<< Back to San Francisco Gallery Openings

HELLO - Rena Bransten - Crown Point - Baer Ridgway

RVCA - Market Street - The LAB - Kitsch

Eleanor Harwood - Guerrero - Fabric8

White Walls - Shooting Gallery - Space Gallery

12.11.10

(with assistance from Clare Coppel and RWM)



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HELLO by Candystore: Viva Novelita! Solo Exhibition by Nicole Buffet.

Comment by AB: Enchanting miniature artist books by Nicole Buffet, all really easy reads, each entirely original and published in an edition of one. They're going fast; get yours now.

Gallery in the back - miniature artist books by Nicole Buffet.

Nicole Buffet miniature artist books on display.

Pinkie cam detail of artist book by Nicole Buffet.

Pinkie cam detail of miniature art book by Nicole Buffet.

Instructional video shows how to read Nicole Buffet art book.

Art by Nicole Buffet.

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Rena Bransten Gallery: Tracey Snelling - Ten Year Retrospective.

Comment by AB: Ever wonder what ordinary everyday tawdry, banal, cheap, seedy, desolate life looks like for many hundreds of millions of people the world over? Take that tour here (with absolutely zero fear of a pat down) courtesy of Tracey Snelling's atmospheric and convincing multimedia dioramas. Excellent show; highly recommended.

Multimedia installation art by Tracey Snelling.

Mexican street scene art by Tracey Snelling.

Installation diorama art by Tracey Snelling in above image closer.

Tracey Snelling and her art.

Cheap motel installation art by Tracey Snelling.

Motel installation by Tracey Snelling in above image closer.

Installation art by Tracey Snelling from the front.

Installation art above by Tracey Snelling from the rear.

Installation & video art Tracey Snelling.

Photography by Tracey Snelling.

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Crown Point Press: Hard Edges for Hard Times. Curated by Tom Marioni.

Artists: Mel Bochner, Brice Marden, Dorothea Rockburne, Sol LeWitt, Robert Ryman, Al Held, Vito Acconci, Jannis Kounellis, Sherrie Levine, Joan Jonas, Markus Raetz, Dorothy Napangardi, Laurie Reid, Anne Appleby, Richard Tuttle, Ed Ruscha, Nathan Oliveira.

Comment by AB: The most gratifying aspect of this select survey of Crown Point favorites? Curator Tom Marioni summarizes each artist's work in two to five-words. Nirvana for Bamberger. Why can't all art writing be like this? I can't begin to imagine the environmental impact of conserving all that grandiloquent verbiage.

Art by Nathan Oliveira.

Art published by Crown Point Press.

Art in above image closer.

Tom Marioni - artist, author, curator; Kathan Brown, Crown Point CEO.
Art by Brice Marden

Limited edition prints published by Crown Point Press.

Crown Point Press limited edition prints.

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Baer Ridgway Gallery: Mauricio Ancalmo - Lux vs. Lumen; Jeffrey Simmons - Apparent Horizons.

Comment by AB: Mauricio Ancalmo repurposes vintage film in two installations-- a chaotic curtain of variegated footage draped against a downstairs wall, and upstairs, a whirling dervish film projector interconnected with audiovisual components, the concatenation fully operational and tizzying itself in circles while projecting footage along the lower portion of the gallery's walls. Jeffrey Simmons, meanwhile, presents a series of exceptionally delicate soft-burst watercolors worthy of firsthand contemplation.

Wild rotating projector installation by Mauricio Ancalmo.

Wall of vintage film footage by Mauricio Ancalmo.

Art by Mauricio Ancalmo composed of vintage film footage.

Pinkie cam detail of film footage art by Mauricio Ancalmo.

Vintage film footage art by Mauricio Ancalmo.

Watercolor art by Jeffrey Simmons (nicely done).

Pinkie cam detail of art by Jeffrey Simmons - now that's precision.

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Market Street Gallery: Structure + Decay - Monoprints by Jenny Robinson.

Review by RWM: There is an emotional experience to witnessing the aging structures captured here, like what you might sense when walking alone through older parts of the city. Jenny Robinson's work evokes a mystery and longing for the past. But the past no longer means what it once did as you reminisce in the silence of these images. Decaying frameworks persevere as accomplishments of a bygone era, and though aged, they remain impressive.

Art by Jenny Robinson.

Jenny Robinson art.

Art by Jenny Robinson.

Smaller art by Jenny Robinson too.

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RVCA: Golden State Part Three - Sculpture and Media. Curated by: Matthew Waldbillig.

Artists: Monica Canilao, Sasha Krieger, Torreya Cummings, Leslie Kulesh, Emily Dippo, Whitney Lynn, Andre Hyland, Tyler Mason, Kati Knox, Brett Walker, Noah Krell, Doug Garth Williams.

Comment by AB: Group show dissertates not only on why California remains relevant to the conversation, but even more so, on why it's still one of the best effin' places on the face of this planet to live. As for persisting economic concerns, those of you who prefer lots of dollars to freedom of expression might consider packing your bags and moving to China.

Art about the California experience at RVCA.

Art (something for everyone, apparently).

Santa Claus sprinting through town video art.

Participatory art.

Art - group show homages California at RVCA.

Strange suspended art (kinda like it).

RVCA proper (the gallery's all the way to the back).

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The LAB: Postcard Show 14.

Artists: Alex Clausen, Erica Gangsei, Sheila Ghidini, Christina LaSala, Sherry Koyama, Emmy Moore, Alexis, Mai Ryuno, many more.

Comment by AB: Surprisingly sparse turnout at this year's postcard show-- which is really much more than a postcard show, but yet they stick with that same old name. Actually, you can buy all kinds of art here including paintings, ceramics, CDs, photographs, sculptures and much more-- priced from $1 to $50-- and how affordable is that? Someone tells me The LAB may have had a preview event the day before or earlier in the day where the true crowds were, so that may explain the paucity.

For those of you keeping score at home, I've been doing this SF art openings thing for well over seven years now, and I still have absolutely no idea who captain's The LAB.

Just a fraction of the huge "postcard" art selection at The LAB.

Art in above image closer.

"Postcard" art closer at The LAB.

Art at The LAB.

Nicely diced edibles at The LAB.

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Kitsch Gallery: F E E D I N G G H O S T S.

Artists: Hilary Schwartz, Mara Baldwin, Tania de Rozario, Stephanie Inagaki, Ann Kirchner, Erica Lai, Hazel Lim, Lynn Lu.

Review by RWM: Ghosts of different sorts, not all local, some from other parts of the world. Here you'll experience "The Gothic" in a multicultural sort of way. Not quite scary, not that unusual (as to be expected), but unsettling nonetheless.

Art & installation at Kitsch Gallery.

Video art in above image closer (kinda like it).

Art.

Art.

Art about ghosts at Kitsch Gallery.

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Eleanor Harwood Gallery: Kevin E. Taylor - Dislocated.

Review by RWM: Needed attention paid to endangered animals, but maybe also a sly commentary about what happens to some of them when they are placed on display for all of us to gawk at. These accomplished works by Kevin Taylor are at times painful, the wild animals being relocated to museum settings at the expense of their natural habitats. You can imagine them captured, bleeding, fighting, consumed, cut, and injured. Noble though they may be, they're not remotely prepared for their changing situations, and suffer here as ambassadors from the wild.

Art by Kevin E. Taylor.

Kevin E. Taylor art.

Art by Kevin Taylor.

Kevin Taylor art.

Art by Kevin E. Taylor.

Kevin E. Taylor art at Eleanor Harwood Gallery.

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Guerrero Gallery: Mike Giant - Reflections on Past, Present and Future; Adam5100 - Even Keel.

Comment by AB: Mike Giant hops on the soapbox with a deluge social and political commentary. It's like stuff we all know, but he's the one who says it out loud. You gotta respect that. Completing the picture is Adam 5100, in the process of evolving stencil art to dimensional collage.

Collage art by Mike Giant.

Art by Mike Giant.

Mike Giant collage art.

Art by Mike Giant.

Mike Giant collage art.

Adam5100 - Mike Giant.

Art by Adam5100.

Adam 5100 art.

Art by Adam5100.

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Fabric8 Gallery: A Plethora of Enchanted Delights. Adrianna Bamber, Alice Koswara, Andy Stattmiller, Christopher de Leon, Daniel Fleres, Erik Otto, gaNyan, Gage Opdenbrouw, GEM, Gianluca Franzese, Grant Gilliland, Johnny Siu, Leon Loucheur, Maureen Shields, Micah Lebrun, Mildred, Natasha Dikareva, Ninjagrl, Phoneticontrol, Rachel Hospodar, Reuben Rude, Romanowski, Skriblz, TELOPA, Tiffany Star, Ursula X Young.

Comment by AB: Fabric8 trots it out for the Holiday Season. This all-inclusive venue gives everyone a chance.

Art.

Art at Fabric8 Gallery.

Backyard art at Fabric8 Gallery.

Art.

Art.

Art.

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White Walls Gallery: Winter Group Show.

Artists: Charles Krafft, Becca, Joshua Petker, ABOVE, Clayton Brothers, Akira, HUSH, Shepard Fairey, Henry Gunderson, D Young V, Jessica Hess, Pedro Matos, Kevin Cyr, Casey Gray, Geoff Campen, Diana Campen, Blek le Rat.

Review by Clare Coppel: The White Walls Winter Group Show features a variety of different images-- lots of girls, some landscapes and some abstract designs.

Art by Becca (image c/o Clare Coppel).

Art by HUSH (image c/o Clare Coppel).

Art by HUSH (image c/o Clare Coppel).

Art.

Jessica Hess art (image c/o Clare Coppel).

Art by D Young V (center).

Artist D Young V & his art (image c/o Clare Coppel).

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The Shooting Gallery: Manos Extrañas - New Works by Morning Breath.

Review by Clare Coppel: New works by Morning Breath (Doug Cunningham and Jason Noto) look like vintage magazine sleaze superimposed over back page ads of the LA weekly-- larger than life and in extra bright cartoon colors, like middle school humor that never fails to get a laugh (at least some of the time). My favorite is the missing tooth smile; my brother sports that look but without the lipstick.

Art by Morning Breath (Doug Cunningham and Jason Noto).

Art in above image by Morning Breath closer (image c/o Clare Coppel).

Art by Morning Breath (Doug Cunningham and Jason Noto).

Art by Morning Breath closer (image c/o Clare Coppel).

Art by Morning Breath (Doug Cunningham and Jason Noto).

Morning Breath art.

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Space Gallery: Jill Schneider - Dharma Path.

Review and images by Clare Coppel: Photographs of Nepal, India, Kashmir, Bhutan and Tibet by Jill Schneider document people, places and things both alive and dead. Lots of color orange, and my favorite-- the picture of the road.

Photography by Jill Schneider.

Jill Schneider photograph.

Photo by Jill Schneider.

Jill Schneider photography.

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