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SAN FRANCISCO ART GALLERIES OPENINGS

FIRST THURSDAY - 03.04.10 Part II

(with assistance from DeWitt Cheng, RWM, GETBIZI and Kristin Farr)

Comment by AB: Hello there artlanders. It's me again. In case you forgot-- I need help formatting images, filling in the fields on review page templates, and basically preparing each column for upload so that you, my dearest artsters, can keep current on the latest in Ess Eff art gallery news, reviews and developments. Your assistance will be infinitely appreciated. Please email me.

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Modernism Gallery: Mel Ramos - Paintings & Sculptures; Patti Oleon - New Paintings. Comment by GETBIZI: Elegant large oils by Patti Oleon; sexual & sensual female nude paintings and sculptures by Mel Ramos.

Comment by AB: Mel Ramos stays true to his erotic Pop Art roots, sexing it up, much to the delight of erectile tissue everywhere. Centerpieced in the main gallery is a hyper-real life-sized sculpture of a recumbent nude woman splayed out on top of a cigar. Kinda makes me wish I were made of tobacco. In the rear gallery, Patti Oleon paints up a series of sumptuous low light interiors, intimate glimpses into the romance and intrigue of gracious living.

Mel Ramos artist art

Erotic art by Mel Ramos.

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Mel Ramos erotic art.

Erotic art by Mel Ramos.

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Cigar straddle art by Mel Ramos.

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Mel Ramos erotic art.

Erotic art by Mel Ramos.

Mel Ramos and Manuel Neri in da house.

Art by Patti Oleon.

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FiftyCrows Foundation: Judith Fox - I Still Do.

Comment by AB: Judith Fox offers us a private and heart rending look at her husband Ed and his progressive debilitation brought on by Alzheimer's Disease. Her decision to go public is intended "to help destigmatize this horrendous disease."

Judith Fox artist art

Photography by Judith Fox.

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Judith Fix photograph.

Photographs by Judith Fox.

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Dolby Chadwick Gallery: Doug Glovaski - Painting in a Minor Key; Kirsten Stolle.

Review by DeWitt Cheng: Doug Glovaski's acrylics on canvas combine geometric form with painterly surfaces, streaked, abraded, and smeared (to guess at certain of his techniques). Some works employ a diptych format, with flat and textured areas playing off against each other; others superimpose the styles, or depict them mingling. Modernism lives, even in the post-postmodern age.

Kirsten Stolle continues her researches into imaginary botany, adding more color and more wax/encaustic; here she postulates the discovery of various hybrid plants (with the proper Linnaean Latin terminology) at various far-flung locations in the 23rd century (a map is pushpinned with the sites). We should be so lucky as to survive that long.

Doug Glovaski artist art

Art by Doug Glovaski (City #2) - image c/o DeWitt Cheng.

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Doug Glovaski art.

Art by Kirsten Stolle.

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Kirsten Stolle and her art (image c/o DeWitt Cheng).

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Attendance figures (image c/o DeWitt Cheng).

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Hespe Gallery: Amberlee Rosolowich - Exhibition of Oil Paintings.

Review by RWM: Nice exploration of our connection with those ambassadors from the wild that we find out at The Zoo. The connections which children depicted are both personal and fun. Here are animal companions, but also totems and informal animal spirits. The children depicted have taken their power and put it to good use.

Amberlee Rosolowich artist art

Art by Amberlee Rosolowich.

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Amberlee Rosolowich art.

Art by Amberlee Rosolowich.

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Amberlee Rosolowich art.

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Gallery 291: Jock McDonald - Water, Liquid, Instability.

Review by RWM: Breathtaking to watch the powerful sea sending spray over the nearby coastal roads in Cuba. The railway barriers which guard the roads do not seem high enough to combat the oncoming and rising ocean. Viewers cannot help but become nervous with the implications of Global Warming being captured in the photographs here. The big skies of Cuba also loom hot, humid and possibly even menacing the way McDonald presents them-- towering them above low horizons in these portentous images.

Jock McDonald artist art

Photography by Jock McDonald.

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Jock McDonald photographs.

Photograph by Jock McDonald.

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Photos by Jock McDonald.

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Jock McDonald photography.

Overview.

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SF Camerawork: An Autobiography of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Review by and images GETBIZI: There are many wonderful photography works by many artists at the SF Camerawork gallery, but I'm stopped in my tracks as I approach Dr. Barry S. Ramer's collection of black and white photos. No, he is not an artist, but rather a collecter of images with "heavy emotional impact" because of the "print's capability to strike chords deep in [his] memory."

The first image is of two bewildered Asian coal miners* who were photographed at the end of the day just before taking showers to wash the soot off their faces. They peer directly up at the photographer who used a bright, direct flash to exentuate the rawness, the immediateness of the moment.. it was not a staged image with soft lighting, but rather a "now" bright strobe picture.

Puppies held by outlaws** is also a stunning image, the powerful visual contrast between something everyone loves, namely puppies, and something everyone fears, the outlaws, challenges your mind... You want to look because it is a picture of cute puppies.. but what are those guys going to do with those dogs??

There are SO many interesting photos in this group show which you should stop by to see; I've included a few other color images which caught my attention as well.

*This is my interpretation of the image and they may or may not be coal miners; there was no note to indicate one way or the other.
** Again, it is my interpretation of what the people are in the image, there were no text which confirms if they are or not.

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Photography from the collection of Dr. Barry S. Ramer.

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Photo from the collection of Dr. Barry S. Ramer.

Photograph.

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Photo.

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Circumstance.

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Art People Gallery: Karen Mason.

Review by RWM, image c/o Art People Gallery: Beautiful flowers taken out of context as usual, but "beauty objects" nonetheless. Here is "life" to put on one's wall. One can appreciate the motion and understand the fascination depicted here even if it edges towards abstraction.

Karen Mason artist art

Art by Karen Mason.

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Visual Aid: Light Conditions - Heidi McDowell.

Review by RWM, image c/o Visual Aid: Though not always accessible, here is the natural world depicted with majesty. The skies and horizons are gorgeous and grand. We find ourselves alone but not quite alone in the images. Cloudscapes and oceans at low tide dwarf the viewer. This could have used a larger space, but even only a few of McDowell's images leave a lasting impression.

Heidi McDowell artist art

Art by Heidi McDowell.

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Hangart Gallery: Home - Michael Shankman.

Review by RWM, image c/o Hangart Gallery: Nice to think about Thoreau and his home in the woods, but the broken structures depicted, actually colorfully captured, may have been intended to last. The colorful depictions makes one not take the meaning too seriously. Houses these days seem to get flooded, burn down, and sold because people can't meet their mortgages. Maybe dreams are not meant to last a lifetime. The works do give one a sense of what may have been a glorious past. People use to live in what was once there. They are gone now, but here not forgotten. Neither should some of our dreams.

Michael Shankman artist art

Art by Michael Shankman.

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Kokoro Studio: Spir·akasha - The Crow and The Wolf.

Review by Kristin Farr: Female duo The Crow and The Wolf present an elaborate installation including taxidermy, jars of dirt, antique furniture, a paper puppet theater, a haiku tree, and a meditative sound room. Really nice attention to detail and participatory elements-- the sound room installation features three sets of headphones playing specially commissioned ambient beats. The show is like a traveling circus from another land; there is much to be explored. The artists even decorated Kokoro's fancy chandelier with tiny skulls. Spir·akasha shows a lot of dedication to space transformation and it will continue to evolve during its run.

Comment by RWM: Gothic and stylish. Thought provoking, but not all worrisome. There is a message here for those who would or might listen.

The Crow and The Wolf artist art

Art by The Crow and The Wolf.

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Art by The Crow and The Wolf.

The Crow and The Wolf.

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The Crow and The Wolf art.

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Demographics.

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Ever Gold Gallery: David Marc Grant and Chadwick Heath Moore - PLASTASTIK.

Review by Kristin Farr: David Marc Grant and Chadwick Heath Moore collaborate here for PLASTASTIK, a title they came up with after thinking about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch-- that island of plastic that floats in the ocean and kills birds. Moore creates amalgams of trash-- bottles, straws, plastic Easter eggs, etc. that hang from the ceiling and fill the installation room in the back of the gallery. Grant's paintings are full of rainbows and happy-looking stacks of objects and structures, but they are not-so-secretly critiquing environmental destruction. Moore is clearly influenced by Mission School artists but is part of a new generation. Perhaps we can call it The Tenderloin School.

David Marc Grant artist art

Art by David Marc Grant.

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Art by David Marc Grant (upper right), Chadwick Heath Moore (left) + dude in a frog hat.

David Marc Grant art.

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John & Jessica Tripp in da house.

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Ceiling installation art by Chadwick Heath Moore.

Chadwick Heath Moore art.

Head count + art by Chadwick Heath Moore.

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111 Minna Gallery: Fort Big Mountain - Chris Russell and Seth Armstrong.

Review by GETBIZI: Peaceful drama is how I would describe the "Fort Big Mountain" show at 111 Minna Gallery. Chris Russell's serene work beautifully balances Seth Armstrong's visual theatrics. A walk through of 111 Minna Gallery takes you on a (non-drug induced) mental trip from tranquil mountain scene to murder scene, challenging your mind as you try to connect with each piece.

I'm really drawn to the intense dramatic facial expressions of the characters in Seth Armstrong's "The Attempted Murder of Peggy Sweetwater," particularly Peggy's face. Her eyes wide open as if the eyeballs are about to pop out of their sockets... the tip of her tongue peers just beyond the lips as she struggles to crawl away from the ominous looking male figures hovering above her... in fear... in pain... in trouble.

On the opposite wall hangs Chris Russell's painting of a male nude peacefully taking a dip in a mountainside watering hole... halcyon... idyllic... refreshing.

Seth Armstrong artist art