SAN FRANCISCO ART GALLERIES OPENINGS
FIRST THURSDAY - 11.01.12 - Part III
(with assistance from Brandi Lee
)
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Stephen Wirtz Gallery : Michael Kenna - Focus East.
Comment by AB: Michael Kenna works his brilliant atmospheric black & white magic over and over again, this time in images from Japan, China, Vietnam, South Korea, Thailand and India. He can envision paradise pretty much anywhere and then materialize it for all of us to appreciate. Worth a visit.
Photography by Michael Kenna at Stephen Wirtz Gallery.
Michael Kenna photographs in above image closer.
Photograph by Michael Kenna closer at Stephen Wirtz Gallery.
Michael Kenna photography.
Photograph by Michael Kenna in above image closer at Stephen Wirtz Gallery.
Attendance figures - Michael Kenna photography show at Stephen Wirtz Gallery.
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Bekris Gallery : David Lurie - Encounters At the Edge.
Comment by AB: South African photographer David Lurie documents what he calls "informal settlements"-- really more like dilapidated shantytowns-- on the outskirts of Cape Town. They are home to thousands of emigrants who've left the countryside to seek their fortunes in the big city. Life is anything but easy here, but Lurie's images demonstrate the gritty resolve that these people have to dignify their surroundings and make their lives work. Check it out.
Cape Town photographs by David Lurie at Bekris Gallery.
Photographs by David Lurie.
David Lurie Cape Town, South Africa photography at Bekris Gallery.
Photograph by David Lurie closer.
David Lurie photography.
Photographs by David Lurie at Bekris Gallery.
Cape Town shantytown photography by David Lurie.
Floor plan - David Lurie photograph show at Bekris Gallery.
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McLoughlin Gallery : Christopher H. Martin - Viscosity.
Review by Brandi Lee: The undulating lines in Christopher H. Martin's work create a rhythm you can almost hear. These large-scale pieces draw the viewer in with their impressive scale, glossy finishes and subtle details. Christopher wisely varies the thickness, opacity and shimmer in each stroke. The overlapping lines allow your eye to effortlessly move endlessly around each piece.
Art by Christopher H. Martin at McLoughlin Gallery.
Christopher H. Martin art.
Dynamic art by Christopher H. Martin at McLoughlin Gallery.
Art by Christopher H. Martin.
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Modernism Gallery : Fletcher Benton - The Alphabet Series and New Works; Duncan Hannah - The Infatuationist.
Comment by AB: Positioned on waste-high shelves along the main gallery walls are Fletcher Benton's whimsical painted steel abstractions of alphabet letters that date from circa 2004. Benton's been sculpting for over fifty years and is as active as ever, also exhibiting a selection of his most recent precision steel sculptural works, some for the pedestals, others for the walls.
Alphabet letter sculptures by Fletcher Benton at Modernism Gallery.
Sculpture by Fletcher Benton in above image closer.
Fletcher Benton and his sculpture at Modernism Gallery.
Sculpture by Fletcher Benton.
Turnout - Fletcher Benton art show at Modernism Gallery.
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Pit stop. Uh oh... lavatory reprimand. You can't even piddle in peace anymore.
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Gallery Wendi Norris : Chitra Ganesh - Flickering Myths; Suzanne Husky - Shovels, Physiocrats, and the Light-Footed Heavy Souls.
Comment by AB: Science fiction meets feminism by Chitra Ganesh, proffered in the format of vintage 1960s Indian comic adventures. Also on the docket, large highly charged mixed-media works interpret those same themes in more contemporary art forms. In the side gallery, Suzanne Husky continues her "green anarchist" activist adventures, documenting her environmentally sensitive lifestyle (and philosophies) in video, photography and with a simple earthen vase fashioned from clay reclaimed from oil-fracked lands. In so doing, she demonstrates how we can all live full lives with minimal impact on our surroundings, and suggests to us the consequences we may face if we don't.
Updated comic art by Chitra Ganesh at Gallery Wendi Norris.
Chitra Ganesh comic art in above image closer.
Large art by Chitra Ganesh closer at Gallery Wendi Norris.
Art by Chitra Ganesh closer.
Chitra Ganesh art at Gallery Wendi Norris.
Living off the land video by Suzanne Husky at Gallery Wendi Norris.
Fracked land earthenware art by Suzanne Husky.
Suzanne Husky and her art at Gallery Wendi Norris.
Art/installation by Suzanne Husky (not quite sure how this one fits in).
Gallery-scape - Chitra Ganesh & Suzanne Husky art at Gallery Wendi Norris.
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Highlight Gallery : Rene Ricard - New Paintings and Not So New.
Comment by AB: Unsettling vintage and contemporary paintings-- genre and textual blends-- by poet, writer, actor, artist and former Andy Warhol Factory member Rene Ricard.
Art by Rene Ricard at Highlight Gallery.
Art by Rene Ricard.
Rene Ricard art at Highlight Gallery.
Premises - Rene Ricard art show at Highlight Gallery.
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Addendum:
Twentieth Anniversary photography show at Scott Nichols Gallery
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Photographs from group anniversary exhibition at Scott Nichols Gallery.
Cliff House in the good old days at Scott Nichols Gallery.
Seasonal selections at Corden Potts Gallery
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Group photography show at Corden Potts Gallery.
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Covering San Francisco's art scene like this is really difficult, time consuming and labor intensive. If you care to support the cause even in the most modest of ways, I'd be forever appreciative. To all of you who lavish me with lip service... here's your big chance.
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First Thursday - October 4, 2012
First Thursday - September 6, 2012
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