JOHN PENCE - STEVEN WOLF - YERBA BUENA CENTER FOR THE ARTS

CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF INTEGRAL STUDIES - MEDICINE AGENCY

323 - OLD CROW TATTOO - DOUBLE PUNCH

11.20.09

(with assistance from Harry J. Johnson , Pilar Vree and DeWitt Cheng)

John Pence Gallery : Jacob A. Pfeiffer; Jack Zdrale.

Review by Harry J. Johnson: John Pence Gallery is featuring two classically trained artists, Jacob A. Pfieffer, meticulous master of still life, and Zack Zdrale, painterly expert of the human form, through December 19. "You could call my work contemporary classical realism in the academic manner," says Jacob A. Pfieffer. "In creating the painting, Still Life with Pairs, I've always liked shoes, and I recall seeing tennis shoes hanging by their shoestrings from overhead power lines, which gave me the idea for this work." Pfieffer has been represented by the John Pence Gallery for 12 years.

"I've always been interested in the human form and how it's affected by light and shadow," says Zack Zdrale. "I learned to paint this way by copying the 17th century masters, and I'm trying to continue in that tradition." Regarding his painting, Defense, Zdrale elaborates, "It's not literal. Today in life there's so much to deal with. We can run or we can face life's forces head-on." The painting shows a man facing, from the right, four lean but muscular arms with fists. Zdrale, although still actively painting, now has limited vision due to recent surgery to remove a tumor near his eye.

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Steven Wolf Fine Arts : Joe Rees - Transformer.

Review by Harry J. Johnson: Joe Rees produced striking and disparate bodies of punk rock video and neon sculpture in the 1970s and 1980s. His work is now on view at Steven Wolf Fine Arts through December 22. "I started shooting videos of Punk rock groups about 30 years ago," says Rees. "I have 1,000s of hours of tape, much of it on reel-to-reel, including filming in Europe that covered 22 countries." One of his formative events, he said, was videoing The Cramps playing a gig at Napa State Mental Hospital in 1978, which can be seen in this exhibit.

"The neon art was made in the '70s," continues Rees, "but much of it was destroyed in a fire, the night the Sex Pistols played their final show in 1978 at Winterland in San Francisco. Some was also destroyed in the 1989 Loma Prieta quake." Rees recently recreated the neon art with the financial backing of Steven Wolf.

The Getty Museum included Rees in its 2008 survey, California Video. In his day job, Joe produces online educational programs at two colleges in Nevada.

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Yerba Buena Center for the Arts : George Kuchar and Miguel Calderon - Tropical Vulture.

Comment by AB: According to the debriefing, "'Tropical Vulture' is a cross-generational project which highlights the artistic influences between George Kuchar, a Bay Area legend of independent filmmaking, and Mexican artist Miguel Calderon. The exhibition features a preview of the feature length film 'Conversations with a Tropical Vulture' which will premiere at YBCA in the Fall of 2010." And that, as they say, is that.

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323 Gallery, 323 Potrero Ave., San Francisco, CA 94103; (415) 626-4333: Jennifer Ewing - Spirit Boats.

Review and images by DeWitt Cheng: Another new gallery, this one a hybrid gallery and fine-chocolate dispensary, Dolce Bella Artisan Chocolates, on Potrero at 16th. (Can candy be dandier or quicker than liquor?) Ewing makes lyrical, colorful acrylic paintings of boats that serve as metaphors for intellectual/emotional/spiritual questing; her small sculpted mixed-media boats realize the soul-as-vessel idea in real space. Nice, though small space; nice courtyard behind.

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California Institute of Integral Studies : Metamorphosis - New Works by Abba Yahudah.

Comment by AB: Striking cosmic abstractions with representational elements by Jamaica-born artist Abba Yahudah emanate distinctly mystical vibrations. Good stuff, but I'm taken somewhat aback by the altitudinositousness of the prices, topping out north of $20K.

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Old Crow Tattoo and Gallery , Oakland, CA: The Golden Ticket.

Artists: Safety 1st, Deadeyes, Paul Bothwell, Justin Marshall, Nicholas Powell, Haley Smart, Timothy Holgerson.

Review and images by Pilar Vree: "The Golden Ticket" showcases not only adventurous and cheeky pieces by recent CCA graduates but also a scintillating wall installation by acclaimed Bay Area artists Dead Eyes and Safety 1st. While one side of the gallery consists mostly of painterly pieces and a clever shoe installation by Justin Marshall, the other brims with a giddy accumulation of graffiti-inflected collages and bustling drawings that creep off the canvas and onto the wall itself.  It's an exciting show that must be seen in person.

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Double Punch Gallery : We Haven't Felt This Way in Years

Artists: Alexander Martinez, Alexis Mackenzie, Andre Eamiello, AKO, Ben King, Brett Amory, Bwana Spoons, Deth P. Sun, Doodles, Frank Callozzo, Henry Gunderson, Jason Vivona, Jeremy Forson, Jessica Trippe, John Casey, Julian Duron, Kevin Taylor, Kevin Scott Hailey, Kyle Ng, Laim Devowski, Mary Syring, Mildred, Oscar Mendoza, Ryan de la Hoz, Ryan Bubnis, Scott Barry, Tara Fole, UPSO, Zach Lewis.

Review and images by Pilar Vree: When so many good artists show in such a small gallery, you're virtually guaranteed to find at least one piece you like. From skate photography to illustration to a drawing that looks like it has been rendered completely with a BIC pen, the art comes together under the vague theme, "A survey of twenty nine contemporary artists' views of the world around them." Local art scene favorites such as John Casey, AKO and Henry Gunderson deliver excellent work that make the entire show definitely worth seeing.

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Medicine Agency : Nikki Lau - My 5th Birthday.

Comment by AB: Conceptual artist Nikki constructs a living room installation entirely out of pinatas and sections of blue styrofoam sheets, and then assembles it for an opening event, the thrust of which is to smash the dealie bob to smithereens. And now for a quick pop quiz... do you think I got there early or late? (Answer below.)

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