CATHARINE CLARK - BAER RIDGWAY - BRAUNSTEIN/QUAY
MICHAEL ROSENTHAL - MINA DRESDEN - SF ARTS COMMISSION
SAN FRANCISCO ART EXCHANGE
05.16.09
Catharine Clark Gallery : Carlos and Jason Sanchez; Ken Goldberg - mementomori.
Review by RWM: I find these photographs by Carlos and Jason Sanchez to be very psychological; it seems as if they're a reaction to the cold climate which often pushes people indoors. The subjects remind me of the TV show Twin Peaks with it's odd residents. They appear impacted by the harsh weather, driven indoors and inside. The compositions are estranged and introspective. The cramped and dark interiors seem conducive to inducing depravity, but at the same time, people need to assert their own emotions. Not everyone is able to cope with the cold and snow in a crimped Northern town.
Comment by AB: A select survey of photographs by Carlos and Jason Sanchez taken over the past seven years range in essence from high psychological drama to moments of contemplative solitude to curiously disquieting incidents outdoors. Acording to the spec sheet, the interior photographs are meticulously set and scripted to the hilt. In the video parlour, Ken Goldberg's 'mementomori' "addresses issues of chance, human fragility, and geological endurance."
Photography by Carlos and Jason Sanchez.
Photos.
Photographs.
Photography.
Photos.
Photography.
Caper in the alley.
***
Baer Ridgway Exhibitions : San Francisco Art Institute Alumni & Faculty - A Thin Slice.
Artists: Alfonson Aguirre, Christine Isabella Ancalmo, Anne Appleby, Chris Baird, Ray Beldner, Rebeca Bollinger, Joan Brown, Bull.Miletic, Nao Bustamante, Miguel Calderon, Enrique Chagoya, Linda connor, John de Fazio, Jay DeFeo, Ala Ebtekar, Amy Ellingson, Ana Teresa Fernandez, Rebecca Goldfarb, Jim Goldberg, Jesse Gottesman, Keith Hale, Lynn Hershman Leeson, David Ireland, Eirik Hohnson, Tony Labat, Brendan Lott, Reagan Louie, Mads Lynnerup, Rocky McCorkle, Barry McGee, Julio Morales, Guy Overfelt, Joey Piziali, J. John Priola, Rigo 23, Kent Roberts, Travis Somerville, Larry Sultan, Josephine Taylor, Henry Wessel, Benji Whalen, Hans Winkler.
Comment by AB: How worthy is the San Francisco Art Institute when it comes to graduating quality creative talent? Quite. And this capital cull of SFAI art stars offers ample evidence to prove it. For you closet philanthropists out there, 20% of sales will be donated to SFAI's Student Scholarship Fund.
Art.
Art by Barry McGee, left rear.
Art.
Art.
Here's something you don't see everyday.
Art.
Art by Ala Ebtekar.
Art by David Ireland, left.
Art.
Long view.
***
Braunstein/Quay Gallery : Michael Stevens - One Act Plays.
Comment by AB: Michael Stevens masterfully crafts a series of one act plays (or short stories) in wood, paint, vintage art prints, and occasional decorative and household bric-a-brac. A number of his works incorporate the kinds of kitschy vintage framed pictures you see languishing in secondhand and thrift store bins, rescued by Stevens and embellished to include what you might call "the rest of the story." He tells me several of his entertaining tales as he leads me on a brief guided tour from one artwork to another. His stories don't come pre-packaged with the art, but if you ask, he's more than delighted to provide 'em for you. Good show; go see.
Art by Michael Stevens.
Art.
Michael Stevens - art.
Art.
Art from the front.
Art from the side.
Art.
***
Michael Rosenthal Gallery : Veronica De Jesus - Do the Waive.
Comment by AB: For her first solo exhibition at Michael Rosenthal Gallery, Veronica De Jesus creates a series of drawings based on minority baseball, basketball and football stars, and that unique confluence of dreams, ideals, stardom, pop culture, consumerism, profit motive, and big business.
Art by Veronica De Jesus.
Art.
Art.
Art.
***
Mina Dresden Gallery : Jet Lag.
Artists: Jessica Resmond, Jorge Bachmann, Sabine Gysens, Anne Chao.
Comment by AB: The artists of MEI.collectiv essay on various aspects of air travel. And that, as they say, is that.
Art.
Jet plane cutaway art from one side.
Jet plane cutaway art from the other side.
Art.
***
San Francisco Arts Commission at Electric Works : Leslie Shows - On Your Mark.
Comment by AB: Intimate benefit affair for the San Francisco Arts Commission features Leslie Shows talking about and demonstrating how she makes a limited edition print. Like it.
Leslie Shows (right) explains the process of making the print.
Ingredients that go into making the print.
Placing the print on the printing plate.
Preparing to remove the freshly printed print.
Leslie Shows and the finished print.
Attendance figures.
***
San Francisco Art Exchange : The Rolling Stones - The Decca Years (1962-1971).
Comment by AB: An impressive selection of vintage images by fourteen rock era photographers captures the exhilaration and energy of The Rolling Stones' early years. In case you think The Rolling Stones are a bunch of dottering octogenarians, here's a perfect opportunity to rectify your misconceptions. Note to collectors-- the images in this exhibit are vintage; the photographs on sale here are recent printings of those images.
Rolling Stones photography.
Rolling Stones photographs.
Rolling Stones photos.
Rolling Stones photography.
Rolling Stones photos.
***