RENA BRANSTEN - BRIAN GROSS - ACADEMY OF ART UNIVERSITY

SOMARTS - DAVID CUNNINGHAM - SF CITY HALL

05.22.08





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Rena Bransten Gallery : Jennie Smith - Drawings; Chris Hellman; Dreamscapes - Group Show.

Dreamscapes artists: Rebeca Bollinger, Tracey Moffatt, Martin Mull, Vik Muniz, Amparo Sard, Marci Washington, John Waters, Henry Wessell.

Comment by AB: Jennie Smith's extremely skilled and intricate graphite and watercolor works on paper put forth delicate yet firm cultural and environmental convictions. The amount of blank white background vs art is possibly a smidge tenuous, though, especially for those of us whose preconditions for visual gratification do not include eye strain. In the anteroom, Chris Hellman's watercolors reinterpret natural forms in captivating and whimsical ways. In center gallery, a group show is themed on preternatural realms.

Plus this bit of news-- for the first time that I can recall, the price lists are devoid of directives to keep them within gallery confines. Consequently, I've got a couple right here in my lap and can report that Jennie Smith's works range from $3500-$6000, and the Dreamscapes selections are priced from $1500-$43K (something for everyone).

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Brian Gross Fine Art : Donald Feasel - Recent Paintings.

Comment by AB: It's basically black acrylic paint sensitively and aesthetically dripped onto raw untreated canvas, which in and of itself is no big deal, except for one thing-- when you zoom in close to inspect 'em from a textural perspective, there's no visible transition between raw canvas and dripped paint. It's mildly mystifying. Worth a look.

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Academy of Art University : Spring Show 2008.

Comment by AB: What I didn't realize about the Academy of Art University until tonight is the impressively broad range of their educational offerings. Works on display at their expansive annual graduate show include advertising, computer arts and new media, animation & visual effects, digital arts & communications, motion pictures & television, architecture, interior architecture and design, illustration, industrial design, photography, fine art & sculpture, fashion, and graphic design. My take? AAU's strong on trades without a doubt-- an abundance of laudably professional presentations. The fine arts realms, however, might consider an introspection. I mean the artists are well trained and their art's competent from technical perspectives and all that, but overall it wants for that elusive je ne sais quoi I can't quite put my finger on, that intangible something or other that elevates it from product to profound... if you know what I mean... and I think you do. Plus there's in-house awards and ribbons and stuff for outstanding accomplishments in all artistic fields.

As always, anyone who wants to help identify the artists, please email me .

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SomArts Gallery : Flo Oy Wong - 70/30.

Comment by AB: Flo Oy Wong celebrates her 70th birthday and 30 years of art making with a major retrospective and book release (Seventy Years of Living, Thirty Years of Making Art). Her large-scale installations and sewn embroidered rice bag / American flag wall pieces focus mainly on aspects of Asian-American history, immigration, culture, and related issues of social change and constructs of community. A selection of her abstract paintings is also on exhibit. Plenty to ponder; effective.

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David Cunningham Projects : Joan Perlman - Flux.

Comment by AB: Joan Perlman's abstractions are based on her recent Icelandic adventures, particularly pertaining to glacial and volcanic explorations. Now I've never been to Iceland, but can immerse myself in the cool blue chill of Perlman's paintings and get a pretty good contact high of what that country's icy wilderness must be like. They're so convincing, in fact, I bet they can cool a hot room in the summer (environmentally friendly air conditioning). In the video room, San Francisco artist Steven Dye's three-channel video, "From Ice," is a serene meditative exercise in watching water flow.

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San Francisco City Hall : The Harvey Milk Memorial Sculpture Unveiling Ceremony and Celebration.

Comment by AB: Events like this epitomize why I love San Francisco-- the unveiling of Harvey Milk's sculpture at City Hall. Yes, he's smiling, and yes, he gets the last laugh. You'll smile too when you see it, and that's what Harvey Milk's legacy is all about. You know, we San Franciscans enjoy a level of personal freedom, respect, and acceptance that the overwhelming majority of the overwhelming majority of people on the face of this planet can only dream of-- including other Americans. It's that simple and no more complicated. (Milk's sculpture is by Eugene Daub of Daub, Firmin and Hendrickson Sculpture Group.)

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