OAKLAND & SAN JOSE ART OPENINGS
PRO ARTS - BLANKSPACE - ANNO DOMINI - COMPOUND
Reported by John Casey
09.11-13.08


Pro Arts Gallery : New Visions 2008.

Artists: Kamal Al Mansour, Miguel Arzabe, Rebecca Bauen, Rick Begneaud, Noah Beil, Yasuhiro Esaki, Bernadette Jiyong Frank, Richard Gilles, Susie Grant, Josh Hershman, John Hundt, John Kuzich, Marc Landes, Eric Larson, Eric Larson, Robert Lewis, Steven Vasquez Lopez, Seth Lower, Merrill Mack, Pablo Manga, Bill Mattick, Valerie Mendoza, Masako Miki, Jane Neilson, George Pfau, Eduardo Pineda, David Ryan, Fay Holiday Schenkman, Dickson Schneider, Brian Stechschulte, Pearl Jones Tranter, Jamie Treacy, F. Michael Wells, Tamara White, Elizabeth Wilcox, Yvonne D. Williams, Anastasia Winter Schipani, and Bijan Yashar.

Review by John Casey: New Visions 2008 is an exhibition of new works juried by Lucinda Barnes, Chief Curator and Director of Programs and Collections at the Berkeley Art Museum, and Karen Tsujimoto, Senior Curator of Art at the Oakland Museum. Selected artworks represent the vibrancy, fearlessness, and experimentation that is the trademark of Bay Area art.

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Art by Kamal Al Mansour.

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Art by Miguel Arzabe.

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Art by Steven Vasquez Lopez.

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Art by Eric Larson.

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Art by Eric Larson (detail).

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Art by Robert Lewis.

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Art by David Ryan.

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Crowd.

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Art by George Pfau.

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Art by John Hundt.

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Art by Dickson Schneider.

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Blankspace Gallery : Eth6 Magazine Issue 3 - Contributing Artist Exhibition.

Artists: Bert Bergen, Brian Caraway, Eve Ekman, Jana Flynn, Tara Foley, Richard Nyhagen, Juliette Oken, Brion Nuda Rosch, Sham Saenz, Adam Wier, Gaelan Mckeown-Hickel, Beryl Fine, Rachel Styer, Kari Orvik, Norma Cordova.

Review by John Casey: From the press release, "Eth6 is an annual collaborative publication between Artists, Social Workers and Journalists to cover stories that otherwise remain invisible in mainstream media. Eth6 couples the insight of those working in the front lines of social service with the narrative skills of journalists to create 'unbroken' news. The artwork plays an integral role in balancing the heavy editorial content and providing another entry point of resonance with a general audience. Eth6 operates upon the principle that social justice cannot be realized if there is no public awareness. For this issue we have produced fifteen phenomenal stories that include researching alternatives to the criminal justice system, the community response to gang violence in San Francisco's churches, the ethical choices of caring for those who do not care for themselves on the street and many more. With over a dozen artists and photographers the issue presents thoughtful responses to these complex topics. The Eth6 exhibition will showcase the new issue and provide a space to step inside the narratives through images."

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Crowd shot.

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Art by Adam Wier.

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Art by Bert Bergen.

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Art by Juliette Oken.

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Art by Richard Nyhagen.

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Art by Sham Saenz.

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Art by Tara Foley.

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Art by Brion Nuda Rosch.

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Art by Eve Ekman.

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Art by Jana Flynn.

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Art by Gaelan Mckeown-Hickel.

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Music by Pale Hoarse.

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Anno Domini : Katy Horan - In the Deep, Dark...; Bruno 9li - META.

Review by John Casey: From the press release for Katy Horan's show, "From the deep, dark, magical forest of her imagination, Katy Horan?s artwork follows the tradition of folk art as a means to tell her own idiosyncratic tales through the indigenous dwellers that reside in this mythical place. The themes and archetypes of this body of work emerged from countless influences and imagery from Katy's subconscious to form her own language of characters, symbols and illustrated rituals."

From the press release for Bruno 9li's show, "Bruno 9Li (S?o Paulo, Brazil) returns to Anno Domini on August 1st, 2008 for his second solo exhibit in the United States. META, the title of 9Li's follow up exhibition to Mysterium Tremendum (2007), is a reflection on its Greek origin relating to the concept of "beyond." What lies beyond the perceptible reality that we share in our day to day lives? What follows our existence here on Earth? Bruno continues his process of drawing as a means of contemplative action while these ideas flow through him and into the art. He pulls his inspiration from the themes of spiritism, metaphysics, ovnis (UFOs) and exotic, aquatic plants and animals.

His figurative works are a synthesis of these alternative realities. Bruno elaborates, 'They represent entities sharing spiritual experiences: animals that have combined with aquatic plants, beings that see through futuristic glasses - perhaps a metaphor for the kind of vision that sees a reality beyond what our senses perceive, the kind of sight considered sacred, given to us on earth to help us gain insight into our place in the cosmos.'"

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Wide shot.

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Art by Katy Horan.

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Art by Katy Horan.

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Art by Katy Horan.

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Art by Katy Horan.

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Art by Katy Horan.

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Art by Katy Horan.

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Art by Katy Horan.

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Art by Katy Horan.

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Art by Katy Horan (detail).

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Art by Bruno 9li.

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Art by Bruno 9li.

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Art by Bruno 9li.

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Art by Bruno 9li.

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Art by Bruno 9li.

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Art by Bruno 9li.

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Art by Bruno 9li.

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Art by Bruno 9li.

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Coumpound Gallery : Yelling Clinic

Artists: Chau Thuy Huynh, Sunaura Taylor, Ehren Tool. Curated by Katherine Sherwood.

Review by John Casey: "Yelling Clinic" Is an art and disability collective. Their first international project centers on the American legacy of military pollution in Vietnam and its multi-generational affects on disabled people there. Although the show is sparse in the amount of art shown, the work is powerful, especially within the context of it's creators. Persian Gulf veteran Ehren Tool makes and decorates cups with military or anti-military motifs. Sunaura Taylor, a quadriplegic whose disability is directly the result of military pollution, paints beautiful oil on canvas paintings holding a brush with her mouth and sometimes her toes. Chau Thuy Huynh was raised in Vietnam as a Communist propaganda artist. After she moved to America at the age of 27, her artistic restrictions were removed and she began exploring Vietnam from a different perspective.

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The Compound Gallery.

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Art by Ehren Tool.

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Art by Ehren Tool (detail).

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Art by Ehren Tool (detail).

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Art by Sunaura Taylor.

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Art by Sunaura Taylor (detail).

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Art by Sunaura Taylor.

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Art by Chau Thuy Huynh.

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Art by Chau Thuy Huynh (detail).

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Articles and content copyright Alan Bamberger 1998-2008. All rights reserved.
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