MERIDIAN - PATRICIA SWEETOW - MARX & ZAVATTERO

BRAUNSTEIN/QUAY - HOSFELT - ROBERT BERMAN/E6 - THE LAB

BARBER LOUNGE - WESTERFIELD HOUSE

03.20.10

(with assistance from Liesa Lietzke , Anna Efanova , GETBIZI ,
RWM and DeWitt Cheng)

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Meridian Gallery : The Visionary Art of Morris Graves. Curated by Peter Selz.

Comment by AB: Satisfyingly significant retrospective of the art of Morris Graves commemorates the 100th anniversary of his birth, and focuses on the mythical motifs and symbolism of his art. Graves is one of the Northwest's most significant artists although he lived and painted in plenty of other places as well.

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Patricia Sweetow Gallery : Robert Hudson - Sculpture and Drawing.

Comment by AB: Classic high density assemblage by Robert Hudson-- he's been at it and exhibiting since 1958. What's remarkable about is work is how he combines such disparate elements into such harmonious wholes. Like 'em! Stop on by and experience it for yourself.

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Marx & Zavattero : Libby Black - Be Here Now.

Comment by AB: Libby Black here shifts her focus from iconic international luxury brands like Gucci and Prada to status symbols of the California lifestyle such as Goyard shopping bags and trowels, Vans shoes, skateboards and the like. No matter who or where you are, there's always a fast track to synthetic self-esteem.

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Braunstein/Quay Gallery : Richard Shaw - New Work; ACCESS Program - David Linger - In Plain View.

Review by GETBIZI: At first glance, you get a sense that David Linger's multi-panel porcelain 'documents' on display at Braunstein/Quay Gallery exude the essence of elegance and sophistication because the pieces are subtle. They delicately float slightly off the walls... the black & white images are visually soft and the background texture... so slight... so subtle, it invites the viewer to step up close to examine the artwork in detail. The text serves as background texture which complements the images on a visual level, and it serves as a narrative that underscores the essence of the images on an intellectual level.

David Linger's work is inspired by the concept of humans recording information on clay which can still be appreciated thousands of years later. He adapted screenprinting and intaglio techniques for use with fine porcelain to create his own records in an artform to be appreciated for thousands of years. David Linger seeks to preserve the function of the medium as a document for human life.

This show goes through April 17th, I highly recommend that you block out some time to go see this gorgeous body of work.

Review by RWM: Hard to believe, but all the objects by Richard Shaw to be seen here are actually ceramics. One thinks pop art instead of trompe d'oeil, but they will be surprised. The works are dense with possible meaning and connections, but one may not be able to get beyond the wonder of it.

Comment by AB: In the rear gallery, David Linger's art looks like photographs, but in the tradition of Richard Shaw, they're really underglaze screen prints and intaglio on sheets of translucent porcelain. And Richard Shaw's ceramic mastery is endlessly fascinating. Good show on all counts; go see.

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Hosfelt Gallery : Wall Drawing.

Artists: Sol LeWitt, Gerhard Mayer, Marietta Hoferer, Marco Maggi, Jim Campbell, Nicole Phungrasamee Fein.

Comment by AB: For all you so-called art collectors out there who think about dollar values and investment potential first and everything else later, this show thinks about everything else first and renders monetary implications basically irrelevant. "Art appreciation" the way it should be.

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Robert Berman / E6 Gallery : Cameron Gray - It's all Downhill from Here.

Review by Anna Efanova: Los Angeles artist Cameron Gray creates paintings based on photo mosaic technique. Using paintings on 3" by 4" wood panels he collages together large images of famous personas and famous paintings, among other things. The pastel hues of colors are pleasant and soft, though one might find the smaller images controversial in certain instances. The Pornographic of Everything (featuring Mona Lisa) is composed of small porno images that are adjusted in colors to create the appropriate hues. To represent the dark colors the artist inverts the colors as one would see on the photographic film negatives.

According to the press release, "Behind Gray's art is his work with digital, network manufacturing. His work begins as digital studies, which are divided into hundreds of small pieces and then outsourced, to be painted, by other artists, colleagues and Facebook friends. By breaking the painting down into a grid of pixels and outsourcing the work, Gray builds a virtual factory by way of the Internet."

Comment by AB: Cameron Gray makes big paintings out of little paintings, and he does it eminently exceptionally well-- with insight, depth, sense of humor, social commentary, and so on and so forth. Definitely worth a visit (and perhaps even a purchase).

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The LAB : Annual Art Auction and Sale.

Artists: Alissa Anderson, Donna Anderson Kam, Ulrika Andersson, Michael Arcega, Tim Armstrong, Laura Ball, Scott Barry, Drew Bennett, Bert Bergen, Neil Berrett, Vanessa Blaikie, Daniel Blomquist, Nicholas Bohac, Crockett Bodelson, Chris Brennan, Jamie Brunson, Jessica Cadkin, Michael Campbell, John Casey, Susan Chen, Alexander Cheves, Joshua Churchill, Kevin P. Clarke, Alex Clausen, Tyler Cohen, Rand Colosky, Lisa Congdon, Beth Alice Cook, Ilana Crispi, Wendy Crittenden, Eilish Cullen, Amanda Curreri, Davis & Davis, Gail Dawson, Dean Dempsey, Alan Disparte, Inga Dorosz, Julie Dummermuth, Sacha Eckes, Yukako Ezoe, Nadiah Fellah, Tara Lisa Foley, Peter Foucault, David Fought, Erik Friedman, Erica Gangsei, Renee Gertler, Sheila Ghidini, James Gobel, Lori Gordon, Rives Granade, David Hamill, Jared Harrell, Jim Haynes, Daniel Healey, Taraneh Hemami, Ryan Hendon, Jonn Herschend, Dee Hibbert-Jones, Carrie Hott, Arthur Huang, John Hundt, Raymie Iadevaia, Misako Inaoka, Elise Irving, Lissa Ivy, Darren Jenkins, Carl Karni-Bain, Rie Kawakami, Patricia Kelly, Matt Kennedy, Travis Kerkela, Christine Kesler, Mike Kimball, David King, Mary Anne Kluth, Kyle Knobel, Seth Koen, Daniel Konhauser, Craig Koozer,Grant LaValley, Carol Ladewig, Eric Larson, Christina La Sala, Danyol Leon, Liesa Lietzke, Walter Logue, Seth Lower, Marina Luz, Dan Lydersen, Liz Maher, Michelle Mansour, Tom Marioni, Vanessa Marsh, Sherri Martin, Darrin Martin & Torsten Zenas Burns, Yuki Maruyama, Lisa McCutcheon, Jen Merrill, Ben Meyer, Kim Miskowicz, Liv Moe, Haden Nicholl, Rich Nyhagen, Bill O'Callaghan, Susan O'Malley, Paul Paiement, Francesca Pastine, Nora Pauwels, Hilary Pecis, Francesca Pera, Sasha Petrenko, Joshua Pieper, James Sterling Pitt, Joey Piziali, Aaron Poser, Alex Potts, Mel Prest, Genevieve Quick, Kyle Ranson, Dianne Romaine, Aaron Rosenstreich, Zachary Royer Scholz, Michael Ryan, Bill Samios, James Sansing, SCUBA, Tim Svenonious, Alice Shaw, Casey Jex Smith, Sarah Smith, Ginger Snap, Jessica Snow, Kal Spelletich, Molly Springfield, Kirk Stoller, William Swanson, Charlene Tan, Tallulah Terryll, Amy Trachtenberg, Lucrecia Troncoso, Jamie Vasta, Ben Venom, Andy Vogt, Matt Volla, Bryan Von Reuter, Liz Walsh, Jake Watling, Victoria Wagner, Tyson Washburn, Brian Wasson, Jim Winters, Liz Worthy, Blade Wynne, Megan Wynne, Durwood Zedd.

Comment by AB: Excellent turnout and an impressive selection of fine art on the block at The LAB's annual art auction fundraising event.

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Barber Lounge : 3 Year Anniversay & Art Party.

Artists: Tracy Hamer, Jim Winters, John Fitzsimmons, Fernando Reyes, Ian Ross, Leslie Morgan, Larraine Seiden, Hillary Williams, Pernilla Persson, Aubrey Ganas, Georgianne Fastaia, John Waguespack, Crystal Rainwater, Try Serino, Max Ehrman.

Comment by AB: Just like the title says-- 3 year anniversary and art party.

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Gallery Girls : Hades in SF - Westerfield House - Wild West Gold Rush.

Comment by AB: The Gallery Girls head up from LA to take over the fabulously over-the-top Westerfield House (that mega mungo Victorian on the corner of Fulton & Scott) for an evening of bawdy live drawing themed on the Wild Wild West. I checked out the live drawing... and then off to wander about the house.

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Addendum:

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