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SAN FRANCISCO ART GALLERIES OPENINGS

SECOND "FIRST THURSDAY" - 09.09.10 Part I

(with assistance from RWM)

Comment by AB: The official Fall Art Season is upon us. And off we go...

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John Berggruen Gallery: Christopher Brown - A Gardener's Notebook; Line, Letter and Form - Group Show.

Artists from Line, Letter and Form: Martin Puryear, Darren Almond, Julian Lethrbridge, Joel Shapiro, Robert Mangold, Olafur Eliasson, John Baldessari, Iran Do Espirito Santo, Callum Innes, Linda Ridgway, Chuck Close.

Comment by AB: Christopher Brown's paintings are guaranteed to take your brain to places it's never been before. Pick of First Thursday Magna Cum Laude. While there, don't miss the group show upstairs featuring, among other gems, a Martin Puryear bronze and a complete suite of limited edition alphabet mixografia prints on paper by John Baldessari.

Art by Christopher Brown.

Art by Christopher Brown.

Christopher Brown and art in above image closer.

Art by Christopher Brown.

Christopher Brown art.

Paintings by Christopher Brown.

Limited edition alphabet suite by John Baldessari.

"Face Down" bronze by Martin Puryear on low pedestal, left.

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Gallery Paule Anglim: Brett Reichman - Simulations; Katherine Sherwood - Healers from the Yelling Clinic.

Comment by AB: Brett Reichman's eerie erotic takes on male sexuality, executed with considerable precision, make for arrestingly incisive commentaries on contemporary gender politics. Pick of First Thursday Summa Cum Laude. In the parlor, Katherine Sherwood's wall-mounted effigies-- nurses, she calls them-- almost seem imbued with mysterious supernatural healing powers, perhaps actualizing some high form of compassionate voodoo. Worth a visit.

Art by Brett Reichman.

Artist & art.

Art by Brett Reichman.

Brett Reichman art.

Art by Brett Reichman.

Art by Katherine Sherwood.

Katherine Sherwood art.

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Robert Koch Gallery: Hugh Brown - Allegedly.

Comment by AB: Hugh Brown's deft re-creations of greatest hits by famous artists are each augmented with the same compositional ingredient-- a chainsaw reference (according to the deposition, Brown is obsessed with this icon of American pop culture). What it all means, I have no idea. But the composite does make for a rather entertaining display. Stop on by.

Art by Hugh Brown.

Hugh Brown art.

Famous artist imitations by Hugh Brown.

Art by Hugh Brown.

Slasher Jackson Pollock counterfeit by Hugh Brown.

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Haines Gallery: Tokihiro Sato - Trees; Allison Smith - Pitcher Collection.

Comment by AB: In the main gallery, Tokihiro's haunting time-exposure photographs of trees have a magical meditative spirituality about them. In the rear gallery, Allison Smith fills the walls with traditional examples of crafts, fashion, furniture and decorative arts, isolating each image onto pieces of handmade paper and arranging them, seemingly at random, into neat rows. The viewer is surely encouraged to take it from there.

Time exposure photography by Tokihiro Sato.

Tokihiro Sato photographs.

Photos by Tokihiro Sato.

Art by Allison Smith.

Allison Smith art.

Art by Allison Smith closer.

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Gregory Lind Gallery: Eamon O'Kane - Der Glasraum.

Comment by AB: According to the blurb, "Eamon O'Kane explores the relationship between Philip Johnson's Glass House and Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House through a series of oil paintings on canvas and works on paper." And? Nice work though.

Art by Eamon O'Kane.

Eamon O'Kane art closer.

Art by Eamon O'Kane.

Eamon O'Kane art.

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Brian Gross Fine Art: Nellie King Solomon - Diamond Rings.

Comment by AB: Subtly manipulated dripped and poured paint blended with bold wide brushstrokes signify Nellie King Solomon's dynamic commanding abstracts on large mylar sheets.

Art by Nellie King Solomon.

Nellie King Solomon and her art.

Art by Nellie King Solomon.

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Fraenkel Gallery: Mel Bochner - Photographs and Not Photographs 1966 - 2010.

Comment by AB: Select retrospective surveys over forty years of work by conceptual artist Mel Bochner with particular focus on his photographic works from the mid to late 1960s. Good stuff; go see.

Art by Mel Bochner.

Mel Bochner art.

Art by Mel Bochner.

Mel Bochner art.

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Toomey Tourell Gallery: Stephanie Weber - Recent Paintings.

Comment by AB: Stephanie Weber's striking abstracts combine vertical and horizontal elements (mainly vertical) with impassioned freewheeling flourishes. And yes... all coexist in bliss and harmony.

Art by Stephanie Weber.

Stephanie Weber art.

Art by Stephanie Weber.

Stephanie Weber art.

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San Francisco Botanical Garden Library: Nature's Geometry, Surprises of Botanical Design - Photographs by Julie Jaycox.

Review by RWM, images c/o SF Botanical Garden Library: Estimable use of photography to capture symmetry and design in nature. Marvel at the order and forms to be discovered in these photographs by Julie Jaycox. Yes, wonders of the botanical world are evident here. One might think that there need be a supernatural explanation for such marvels, but natural selection is more than just happenstance. Beauty may indeed be a selective factor. Plants out of evolutionary necessity require distinctions that insects, which see the world differently than us, can differentiate and take advantage of... to the benefit of us all. There are many ways to appreciate the novelty and full spectral of bright colors on exhibit here.

Photography by Julie Jaycox.

Julie Jaycox photograph.

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Art People Gallery: Meamar - Circle of Love.

Review by RWM, images c/o Art People Gallery: Impressive and heartfelt work by Ali Meamar. His abstracts are whole and uplifting. Nice to see these comfortable and pleasing uses of color. The drips in some works perhaps suggest all is not well, but despite what could be interpreted as pollution or angst, there are nice contrasts and style displayed.

Art by Ali Meamar.

Ali Meamar art.

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Addendum:

Select abstractions at Elins Eagles-Smith Gallery.

One more from group show at Elins Eagles-Smith Gallery.

Mona Kuhn photographs and book release at Scott Nichols Gallery.

Possible Elvis signting at Art Exchange Gallery.

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I know you can do this.

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First Thursday - August 5, 2010

First Thursday - July 1, 2010

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