LIMN - FABRIC8 - STUDIO 3579 - GOORIN BROTHERS
MISSION 17 - SPACE - GOORIN BROTHERS AFTERPARTY
07.25.09
(with assistance from RWM and Kathryn Arnold )

Limn Art Gallery : Joan Moment - Intermittent Mapping; Thierry Feuz, Sid Garrison, Kim Squaglia - Summer Abstractions.

Review by Kathryn Arnold: I'm here at Limn Art Gallery to view the exhibition of paintings by Joan Moment. My immediate impression upon viewing her large-scale acrylic works-- macrocosm/microcosm. All-over field-like informal compositions greet me. Some appear to be intensely lit views of the night sky that have been shrunk to fit these gigantic canvases, and are hung alongside works appearing as microscopic DNA strands, or perhaps enlargements of transparent caviar or frog eggs.Ê Ê

I run into an artist colleague who intently examines Moment's process of creation commenting on her use of stamping to create multiple repetitions of circular shapes (occurring in a number of her paintings). One piece is titled Tiddlywinks, pointing to a game played with plastic circle chips. Is she using these to create the prints (imprints) or is she layering an additional meaning with textual form? Ê

I read on the gallery's website that two art critics, Peter Frank and George Melrod (writing in Art Ltd.) dub her work "Flow Painting," based on the fact that she allows the natural aspects of moving paint to create, in part, her images. "Flow painting"-- nice term and gorgeous, meticulously crafted works! Ê

Moving into the group exhibition area where Limn highlights future exhibitions, I view works from Sid Garrison, Thierry Feuz and Kim Squaglia. (Feuz is a Swiss artist; Garrison, Squaglia and Moment are from SF and Sacramento respectively). Michael Kimball, an artist colleague in San Francisco who I've run into here at the show comments "Resin is the New Encaustic" as we view Feuz's lacquered works. There are many similarities between Feuz and Moment, particularly in use of natural forms. Squaglia also uses similar organic forms within her abstractions. I enjoy Garrison's term "abstract narrative" to describe his process of allowing his drawing notations to develop into fully realized works. Ê

This exhibition worth a trip, and while here, also worth visiting is the Limn store just next door to the gallery which showcases contemporary furnishings and modern design.

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Fabric8 Galleries : Grand Opening.

Artists: Adam Caldwell, Blaine Fontana, Brett Amory, Brian Barneclo, Damon Soule, David Choong Lee, Erik Otto, KeFe (Kelly Tunstall + Ferris Plock), Leon Loucheur, Nome Edonna, Norm Maxwell, Reuben Rude, Romanowski, Sirron Norris, Skriblz, Ursula X Young, Alice Koswara, Andy Stattmiller, Ben Collison, Chris Granillo, Clee Sobieski, Dan Fleres, Deli, gaNyan, GEM, Johnny Siu, Leecifer, Ninjagrl, Peabe, Phoneticontrol, Santos Shelton.

Comment by AB: Fabric8 principal Olivia Ongpin used to run a boutique that also sold art. Now she runs an art gallery, comparable to most any in town, that also sells boutique items. Walk through the diminutive well-stocked boutique to discover room after room of quality urban art in the rear. Tonight's grand opening debuts two shows-- "Creature Features" in the boutique area and a group show in the back galleries. Art art everywhere! Worth a visit.

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Studio 3579 : Sarah Spitler - Conflagration.

Review by RWM: Wonderful bursts of being exude joy in many colors. The abstract works by Sarah Spitler come to life on the walls with splendor. Soft pastels in odd arrays are pleasing even when they contrast.

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Goorin Brothers on Haight Street: 1333 Minna Fall 09 Release and Art Show.

Comment by AB: Goorin Brothers, "making bold hats since 1895," trots out their new 1333 Minna fall line with an exuberant SRO in-store celebration. "Hats aren't really art," you might rejoinder, and in most cases you'd be right. But not here. Goorin elevates the idiom well beyond something you wear on your head, enlisting noted urban artists and designers to keep the tao of their headwear way out front of the competition. They're so stylish, they even make me look good (I think... I didn't actually ask anybody). Check it out...

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Mission 17 Gallery : All Good Things - The Final Exhibition.

Artists: Sarah Applebaum, The Cause Collective (with Ryan Alexiev, Jessica Ingram, Jorge Sanchez, Bayete Ross Smith & Hank Willis Thomas), Chris Dorosz, Peter Foucault, Taro Hattori, Mayumi Hamanaka, Justin Hoover, Gigi Janchang, Scott Kildall, Cheryl Meeker, Muistardeaux Collective, Tucker Nichols, Alice Shaw, Tracey Snelling, Zak Starer, Gordon Winiemko.

Review by RWM: Sad to see Mission 17 come to an end. The gallery has shown fascinating art over the years, as this last show attests. The gallery has also been host to stellar installations accompanied by related paintings and photographs. Tonight's exhibit fills two entire galleries and includes videos, a cardboard blimp, dabs of dried paint hanging from fish lines, old friends, and much more. Hopefully Mission 17 will seek out and reincarnate itself into a new form in the future.

Comment by AB: Two Mission 17 publications are available for purchase at the gallery. "MISSION 17: 2004-2009," covering all 45 exhibitions at the gallery, includes an introduction by Director Clark Buckner and a foreword by Glen Helfand. And "A Year and A Half of Art in San Francisco" surveys the local scene via exhibition reviews by Clark Buckner. Excellent show; go see. We're gonna miss you.

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Space Gallery : The Silent Art Auction - Benefiting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society .

Artists: Brett Amory, Regino Gonzales, Curve, Jeremy Mann, Greg Gandy, Paul Torres, Richard Silvoy, Oliver Fader, Taiko Fujimura, Sydney Townsend, Sharla Pidd, Tom Huck, Amelia Lewis, Carol Radsprecher, Lilea Duran, Elizabeth Rabinovici, Sandra Silvoy, more.

Comment by AB: Quality art auctioned off for a good cause here at Space Gallery tonight-- The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

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Goorin Brothers : 1333 Minna Fall 09 Release and Art Show Afterparty.

Artists: Reyes, Steel, The Grime, Amanda Lynn, Lango, Bert Krak, Retna, Utaro, Belsky, Norm, Chris Edmunds. Curated by Reyes.

Comment by AB: Two words. Kick ass. It's that simple and no more complicated.

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