BRAUNSTEIN/QUAY - JACK FISCHER - BAER RIDGWAY

NOOWORKS - ARTISTS' TELEVISION ACCESS - SOMARTS

INCLUSIONS - PAUL MAHDER - MARTIN LAWRENCE

01.29.11

(with assistance from Clare Coppel and Harry J. Johnson )



Art appraisals for donation purposes. Click here.

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Braunstein/Quay Gallery : Cork Marcheschi - Cabinet of Curiosities.

Comment by AB: Cork Marcheschi shows a current and retrospective selection of illuminated sculptures spanning nearly four decades, several of which are interactive, and all guaranteed to energize even the drabbest of interiors. Art for all; the kids love it just as much as everybody else. Worth a visit.

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Jack Fischer Gallery : Richard Bassett & Chris Crites - Cold Comfort.

Comment by AB: Remarkably photorealistic needlepoint cushions (hard to believe but true) by Richard Bassett are sourced from images of John F. Kennedy's assination, and surveillance video stills of bank robberies and convenience store hold ups. To accentuate the criminality of it all, witness Chris Crites' haunting hyper-colorized gouaches on paper bags of vintage mugshots and crime scene paraphernalia. Good show; go see.

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Baer Ridgway Exhibitions : Christopher Taggart - AWAY; : / - MARK : / - MARK : / - MARK : /.

Artists: Mary Belknap, Henry Bruns, Hung Kei Shiu, Marilyn Wong.

Comment by AB: A fascinating array of meticulously crafted works in all manner of media by Christopher Taggart blend math, science, kinetics, humor... and last but not least, art. They're all so different, you pretty much have to take 'em one at a time. Among the more curious entries are reconfigured footballs and a turkey claw tree, but they're all refreshingly aberrant. Sidle on by.

In the project room, Brion Nuda Rosch curates a selection of mark-making artworks by four Bay Area artists.

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Martin Lawrence Gallery : Kerry Hallam.

Review by Harry J. Johnson: Forty works of art by Kerry Hallam-- including acrylics, oils, mixed media and prints-- are currently on display or available for viewing at Martin Lawrence Gallery on Geary Street. I ask the artist about his work...

"Oscar Wilde said painting is the telling of beautiful untruths," says Hallam, whose work is exhibited and collected worldwide. "As an artist you take something and add something to it, to throw it into perhaps a different light, or different atmosphere. I think Oscar Wilde was saying, it's not the slavish copying of reality, it's using reality as a springboard to a more creative vision."

Hallam, a former small boat sailor who lives in Nantucket, an island off the Massachusetts coast, uses nautical charts as a foundation for some of his paintings. "Nautical charts are intrinsically pretty," he says. "They're very attractive, and I suppose psychologically they have certain connotations of travel, adventure and romance, all rolled into one. So obviously, if you paint on top of that, sailboats or whatever, it adds to the whole feeling of the work."

His practice of "arbitrary use of color," he adds, was inspired by the Fauvist movement of the early 20th Century, which began in Paris. The Fauves, or wild beasts, were known for their flamboyant use of color. "It's making colors fit each other rather than fit the reality. Matisse was always one of the prime Fauvists, along with Raoul Dufy. They knew how to use juxtapositions of colors to get the effects they wanted. It's not just willy-nilly. It looks sort of arbitrary, but it really isn't, it's carefully thought through."

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Nooworks : Chad Hesagawa, Jason Vivona, Justin Lovato, Paul Wingert.

Review by and images by Clare Coppel: Abstract shapes, lines, magical creatures, old school black and white drawings, some interesting enterprises involving sewing materials, and some nakedness.

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Artists' Television Access (ATA) : ATA Art Auction & FUNraiser.

Artists: Zara, Walter Logue, Walter Desanti, Todd Sanchioni, Sylvia Schedelbauer, Suzy Poling, Scott Macleod, Scott Hewicker, Sarah Bell, Rich Bott, Regina Clarkinia, Rebecca Whipple, Paul Clipson, Pablo Guardiola, Ouzel Isis Rhea, Minna Eloranta, Martha Coburn, Marshall Weber, Mark Brest Van Kempen, Maria Katy Goodman, Marcella Faustino, Mack Macfarland, Lise Swenson, Laure Cavuliar, Kyle Ranson, Kyle Noble, Kottie Poloma, Kent Howie, Karla Milosevich, John Casey, Johanna jackson, Jen Gilomen, Jefre Cantu, Gordon Winienko, Gina Contreras, Emily Glaubinger, Dayv Jones, Dana Smith, Cybele Lyle, Craig Baldwin, Cliff Hengst, Christo Roperza, Chris Johanson, Chris Cobb, Charles Gute, Carl Diehl, Beth Lisick, Beth Custer, Bessma Khalaf, Barbara Valles, Anna Leja, Amanda Curreri, Allyssa Wolf, A. Mark Liiv.

Comment by AB: Artists' Television Access (ATA), now in its 26th year, is an arts organization dedicated to supporting local underground media and experimental art, and tonight's art auction fundraiser is all about that.

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Inclusions Gallery : Voyages of Discovery - Nordic 5 Arts.

Artists: Colette Crutcher, Diane Rusnak, Elizabeth Stokkebye, Ellen Faris, Helene Sobol, Loren Rehbock, Lotte Dyhrberg, Maj-Britt Mobrand, Marc Ellen Hamel, Mark Erickson, Olivia Eielson, Stevens Strauss.

Comment by AB: Nordic 5 Arts is comprised of professional artists of Nordic/Scandinavian descent and artists born in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Their members' group show opens here at Inclusions Gallery tonight.

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SOMArts Gallery : Art Auction to "Free All Three."

Artists: Mimi Chakrova, Taj Rorer, Roberto ear Guerra, Ken Light, LUCEO photo collective, Susan Meiselas, Lianne Milton, Mark Murrmann, Alec Soth, Marianne Bland, Mark Brecke, Teresa Camozzi, Andreina Davila, Eric Drooker, Matt Gonzalez, Shane Keena, Wendy Macnaughton, Hilary Williams, many more.

Comment by AB: Art by over 80 artists will be auctioned to raise funds for the remaining two hikers, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, who were detained by Iranian forces for supposedly crossing the border into Iran while on a recreational hike, and who remain in captivity. The third hiker, Sarah Shourd, was released on humanitarian grounds and is here tonight to speak on behalf of the cause.

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Addendum:

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