CORDEN POTTS - ROBERT TAT - JACK FISCHER
MINA DRESDEN - MICHAEL ROSENTHAL - CAIN SCHULTE
JOSH HARDY - ELEANOR HARWOOD - A.MUSE
FABRIC8 - SPACE GALLERY
06.20.09
(with assistance from RWM and Kathryn Arnold )

Corden Potts Gallery : Beth Kientzle - Fragile Thread.

Review by Kathryn Arnold: Beth Keintzle's photographs in Cordon Potts Gallery are small-scale black and white images comprised of subdued forms and natural contrasts. Often using nature as a stepping stone, Beth's works create poetic and emotive feelings, blurring the edge between the objective and the personal subjective response. Beautifully executed.

Review by RWM: These dark and disquieting photographs remind one of vulnerability, disease, and danger. Rather than uplifting images of the natural world, witness here pestilence and death. There are bugs, rats, and dead animals, in gray and black. The images are wispy, ghastly, gloomy, and depraved. Sort of like an insect killing jar. Nature can be many things, but we need to be careful stepping outdoors as the news constantly reminds us of West Nile virus and Swine flu... and also now tick season. Keintzle's works can serve as powerful warnings-- useful to perhaps hang one on the porch or near the door as a reminder when you're about to go rural.

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Robert Tat Gallery : Rebecca Martinez - Beauty Challenged.

Review by Kathryn Arnold: Rebecca Martinez photographs a series of portraits of vintage Bergdorf Goodman mannequins, here portrayed in vivid color. The mannequins no longer manifest the pristine ideals of beauty they once did, now in the hands of Martinez, but rather a different beauty as she utilizes them to express her unique artistic statement/vision. There is a great history of this series and how the mannequins were located which you can find out about here . Nice reading!

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Jack Fischer Gallery : Lora Fosberg - Feel the Now.

Review by Kathryn Arnold: I meander into Jack Fisher's gallery and thoroughly enjoy the multiple artworks by Chicago area artist Lora Fosberg which line the walls. Most appear to be works on paper with India ink and gouache. Delightful small pieces incorporate a sense of humor, often ironic humor, as one begins to see oneself. Her art often contains elements of text that play a part within the visual scene presented. She employs the vernacular form of painting several-word sayings, grouping these textual tidbits into complex compositions. This delights me as it calls to mind trips as a child to places like Estes Park, Colorado or the gift shops at national parks where similar sayings painted or carved onto pieces of wood are often on display and for sale as souvenirs.

A few of the works call to mind the fury and fear of Midwestern tornadoes, strangely peaceful in appearance yet with tumultuous skies, flying houses and the like. At times, Lora's handling of the media takes on qualities similar to a Hokusai woodblock print or Botticelli's water patterns with its linear aspects and subtle colorations. Totally recommend. Also, a book of Lora Fosberg's work is available at the gallery.

Comment by AB: Good show. Stop on by.

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Mina Dresden Gallery : The Artists of Zyzzyva - Works on Paper Done in Black and White.

Artists: Laurie Anderson. David Avery, Jo Babcock, Linda Bacon, Jenny Balisle, Richard Barnes, Eliza Barrios, Ann Barth, richard BASSET, meredith BLAU, eva BOVENZI, lawrie BROWN, timothy BUCKWALTER, deric CARNER, albert CHONG, alex CLAUSEN, alika COOPER, marshall CROSSMAN, veronica DE JESUS, luis DELGADO, stephanie DENNIS, anthony DUBOVSKY, jessica DUNNE, katherine DU TIEL, mark EANES, gregory EDWARDS, helene FISCHMAN, judith FOOSANER, elizabeth FRACCHIA, mitchell FRIEDMAN, kim FROHSIN, jeff GAMBILL, david GILHOOLY, bret GOTTSCHALL, dan GOTTSEGEN, deborah HAMMOND, randy HAYES, art HAZELWOOD, john HOLDWAY, zig JACKSON, judy JOHNSON-WILLIAMS, geir JORDAHL, bill KANE, michael KENNA, olivia KUSER, dennis LETBETTER, malcolm LUBLINER, margo MAJEWSKA, nancy MAKO, willima MCELHINEY, melani MCKIM-KING, tom MILLEA, roger MINICK, margaretta MITCHELL, colleen MULVEY, natalie OBERMAIER, laura PAULINI, joan PERLMAN, barbara ROBERTSON, ben ROEDER, kay RUANE, glenn RUDOLPH, re SANCHEZ, zachary royer SCHOLZ, carole SEBOROVSKI, andy SINGER, amy SOLLINS, pia STERN, toru SUGITA, gayle TANAKA, brook TEMPLE, masami TERAOKA, lew THOMAS, david TOMB, jacqueline THURSTON, andrew UCHIN, kimetha VANDERVEEN, david VERBA, matt WAINWRIGHT, sandy WALKER, heather WILCOXON, noah WILSON, Xylor Jane, frank YAMRUS, jody ZELLEN.

Comment by AB: Myriad artists pay their respects to that bastion of West Coast literarydom, Zyzzyva magazine founded in 1985 by Howard Junker (who remains at its editorial helm today). Though the works of art range widely in style, content and subject matter, the small-format black and white guidelines render the agglomeration remarkably uniform. So much to see and so thoughtfully rendered-- about as reverential as an homage gets. Best show I've seen at Mina Dresden and definitely worth a visit. Plus special added bonus-- a number of the works on exhibit are gratifyingly affordable.

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Michael Rosenthal Gallery : MonstroSities - Video Works by Jillian Mcdonald.

Review by RWM: Hideous, disgusting, terrifying, depraved, and yet so much fun. Disturbing exploration of the aesthetics of fear by Jillian McDonald. One may even hear or imagine their partner saying, "You look beautiful even if you are a zombie."

Comment by AB: Zombie empress Jillian McDonald goes gloriously gruesome with a gastly video and photographic tribute extravaganza to that icon of living death, the zombie. Yes my artful darlings-- release your inner zombie here. Professional zombie makeup artists are hard at work transforming innocent bystanders into the zombies they've always dreamed of being. Boo!

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Cain Schulte Gallery : David Buckingham - As Seen on TV.

Comment by AB: Los Angeles sculptor David Buckingham cuts, hammers and welds old painted sheet metal into wall-hanging and freestanding sculptures with subject matters ranging from abstract patterns to handguns to textual manifestations of pop homilies like "As Seen on TV." They've got a classic vintage look and feel, like they've been around for decades, even though they're practically brand new. And Buckingham's an entertaining speaker too, here detailing his adventurous high desert exploits in search of junked abandoned machinery, signage, and what-have-you that he dissembles, hauls back to LA in his pickup, and subsequently carves into sections for use in his art. Like it.

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Josh Hardy Galleries : Glenn Dean and the Untouched Splendor of California.

Review by RWM, images c/o Josh Hardy Galleries: Beautiful painted images of what California once was like with fields, hills, and shorelines. The works, however, do not present themselves as bygone images. Thankfully some of these places still remain, even for people who can only take public transportation.

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Eleanor Harwood Gallery : Jon Clary & Bruce Wilhelm - Friends of Painting.

Comment by AB: Combination paint and sculptural constructions by Bruce Wilhelm engage from both visual and workmanship perspectives. Plus they satisfy almost as much when viewed from the backs or the sides as they do when experienced head on. Wilhelm's videos and Jon Clary's compositionally maverick paintings round out the show. Nicely done.

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a.Muse Gallery : Molly DeCoudreaux - The Creatives, Daytime Portraits From a Queer Nightlife.

Comment by AB: Photographer Molly DeCoudreaux documents eminent denizens of San Francisco's queer parties like Bearacudda, Charlie Horse, Chilidog, Mall Madness, Tiara Sensation, Tranny Shack, and Hot Pants-- except she photographs them casually, out of character and during the day. Intimate, informative and worth a look.

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Fabric8 : Grant Gilliland - Domesticates, Portraits of Animals and Their Two-Legged Friends.

Review by RWM: Goofy. Funny. Strange four-legged creatures with stranger accessories and hairdos. The work makes you look at those around you with different eyes, as you imagine them and their animals evolving into odd shapes and distinct characters. Our four-legged compadres here express their own personalities.

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A Large Loft Somewhere on Folsom Street: Equinox Eclective - Fine Art * Fine Prints.

Artists: Chorboogie, Lee Harvey Roswell, Krescent Carasso, Andre Karpov, Melanie Clarke, Michael Cox, Monica Crawford, DreamWorks Artists, Patrick Jensen, Nara Youn, Will Erokan, Carlos Puertolas, Robert Ogden.

Comment by AB: Hip hepcat loft art party proffers ample urban options and prancing princesses galore.

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Space Gallery : Bird Flu - A Photographic Exhibition.

Photographers: Leo Docuyanan, Amanda Lopez, Scott La Rockwell, Shane Nash, Trevor Traynor, Austin McManus. Curated by Leo Docuyanan.

Comment by AB: Peppy urban pupu platter described in the literature as "an infectious photographic pandemic spreading through human populations across a large region; continents and worldwide. As a collective of like-minded and visionary artists our mission is to contaminate the transmission of illusions and those things seen by normal sight." It's precisely that simple and no more complicated.

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