. Comment: A new gallery upstairs at SOMA's late night epicenter, 11th St. between Folsom and Harrison. Curator Jenn Porreca assays to juke the joint into an "urban fairytale" and does a reasonably respectable job of it. Art. Art. Art. Art. Art. Art. Art. Art. *** |
 |
 |
