Braunstein/Quay Gallery : Michael McConnell - You Can't Make Them Stay; Aaron Petersen - Catcher.

Comment by AB: Michael McConnell's paintings, anatomically accurate stuffed animals, and installations look like fun at a glance, but look a little closer and you realize there's a dark side. Aaron Petersen's abstract paintings suggest imaginary realities with their background/foreground relationships and dimensionality.

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Needles & Pens : Crystal Quinn, Eric Carlson, Aaron Anderson - Hardland/Heartland, Us Doves.?

Comment by AB: Three Minneapolis-based artists trundle out to brisk bracing summertime Ess Eff, offering up a fresh perspective on the urban idiom. They've worked together for the past two years, the collaborative collection here featuring paintings, drawings, works on paper, collage, and signed limited edition zines, including a zine release just for this show. Prices range $1-$1000. Something for everybody.

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The Luggage Store Gallery : Displacement - Benefit Art Auction.

Artists: Kyle Field, Geoff Mcfetridge, Clare Rojas, Thomas Campbell, Barry Mcgee, Steve Krajewski, Kamau Patton, George Greenough, Alex Kopps, Ray Potes, Stefan Simikich, Alex Knost, Josh Lazcano, Jeff Canham, John Mc Cambridge, Ashley Macomber, Rich Jacobs, Jesse Geller, Laura Flippen, Nathaniel Russell, Orion Shepard, Johanna St. Clair

Comment by AB: Artist, surfer, and Mollusk Surf Shop principal, John Mc Cambridge, tells me this is a fundraiser for the movie, "Displacement," a surfing documentary of sorts. But it's not just any surfing documentary, he continues. It's about surfers who surf on a particular type of board, the name of which escapes me, but the deal is that the surfers who surf on this board tend to comprise the artistic contingent of the discipline. Then he explains a little about what differentiates these boards from other boards, and I think I kinda get it but not really. Anyway, you got a sweet selection worthy work by able artists up for bids, which means the creative community's behind the movie with more than just lipservice, and that's saying something.

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Art Engine : Alexandra Chowaniec and Kristen van Diggelen - The Best I've Ever Had.

Comment by AB: Alexandra Chowaniec and Kristen van Diggelen have been painting together (shared studios, that sort of thing) ever since art school days at SFAI. Even though they don't collaborate, you can see distinct similarities in their work, particularly as relates to the aspects of fantasy in each of their compositions.

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