CHANDRA CERRITO CONTEMPORARY - HATCH - KROWSWORK

JOHANSSON PROJECTS - MAMA BUZZ - OAKOPOLIS - 21 GRAND

ART AT THE OAKBOOK - CREATIVE GROWTH

SAN PABLO ARTS DISTRICT

03.05.10

Reported by Pilar Vree and DeWitt Cheng

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Chandra Cerrito Contemporary : A Thousand Ways to Kiss the Ground - Mari Andrews and Sheila Ghidini.

Review and images by Pilar Vree: This clever collection of Mother Earth-inspired art objects pays homage to everything the outdoors has to offer us. Although sparse at times, this show offers warmth and the vivacity of an afternoon in the sun...

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Hatch Gallery : Ur Best Friend - Diego Benavente, Kelly Best and Jonah Emerson-Bell.

Review and images by Pilar Vree: This straight-in-your-face exhibition of cluttered trash objects and faceless pornographic collages feels like an overcaffeinated artistic indulgence-- the crass themes of violence, anonymous sex and cheeky anti-art posturing all included. What it lacks in subtlety it makes up for in frenetic, eccentric visual gratification, like falling suddenly into the unfettered and unedited super-ego of a teenage boy.

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Krowswork Gallery : Mirror Made Me.

Artists: Aly Su Borst, Urusla Brookbank, Michael Deane, Cybele Lyle, Shana Moulton, Andrew Wilson.

Review and images by Pilar Vree: Wonderful cerebral video installations; intense and surreal videos by great artists.

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Rock Paper Scissors Collective : The Hero Within Us.

Review and images by Pilar Vree: As part of the "Art IS Education" theme of the evening, Rock Paper Scissors offers an interactive project geared towards children: super hero cape making and a poetry sign making in which participants can write directly on the wall. It's great to see viewer-generated art as a way to garner community interaction.

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Johansson Projects : Article X - David Trautrimas and Kristina Lewis.

Review and images by Pilar Vree: Clever sculptures and digital prints that speak of movement caught in a moment. An intriguing mobile of symmetrically deconstructed high heels offers a witty commentary on women's footwear.

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Art at the Oakbook, 123 Water Street, Oakland, CA 94607: Obi Kaufmann.

Review and images by DeWitt Cheng: Art at the Oakbook is a new gallery at Oakland's Jack London Square. Its curator is the Oakbook art writer Theo Konrad Auer, and the current show is (or was) Obi Kaufmannn's mural, "The Feathered Serpent," based on the Mexican mythological figure of Quetzalcoatl.

On a recent trip to Santiago, Chile, and Oaxaca, Mexico, Kaufmann (a ubiquitous artist and curator in the East Bay) was inspired by the street art and the sense of community, and decided to make this mural, based on his shamanic "Gothic Nouveau" drawings, after having dreamed about it. For Kaufmann, Quetzalcoatl is a hvbrid being symbolic of "the potential of human cognition and transcendence," and thus relevant for the current transitional age.

Speaking was prohibited during the 90-minute performance, which included somber recorded music, burning sage, and near-darkness, with only dim light flickering from candles set in wall sconces amid the drawings. The mural was painted over a few days later, its transience serving its meditational and ritual function, as in Indian sand paintings (though I believe photos were made, and possibly prints).

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Mama Buzz Gallery : Matlena Hourula and Alvaro Milt.

Review and images by Pilar Vree: Street inspired installation of delicately colored and energetic paintings on cardboard. Dreamy paintings on the back wall as well.

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Oakopolis Gallery : The World Turned Inside Out - Noele Lusano and James Minton.

Review and images by Pilar Vree: This delicate photography show exhibits dreamy and dusky photographs.

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21 Grand Gallery : Art IS Education - Various Artists.

Review and images by Pilar Vree: Continuing the education theme of the evening, 21 Grand exhibits large-scale paintings by students from local schools. Putting the students in the spotlight is endearing and makes for a rich and warm show.

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SPAD, San Pablo Arts District, Oakland: Multiple Venues, Multiple Artists.

Review and images by DeWitt Cheng: Arts districts seem to be popping up everywhere these days-- woohoo! This one is in the Golden Gate District of North Oakland, where artist-activists Tracey Snelling and Idan Levin along with former Global Heritage Fund exec Terry Quan have partnered with the owners of temporarily untenanted properties (like 5512 San Pablo, shown here, newly renovated by the Whittier family) to try to develop community along busy San Pablo Avenue.

Says Idan Levin, "Over twenty thousand... drivers... go by here every day... We are trying to inspire them to slow down, look around, smile, perhaps even park their cars and take a closer look. They will find that there are great businesses around here, a beautiful library, and lots of local culture."

SOS/SOL a storefront installation dealing with "sorrow and solitude on the high seas" (according to the press release) by Michael Louis Young and Jason Byers. Young: "A man undergoes some heartbreak, and rather than staying home to deal with his loss he sets out to sea without means or destination to float away his life. It is like a tableau of his tragedy, but devoid of his physical presence." (curated by SPAD.)

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Creative Growth : Postcards to Heroes - Various Artists.

Review and images by Pilar Vree: As usual, Creative Growth delivers a crisp show dedicated to the various artists' heroes. As participants in the Art IS Education theme of the evening, Creative Growth offers interactive postcard writing for the audience. The pieces exhibited are endearing and well crafted, with the usual palette of bright colors. A cunningly curated collection of artworks.

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