MERIDIAN - NOMA - MARKET STREET

ADOBE BACKROOM - HIJINKS - WHITE WALLS

SHOOTING GALLERY - CASSEL

08.06.11

(with assistance from RWM)



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Meridian Gallery : Where We Are Now - Alumni and Current Artists of the Meridian Interns Program.

Artists: Amy Berk, Carolyn Castaño, Milton Bowens, Megan Wilson, Tree Williams, Fred Hayes, Meagan Shapiro, Roderick Portales, Ron Heglin, Marshall Trammell, Diana Mars, Cynthia Rojas, Marina Vendrell, Darren Lees, Marina Perez-Wong, Austen Ward, Birgit Gehrt, Erin Algeo, Thea Farhadian, Juan Fuentes, Brenda Hutchinson, Ryan Jones, Nathan Lynch, Corinna Press, Isis Rodriguez, Dennis Somera, Amy Van Every, Marisa Jahn, Ellen Fullman, Maria del Carmen Carrion, Kim Hawkins, Michael Swaine, Greg Mettler, Jenifer Wofford, Rose Chang, Chris Duncan, Adrian Card, Margot Bevington, Ben Riesman, Trish Callo, Devin Cecil-Wishing, Pepe Urquijo, Adriana Varella, Liz Hickok, Miles Marioni, Sona Avakian, Andy Gouveia, Adria Otte, Bo Han, Noritaka Minami, Andy Strain, Toyoji Tomita, Ryan Cain, Sara Fucinaro, Gary Brandau, Alexis Iammarino, Scot Sell, Nancy de Y. Elkus, Theresa Wong, Rosario Sotelo, Vita Hewitt, Brion Nuda Rosch, Rye Purvis, Victoria Shaskan, Art Hazelwood, Laura Faw, Mathew Marchand, Bryan Hewitt.

Review by RWM: Nice gathering. Interesting art on display from all sorts of perspectives, but mainly those of youth (on the two upper floors). The Meridian Interns Program has been very important and meaningful to the assembled who now have their work displayed on the walls. Great expectations for the future and accomplishments for now.

Comment by AB: From the press release-- "Meridian Interns Program (MIP) is a paid internship for low-income teens from all over San Francisco in which Artist Instructors integrate art-making workshops with training in job-related skills. Meridian Gallery (1989) and the Meridian Interns Program (MIP, 1996) are programs of the Society for Art Publications of the Americas (SAPA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The society is grateful for the support of the Mayor's Youth Employment and Education Program (MYEEP), Department of Children Youth and Their Families (DCYF), The OP and W.E. Edwards Foundation, Bank of the West, The GGS Foundation, Wells Fargo Foundation, private donors, and Members of the SAPA. The SAPA is supported in part by Grants for the Arts of the San Francisco hotel Tax Fund."

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NOMA Gallery : The Magic Mountain - Piero Passacantando, Gareth Spor.

Comment by AB: Piero Passacantando interprets Thangka paintings from Kathmandu, Nepal by reducing them to minimal geometric configurations; Gareth Spor takes those interpretations and advances the process one step further by translating them into sound and video.

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Market Street Gallery : Earthly Venture - Bonnie Cunningham.

Review by RWM: Trepidatious personal voyage with quirky characters and odd ensemble. The art is comic-bookish and tells a great story. Lovely but strange eyes look on.

Comment by AB: Bonnie Cunningham riffs in skillful intricate animation and illustrational style on various aspects of her relocation from Baltimore to San Francisco. You can enjoy 'em either way-- as fanciful dalliances or, if you dare ask, as intimate personal reflections, observations and narratives of her various adventures. Nicely done and quite affordable. Stop on by; pick one up.

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Adobe Books Backroom Gallery : David Horvitz. Curated by Katie Hood Morgan.

Comment by AB: Two-part exhibition by David Horvitz includes a display of red roses purchased from street vendors from the East Bay to The Mission, and a photographic documentation of beaches from Mexico to Oregon. According to the prefatory, his work "reaches out to the electronic community and far-flung geographical communities as well to build relationships both lasting and fleeting."

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Gallery Hijinks : Point of Vision - Gregory Ito.

Review by RWM: Astronomical, though not obviously so. We have an opportunity to muse on why the setting sun is a cosmic experience, and to always remember how its light dapples the planet.

Comment by AB: Everything is connected. Just ask how, and all shall be explained.

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White Walls Gallery : New Works by Aron Meynell; The Project Room - Erik Otto.

Review by RWM: Aron Meynell posits here on life among the remnants. Children and animals seem to have survived the apocalypse. They appear so vulnerable among the machines and the metal. These survivors are lost in the woods.

In the back gallery, witness the mandalic spirituality of Erik Otto. We live in an inspiring time of wonder and magic.

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The Shooting Gallery : The Fragile Art of Existence - Skinner.

Review by RWM: Here are our innards let loose and unplugged. Exposed are totems, demons, monsters and warriors. Easy to get them confused in this freeform exploration of hostilities.

Comment by AB: My goodness gracious! Skinner gets down in detail in his latest spate of unapologetically startling episodes.

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Cassel Gallery : Mau Loa - Dylan Maddux.

Comment by AB: Dylan Maddux gifts us with an unconventional glimpse of what life in Hawaii is like via his black & white portraits of those who live it. As if that's not enough... spam sushi hors d'oeuvres!

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