RENA BRANSTEN - MODERNISM - GEORGE LAWSON
ARTHAUS - RAYKO - UNSPEAKABLE PROJECTS
CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
01.17.13
(with assistance from Brandi Lee
and RWM)
Facebook and social networking for artists. Click Here.
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Rena Bransten Gallery : Bovey Lee - Conundrums; Sam Perry - Knots and Tangles.
Review by RWM: Incredible knots and tangles sculpted in wood by Sam Perry, defying the belief that they're carved from single pieces. These sculptures suggest other origins, but such bendings would not be possible in nature.
"Conundrums" by Bovey Lee have one guessing whether they are looking at shadows or realities. What one sees are duplicate images under the glass. Closer observation is rewarded in these fascinating designs.
Comment by AB: Awesome paper cutting by Bovey Lee and exceptionally twisty carved wood sculptures by Sam Perry. A winner on both counts; go see.
Cut paper art by Bovey Lee at Rena Bransten Gallery.
Art by Bovey Lee.
Detail of Bovey Lee art in above image at Rena Bransten Gallery.
Art by Bovey Lee.
Bovey Lee and her art in above image closer at Rena Bransten Gallery.
Art by Bovey Lee.
Carved wood art by Sam Perry at Rena Bransten Gallery.
Sam Perry and his art at Rena Bransten Gallery.
Carved wood sculpture by Sam Perry.
Art by Sam Perry at Rena Bransten Gallery.
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Modernism Gallery : Mel Ramos - New Paintings; Elena Dorfman - Empire Falling.
Review by RWM: Mouth-watering beautiful sweeties on display here from Mel Ramos. Not quite food objects, but they may affect your appetite anyway.
Comment by AB: Mel Ramos has been at it for fifty years now and hasn't missed a beat. So let's say you happen upon the recipe for success. Do you go with it? Or do you say, "Been there, done that?" Ramos says, "Been there, done that, doing that and will continue to do it." Paintings priced $100K-$500K. Opening night and the show's sold out. Hey, "true artists"-- is that good? Is that bad? Would you if you could you? I think yes. Worth a visit.
In the side gallery, Elena Dorfman's atmospheric digital riffs on abandoned Midwest rock quarries allude to that which has been spent and left for dead. Also worth a visit.
Art by Mel Ramos at Modernism Gallery.
Sardine art by Mel Ramos.
Mel Ramos at his Modernism Gallery solo show.
Candybar art by Mel Ramos.
Art by Mel Ramos at Modernism Gallery.
Photography by Elena Dorfman at Modernism Gallery.
Elena Dorfman and her photography at Modernism Gallery.
Abandoned rock quarry photographs by Elena Dorfman.
Elena Dorfman photographs at Modernism Gallery.
Ambiance - Mel Ramos & Elena Dorfman art shows at Modernism Gallery.
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George Lawson Gallery : Inaugural Show - Gallery Selections.
Comment by AB: Alan Ebnother is supposed to debut George Lawson's triumphant return to Ess Eff, but his paintings got held up in customs. So let's go with gallery selections. It's still good. Check out the intimate diminutive new exhibition space.
Art by Alan Ebnother (left) at George Lawson Gallery.
Art from group show at George Lawson Gallery new location.
More art George Lawson Gallery group show.
George Lawson Gallery innards.
Out front at George Lawson Gallery new Sutter Street location.
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ArtHaus Gallery : California Impressions - A Group Show.
Artists: Carolyn Meyer, Matthew Frederick, Brian Blood, Gioi Tran, Deborah Brown, Eric Engstrom, Franc D'Ambrosio, Michal Venera, Daniel Berman.
Review by RWM: Beautiful images of the outdoors and cityscapes are captured here even if they have been abstracted. Not quite the experience of solitude, but wondrous nonetheless with individual styles on display.
Art by Brian Blood at ArtHaus Gallery.
Matthew Frederick art.
Art by Carolyn Meyer at ArtHaus Gallery.
Photographs by Daniel Berman (right).
Art by Gioi Tran at ArtHaus Gallery.
Art from group California landscape/cityscape show at ArtHaus Gallery.
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Rayko Photo Center : San Francisco Days.
Photographers: Janet Delaney, Lou Dematteis, John Harding, Gabriela Hasbun, Andre Hermann, Michael Jang, Mimi Plumb, Andrei Riskin.
Review by RWM: The raw and wild city on The Barbary Coast. Things were awfully quirky back then, leaving us with a legacy of freedoms and humor. Great show about the power of the past and choices for the future. Oddness abounds.
Comment by AB: Various documentary perspectives on life in San Francisco over the past 40 years.
3rd & Mission pre-Moscone Center by Janet Delaney at Rayko Photo Center.
Janet Delaney and her photography at Rayko Photo Center.
Vintage Polk Street photography by John Harding.
Garage band photographs by Michael Jang at Rayko Photo Center.
Mission Miracle Mile photography by Gabriela Hasbun.
Mimi Plumb and her photographs at Rayko Photo Center.
Vintage Low Rider photography by Lou Dematteis.
Lou Dematteis photographs in above image closer at Rayko Photo Center.
Photography by Andrei Riskin.
Andre Hermann photographs at Rayko Photo Center.
Long view - group show of SF photography at Rayko Photo Center.
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Unspeakable Projects : In the Event of My Death - A Group Show about Fantasies of Death and Mortality.
Artists: AMTK, Elizabeth Dorbad, Justine Frischmann, Jason Fritz, Justin Kerr, Justin Limoges, Andrew Witrak.
Comment by AB: When young people essay on death, it's always kinda lighthearted and kicky because the event is so far off, abstract and irrelevant... but it'll be relevant soon enough. Just you wait and see.
Art about death at Unspeakable Projects.
Art in above image closer.
Amusing wig throw rug at Unspeakable Projects (kinda like it).
Art/installation about death.
Art in above image closer at Unspeakable Projects.
Headstone art above closer.
Installation art about death at Unspeakable Projects.
Floor-bound art.
Playing field - group art show about death at Unspeakable Projects.
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California Academy of Sciences - : Gallery Crawl Nightlife.
Artists: Tiffany Bozic, Warholian, Spoke Art, Hugh Leeman, Ever Gold Gallery, artists from the Academy of Sciences. All Draw event organized by Adam Rozan, scientific illustrators at The Academy, installation by CCA Grad Students.
Review and images by Brandi Lee: If you haven't been to the Academy of Science's Nightlife Gallery Crawl, it's worth a visit. Lively music, dim lighting, bars, and energetic crowds transform the museum from family-friendly into adults-only. Galleries, artists, demos and art are scattered throughout the venue, in addition to art from the artists and illustrators who work there daily.
Ambience at the Academy.
Tiffany Bozic artist talk and book signing.
Live painting by Warholian artists John Wentz and Marcos La Farga.
One more from Warholian artists Wentz and La Farga live painting.
Art in the African Hall.
Spoke Art artists answer questions while painting.
A crowd around the pendulum (drinking every time the peg falls over).
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