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FIRST FRIDAY OAKLAND ART OPENINGS

21 GRAND - HATCH - MAMA BUZZ - ROCK PAPER SCISSORS

VESSEL - KROWSWORK - FM - MERCURY 20

05.07.10

Reported by Pilar Vree and DeWitt Cheng

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21 Grand Gallery: Pictures for Paik.

Artists: Killer Banshee, Damon Smith, Nam June Paik, Michael Deane, Greg Serpa, Melissa Bolger, David Kwan, Daniel Healey, Eliot Daughtry, Kriss De Jong.

Review and images by Pilar Vree: Peacefulness and bright colors abound in this art show focused mainly on video works. The Buddha examining his own image on television (by Eliot Daughtry & Kriss De Jong) and a video of the slaughter of an animal lend an air of intensity to the show. Two brightly colored pieces by the doorway by Michael Deane offset that with more playful and chaotic effects.

Buddha TV art by Eliot Daughtry & Kriss De Yong.

Art by Eliot Daughtry & Kriss De Yong.

Art by Eliot Daughtry & Kriss De Yong.

Art by Daniel Healey.

Art by Michael Deane.

Michael Deane art.

Art by Greg Serpa and Melissa Bolger.

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Hatch Gallery: CP-37.

Review and images by Pilar Vree: Large scale pieces that invoke the forcefulness of New York Neo-expressionism are slapped onto the gallery walls by local artist CP-37. Consciously haphazard materials are assembled into would-be canvases, schizophrenically scrawled all over and given a modernist treatment. Intentionally cheeky and filled to the brim with ire, this art show reads like a mischievous slap in the face.

Art by CP-37.

CP-37 art.

Art by CP-37.

Art by CP-37.

CP-37 art.

Art by CP-37.

CP-37 art.

Art by CP-37.

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Krowswork Gallery: Closer Than They Appear.

Artists: William Eggleston, Sade Huron, Ryan Smith.

Review and images by Pilar Vree: A dark romantically themed photography show graces the walls of Krowswork along with rustling video works. Whispering and shady images rife with untold stories and dreamy ideas lure the viewer into a world of subdued hues and beautiful women.

Photography by Ryan C. Smith.

Ryan C. Smith photography.

Ryan C. Smith photographs.

Photo by Ryan C. Smith.

Photography by Ryan C. Smith.

Photo by Ryan C. Smith.

Photograph by Ryan C. Smith.

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Rock Paper Scissors Collective: Beyond Bicycles.

Artists: Various.

Review and images by Pilar Vree: As Oakland continues to pay homage to its favorite mode of transportation, it seems only appropriate for RPS to exhibit a show lauding the bicycle. With a giant map of all the best bicycle fix-it shops in the East Bay, along with sundry riffs on the velocipede theme in a variety of mediums including photography, sculpture and drawings, this show is quintessentially Oakland.

Bicycle art.

Bicycle art.

Velocipede art.

Bicycle art.

Velocipede art.

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Mama Buzz Gallery: Art by Mike Kabler.

Review and images by Pilar Vree: Intricately woven pieces hint at brightly colored advertisements and other fragments of popular culture. Each small piece indicates something bigger and louder, in the end meshing together as a whole, like the half-digested ideas we are constantly barraged with each and every day. These pieces read like the frenetic media assault we must continually process, the individual components carefully blended into a series of neat artworks.

Art by Mike Kabler.

Mike Kabler art.

Art by Mike Kabler.

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FM Gallery (located on 25th Street next to Vessel Gallery): FM.

Artists: Ofra Fisher, Joe Kowalczyk, Mike Steffen, and Peter St. Lawrence

Review and images by Pilar Vree: Another new gallery on 25th Street offers fantastic sculpture and a peak into the artists' studios. Complex and witty, the pieces are sure to claim a place in viewers' memories.

Art by Ofra Fisher.

Art by Joe Kowalczyk.

Joe Kowalczyk art.

Photo of artist studios at FM Gallery.

Another of artist studios at FM Gallery.

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Vessel Gallery: A Place In-Between - Cyrus Tilton.

Review by DeWitt Cheng: Vessel Gallery shares a rehabbed former glass factory on 25th Street with Mercury Twenty Gallery, and they're both beautiful spaces-- clean and modern while retaining a bit of Oakland history. For this current show, Cyrus Tilton presents his surreal kinetic (and static) sculptures, beautifully engineered as well as poetic and strange.

Review by Pilar Vree: Cyrus Tilton's breathtaking sculptures adorn this newly constructed gallery on 25th Street. His delicate drawings and whimsical sculptures evoking an imaginary world of faceless half-human creatures adorn a pristine and refreshingly uncramped gallery. Sketches of the sculptures hang on the walls of the gallery's downstairs. A fascinating romp through the fantasy world of a childlike mind, ready to be made into a slightly sinister child's movie.

Art by Cyrus Tilton (photo c/o DeWitt Cheng).

Sculpture by Cyrus Tilton in above image closer (photo c/o Pilar Vree).

Cyrus Tilton and his sculpture (photo c/o DeWitt Cheng).

Cyrus Tilton sculpture closer (photo c/o Pilar Vree).

Cyrus Tilton sculpture installation (photo c/o DeWitt Cheng).

Sculpture by Cyrus Tilton closer (photo c/o Pilar Vree).

Vessel Gallery owner Lonnie Lee (photo c/o DeWitt Cheng).

Art on paper by Cyrus Tilton (photo c/o Pilar Vree).

Art on paper by Cyrus Tilton (photo c/o Pilar Vree).

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Mercury 20 Gallery: Spiral Jetsam.

Artists: Charlie Milgrim, Laura Van Duren, Mary Curtis Ratcliff, Eric Bohr, Joan Weiss, Jamie Morgan.

Review by DeWitt Cheng: Mercury Twenty Gallery has reopened after a hiatus of several months in a newly remodeled industrial space on 25th Street next to Vessel Gallery and FM Gallery, just a few doors from Oakopolis. A new arts district-- so let's have a naming contest! M20 has three nicely finished mini-galleries and good lighting from skylights and tracks, making this venue a big step up from the old digs. Kudos (yes, kudos, dammit!) to the artists who made it happen.

Review by Pilar Vree: Mercury 20 is thriving in its new location. This latest show draws on the spiral, a naturally occurring form that has been reinterpreted in styrofoam and used cell phones. Paintings that mimic that shakiness of a blurry photo and three dimensional paintings that pay homage to birds also populate the show.

Art by Joan Weiss (photo c/o Pilar Vree).

Joan Weiss and her art (photo c/o DeWitt Cheng).

Jamie Morgan and his art (photo c/o DeWitt Cheng).

Eric Bohr and his art (photo c/o DeWitt Cheng).

Art by Eric Bohr (photo c/o Pilar Vree).

Art by Charlie Milgrim (photo c/o Pilar Vree).

Charlie Milgrim and her mixed-media art (photo c/o DeWitt Cheng).

Laura Van Duren and her mixed-media art (photo c/o DeWitt Cheng).

Mary Curtis Ratcliff and her art (photo c/o DeWitt Cheng).

Art by Mary Curtis Ratcliff closer (photo c/o Pilar Vree).

Long view, Mercury 20 Gallery (photo c/o DeWitt Cheng).

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Addendum:

Live painting on the street.

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