General comment by AB: Welcome to another action packed episode of First Thursday San Francisco art openings featuring a medley of venues agglomerately overflowing with a jumbo abundance of art, some of it entirely estimable, the rest of it... well... let's just call it the rest. The good news? We do have a winner, one lucky artist (and gallery) shortly to be designated this month's official Pick of First Thursday. Plus there's a rare and highly coveted "How Do Dey Do Dat?" Award. I know, I know. You can hardly stand the suspense. And you're right-- it's gonna be a nail biter. So fasten your safety belts my lovelies because as we all know, here in California it's Click It or Ticket...

***

Caldwell Snyder Gallery : Mark Beck - Exhibition of Recent Paintings.

Comment by AB: Edward Hopper meets global warming.

***

Suite Five Salon : Mel Prest.

Comment by AB: Clean deliberate controlled fine-line abstractions by Mel Prest.

***

Gallery Paule Anglim : Jim Melchert; Canan Tolon - Glitch.

Comment by AB: Jim Melchert breaks ceramic tiles, then either paints or draws on them, puts them back together, frosts the finalities off with glaze, and then displays them either singly or in rectangular arrangements. What does it all mean? Got me. But they engage visually, and that's what counts. Plus if you buy one, think of all the fun you'll have explaining it to your friends. In the vestibule, Canan Tolon's layered abstract oil paintings have appealing push-pull directionalities about them.

***

Robert Koch Gallery : Amy Stein - New American Fables.

Comment by AB: Amy Stein presents selections of large color photographs from two of her series, "Domesticated" and "Halloween in Harlem." Images from "Domesticated" explore those combat zones where urban sprawl impinges on wilderness. As for "Halloweeen in Harlem," it's all about kids in costume firmly ensconced in their fantasy lives, even though their urban backdrop hasn't changed.

***

Haines Gallery : Jaq Chartier - Color Charts.

Comment by AB: Art converges on science not only with respect to the DNA-esque nature of Jaq Chartier's compositions, but also as to how they evolve-- the finished works delineating culminative bleeds, melds, and intermixes of multiple layers of inks, dyes, stains, paints, and resins.

***

Gregory Lind Gallery : Karla Wozniak - Road Works.

Comment by AB: Karla Wozniak's colorful forays into the neverending commercial clutter of outdoor signage (and consequent eye pollution) make graffiti seem benign by comparison.

***

Gallery 415 : Silvia Poloto - Absence / Presence.

Review by DeWitt Cheng: SIlvia Poloto is a prolific San Francisco painter and sculptor of Argentine descent. Best known for her large, brilliantly colored abstract acrylic paintings, she has begun using digital imagery of found and manufactured imagery (including medical motifs) in recent years as well, so her work is becoming more conceptual, though still opulently beautiful.

DeWitt Cheng writes for Artweek, Art Ltd., www.SanFranciscoArtMagazine.com, www.Shotgun-Review.com, and the East Bay Express.

***

Toomey Tourell Fine Art : Michael Ajerman and James Kao - Frequencies.

Commenty by AB: According to the dossier, London-based Michael Ajerman blends elements of his Jewish heritage and ancestry with aspects of Lucien Freund and related figurationists into poignant uncomfortable characterizations. Art Institute of Chicago professor of painting James Kao often paints in the dark, here offering up a series of brooding moody impressions of oranges on tables, among other options. Beyond that, you'll have to fend for yourself.

***

Steven Wolf Fine Arts : Marcos Rosales - The Interiors.

Comment by AB: So I saunter into the gallery knowing absolutely nothing (as usual) about whatever I'm on the brink to behold, and in the spirit of that ignorance am met with elaborate hanging black rope sculptures interspaced with depthy dimensional layered figure photographs rife with unsettling ambiguity. Like 'em and like 'em. Subsequent to that, as is my wont, I peruse the propaganda to see what the deal is and discover that it's mainly about bondage... which is kinda more than I really wanna know (it's not necessarily apparent from the art by any means). Oh well. You don't always have to tell everything-- or at least couch it a bit. Good show, though, and worth a visit.

***

Mark Wolfe Contemporary Art : Ryan Martin - Welcome.

Review by Libby Nicholaou: Ryan Martin's paintings capture your attention and thrust you into another layer of our world. ?He creates depth, using vibrant colors in the foreground and muted colors in the background. ?His paintings are unlike anything else I've seen in San Francisco lately, merging a pop influence with fine art and indie background. Pieces like,?"2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted" allude to collage, but because they are crafted entirely with paint, deserve higher attention.

Comment by AB: Ryan Martin tells me the subjects of his capably painted portraits and portrayals are personal friends and endangered species. The verdict? Startling, haunting, hypnotic, and last but not least, Pick of First Thursday.

***

Togonon Gallery : Steve Baibak - An Inherited Dystopia, Sculptures from recycled materials.

Review and images by DeWitt Cheng: Brigid McCabe is a Bay Area painter of colorful abstracts. She's showing medium-sized works along with a wall o' many colors. Steve Baibak is a Michigan-based sculptor who assembles bizarre, humorous structures from your basic junk. Great shows, both, though on different wavelengths.

Piece made with old work clothing. Lever on opposite wall makes him bob on springs (Steve Baibak).

***

SF Camerawork : Chris McCaw - Sunburn.

Review and images by DeWitt Cheng: Chris McCaw is a San Francisco photographer who uses custom-made cameras to make long-exposure negativeless black and white prints of the sun's passage through the sky. The sun burns through the photo paper in the cameras (if I'm correctly understanding the process) just as a magnifying glass focuses heat to start fires; the unique prints, then, are made by thermonuclear reactions 93 million miles away-- they're "light writing" in a literal sense. The burned troughs are surrounded by pale ghostly halations. McCaw's beautiful and compelling work has been widely exhibited and collected. ?

***

Modernism Gallery : Jacques Villegle - Decollages from 1965-2006; Duncan Hannah - Complete and Unabridged.

Comment by AB: Forty-year retrospective of torn billboard collages by Jacques Villegle in the front gallery-- masterful resurrections of tattered fragments of advertising. In the side gallery, Duncan Hannah expresses his love (or more accurately, fetish, he tells me) for the printed word according to Penguin Classics , along with a series of nostalgic film-scene renditions. Plus special added bonus-- he dresses the part.

***

Dolby Chadwick Gallery : Jeffrey Beauchamp - Immigration is the Sincerest Form of Flattery.

Comment by AB: Jeffrey Beauchamp transits the rim of the artosphere by seasoning his abstracted broad-stroke landscapes with random representations. According to Beauchamp, "The real and imaginary characters of my life have immigrated into the painted world and they are welcome to act out any number of plays in these permanent mazes of possibility, for my glory or humiliation. I'm so ready." Who'd like to be a fly on the wall in this dude's fantasy life?

***

Hangart Gallery & Annex : Ten Year Anniversary - Then and Now; Carolyn Meyer- Syncopated Cakewalk.

Review by Jennifer Jeffrey: Hang Art celebrates its 10th anniversary with a group show featuring gallery alumni. The mood is festive, and a diverse crowd nibbles on cupcakes and strawberries. A number of interesting works are on display, including pieces by Anna Conti, whose California Gothic makes a wry statement on modern life, and Joel Tarbox, whose vivid scenes-- a striped beach towel flung over the back of a chair, a mattress wrapped in a pulsing yellow spread-- evoke a sense of nostalgia for imaginary summers. Particularly satisfying are pieces by David Ivan Clark, whose oils on stainless steel manage to feel simultaneously industrial and ephemeral.

There is an intense physicality about Carolyn Meyer's cityscape paintings, on display at the Annex. The paint on each of her pieces is so thick and extravagantly textured that one imagines her flinging her brush against the canvas, mashing and dabbing and making grand, ebullient strokes. Most of the pieces in this exhibit are street scenes-- from Columbus Avenue to a Brooklyn Bridge onramp-- seen at odd angles and once, memorably, through the windshield of a taxi cab. Many of her pieces display an urgent sense of motion, of blurred light and frenzied activity, like a sped-up film reel that renders people walking in and out of buildings into streaks of hazy color. A few of the pieces are quieter, in tones of grey and black and thick, creamy white. Here the city seems to pause, for just a moment, before exhaling once again.

***

Frey Norris Gallery : Rodney Ewing - Public Safety.

Review by DeWitt Cheng: Rodney Ewing is a Gulf One vet who makes wooden sculptures and medium- and large-sized works on paper dealing with modern war and its dehumanizing effects. It's certainly not a new lesson, but it's put over here with conviction and elegant craftsmanship. Well worth a trip, even if you already know the drill. (And if you don't by now...)

Review by Jennifer Jeffrey: Rodney Ewing grew up in a military family and is himself a veteran of the Gulf War. Here, he explores the themes of Disarm, Countermeasures, and Meditations. The overwhelming visual reference in this exhibit is a firearms target, depicted over and over in different mediums, at once both beautiful and alarming. The work challenges the viewer to wonder-- who is the target and who is the shooter, and how do we determine the motives and agendas of each?

Target sculpture with X-rays of possible male and female evildoers (photo by DeWitt Cheng).

***

20 GOTO 10 : D&W Art Duo - IlluminOpArt.

Review by Libby Nicholaou: The artist duo, Doghood and Worthless, put forth a fun twist on optical art by adding alternating light sources that cyclically change the colors within the art. With the overhead gallery lights off and the music turned up, the overall effect is that of a wild colorful disco party. By expanding the exhibit onto the walls (in addition to the paitings), Doghood and Worthless literally enable the viewers to walk into the art. ?Enhancing the experience, Noel Chen (Doghood) is out in front of the gallery dressed appropriately.?

Review by Jennifer Jeffrey: The current exhibit showcases a collaboration between two artists-- Worthless, a painter who creates optical illusions in dazzling psychedelic color, and Doghood, a musical artist devoted to the world of colored lights. The two devise this show, in which Doghood positions a light over each of Worthless' paintings. The lights flicker and change colors, causing the paintings to appear to move and spin in three dimensions. Alas, a simple camera can't capture the optical effects, only the colors.

Comment by AB: Technical lighting by Doghood (Noel Chen) and painstaking op art compositions by Worthless (Wayne L. Rhodes) merge into mesmerizing optical illusions-- paintings that move-- and not just a little bit-- a lot. As they say in the realm, you gotta see it to believe it. The sum-up? These two dudes corral themselves a rare and highly coveted "How Do Dey Do Dat?" award.

***

111 Minna Gallery : 365 - A Group Show and Music Event.

Artists: Kris D, Damon Soule, Oliver Vernon, David Choong Lee, Jason Alberto Garcia, Gregory Euclide, Ethen B. Luce, Des10, Rob Pellicer, David Hale, XAVI, Third Peak, Adrien Robert (Sane), Joshua Mays.

Comment by AB: Respectable array of urban artistry-- you gotta look close at a number of the contestants 'cuz there's considerable detail to appreciate. What stops me is a triptych starring Barack Obama. Now when was the last time you saw a current American political figure so honorably, respectably, and artfully portrayed? Perhaps a sign of good things to come? I sure hope so.

***

Varnish Fine Art : 30 Under 30.

Artists: Rita Alves, Ian Amberson, Seth Armstrong, Peter Belkin, Nancy Chan, Deanna Charles, Ariel Clute, Lauren Cohen, Demon Cutler, Joseph Findeiss, Julia Goodman, Joshua Hagler, Queena Hernandez, Josh Hershman, Jessica Laurent, Carol Anne McChrystal, Matt Momchilov, Argishti Musakhanyan, Kara Nelson, Ian Norstad, Kate Nichols, Ernesto Ortiz, Leah Rosenberg, Theo Rigby, Noah Sakamoto, Sam Snowden, Estee Stevens, Hilary Williams, Gavin Worth, Judy Wu.?Juried by Kerri Stephens, Jennifer Rogersm and Justin Giarla.

Comment by AB: According to the spec sheet, "all participating artists are under 30 years of age and affiliated with the California College of the Arts or ArtSpan." Any questions?

***

Mina Dresden Gallery : Tracy Ginsberg - Making No Making; Javier Cordoba - Live Art Performance.

Comment by AB: Well, I can't seem to locate any official party line on Tracy Ginsberg's painting, drawing, earthwork, sound, video, and tree branch installation, so I'm compelled to seek respite in cluelessness. Javier Cordoba, meanwhile, whitewashed and clad in bikini briefs, locomotes silently and gracefully about the gallery.

***

Ghost and Bread : Chris Lawson - Khmaoit.

Review by Libby Nicholaou: Chris Lawson's exhibit of mixed-media collages draws from his experience in Cambodia and his teaching art to people affected by mental illness. ?One wall of the gallery offers a healthy selection of works produced during a ten-year collaboration with a Cambodian artist (ongoing), and the other three walls display his own art. Lawson, who vibrates between San Francisco and Birmingham AL, (one of AB's favorite cities), exercises great care and detail not only in the relative placement of each work of art on its respective wall, but also with respect to the elements in each individual piece. The over 400 works in the show are considerably impactful.?

***

Cafe Royale : Maureen Shields - Tomfoolery.

Review and photos by Jennifer Jeffrey: In her artist statement, Maureen Shields says, "I hope to skew perspective and I seek to reintroduce the strangeness and complexity I associate with childhood." Her pieces are populated with obscure creatures with unreadable expressions painted on backgrounds of candy-colored pastels. In one composition, a child holds the hand of what appears to be a large reptile. Between the pieces, gold antlers festooned with ribbons are suspended like Christmas ornaments from fringey green strings.

***

Oxenrose : Ian Ross - Transitions & Turmoil.

Comment by AB: What a perfect way to end the evening. An energized art extravaganza with a nightclub atmosphere, two bars, two floors, brain bending tunes, a heap o' hipsters, and the featured attraction-- paintings by Ian Ross.

***

Addendum:

***

Gas is through the roof; I haven't raised my prices one scrawny cent since I incepted this deal. That said, your assistance is unprecedently appreciated. And I thank you.

***

First Thursday; May 1, 2008

First Thursday; April 3, 2008

***