Comment: Jack Hanley shows the most cutting edge art of any gallery in San Francisco (and probably Cotati, too). Which side of the edge that art turns out to be on remains to be seen, and we're talkin' decades here. The good news is that the buy-in is generally reasonable-- some hundreds of dollars nets you a piece of the posterity potential. Kawai's fabric works are noteworthy in that they engage children with their innocence, and adults with their complexity as well as with a craftsmanship that at first appears slipshod, but resolves nicely once you zoom in for a closer look-- kind of like The Simpsons. Both Kawai and Garrett fit the Hanley mold in that their art is difficult, it needs words, context, credentials, and it requires patience and an open mind. One thing for sure-- that mold represents a vision, and Hanley sticks to it and he stays on message, and that's what making your way through art is all about.

Artist/Artists: Christopher Garrett, Misaki Kawai.