SAN FRANCISCO ART GALLERIES OPENINGS

FIRST THURSDAY - 06.03.10 - Part I

(with assistance from RWM, Margan Mulvihill and Geoff Smith )

***

John Berggruen Gallery : Diane Andrews Hall - New Work.

Review by RWM: Motion successfully depicted in these paintings by Diane Andrews Hall. The ocean touches the sky at the horizon of dreams. You can hear the sounds of the waves and the sylvan bird calls. The birds assuredly fly free, being only metaphorically captured here.

Comment by AB: Finely finished oil paintings with pristine shimmering surfaces by Diane Andrews Hall manifest a magical enchanting realism. Worth a visit.

***

Patricia Sweetow Gallery : Frederick Hayes - Cityscape... Drawings, Installation & Paintings; Ernest Jolly - Sound, Video, Sculpture Installation.

Review by Margan Mulvihill: Patricia Sweetow Gallery opens two very different exhibitions. But taken together, Frederick Hayes and Ernest Jolly present a wide range of mediums and a variety of perspectives on display everywhere-- hanging from the ceiling, on the walls, on the ground, atop pedestals, perched on shelves, and hung with clips. The art is projected, painted, assembled, drawn, sculpted and amplified. This effect may sound like pure excitement, but it's more symbiotic and dynamic. Hayes' graphite cityscapes, akin to building blocks, communicate with the raw structural qualities of Jolly's sculptures, and help to bridge the two spaces. Jolly's installation offering is a total work of art consisting of distinct objects-- each piece performs with the others in a quiet unified inertia. The soft sounds of a cellist respond to a video, as lights cast a blue glow throughout the room.

The colorful portrait paintings and black-and-white geometric urban drawings of Frederick Hayes are visually dissimilar, but the subjects are related. The expressive portraits animate the unpopulated cityscapes and remind us of what is missing, who lives in these spaces and who built them. The paintings are organic and loosely painted while the drawings are clean and tight. Together they represent the totality of human identity-- we see each individual, but also sense the community; we see parts of façades, but together, fully inhabited buildings.

***

Haines Gallery : 3 + 3 - Kota Ezawa & Taha Belal, Shaun O'Dell & Emily Prince, Darren Waterston & Leslie Shows; Amy Ellingson - Summer Frieze.

Comment by AB: In the rear gallery, Amy Ellingson's ebullient linear painting installation, reminiscent of seventies high style design, circumscribes the walls-- crisp, clean and accomplished. Like it. In the main gallery, three artists each choose an artist which makes for a motley yet appealing triple double of a show.

***

Gregory Lind Gallery : You Would If You Loved Me - New Works by Reed Anderson.

Comment by AB: Reed Anderson's arrestingly intricate and labyrinthine combinations of paint, collage and cut-outs look kinda like still lifes of the climactic moments of fireworks displays or maybe electrified doilies. The largest works are unframed, which is all well and good for exhibition purposes, but the logistics of actually buying one and transitioning it to its new digs seem rather daunting. Certainly worth seeing though, logistics aside... especially the giant red one that'll be directly in your face the instant you enter the gallery.

***

Elins Eagles-Smith Gallery : Monroe Hodder - New Paintings.

Comment by AB: Sumptuous textural layer cake abstractions by Monroe Hodder.

***

Toomey Tourell Gallery : Jerrold Burchman.

Comment by AB: Contemplative abstracts by Jerrold Burchman reflect his impressions of the natural world.

***

Modernbook Gallery : San Francisco Then - Photographs by Fred Lyon.

Comment by AB: Modernbook photography gallery and photo book publisher tootles on from Palo Alto to re-headquarter itself at that pantheon of haut gout, 49 Geary, in the space formerly occupied by Steven Wolf Fine Arts. Their debut exhibition features vintage San Francisco views by Fred Lyon. Sidle on by.

***

Stephen Wirtz Gallery : Michael Kenna - Photographs.

Review by RWM: Michael Kenna takes a photographic voyage around the world, here depicted with mystery and mist. One cannot help but marvel at the varied geography and how it's portrayed. There are also the human built icons to be appreciated. The world here is not entirely shrouded by the fog, however, and wonders are indeed revealed.

Comment by AB: I don't often think of photographs as being painterly, but Michael Kenna's sure are. Plus there's so much going on in such diminutive images, going microscopic on 'em is pure nirvana. Pick of First Thursday.

***

Dolby Chadwick Gallery : Chelsea James - Souvenirs of Solitude.

Review by RWM: You can sense here the intended solitude in landscape, reminiscent of the emotional impact of Edward Hopper, and can experience it despite the crowded rooms filled with spectators. It is unclear whether fog, smog, or abstraction shrouds the horizon, but the view is enjoyable nonetheless.

Comment by AB: Recent BFA graduate (University of Utah, 2006) Chelsea James actualizes an engaging blend of realism, abstraction and impressionism. Her expansive hazy landscapes painted from elevated perspectives are particularly appealing, and her interiors aren't too shabby either. Precociousness worth a perusal.

***

Addendum:

***

Have you seen THIS ?

***

First Thursday - May 6, 2009

First Thursday - April 1, 2009

***