PAULE ANGLIM - RENA BRANSTEN - GEORGE KREVSKY

TOGONON - NOMA - FREY NORRIS

MEXICAN CONSULATE - HOTEL DES ARTS

03.11.10

(with assistance from Kathryn Arnold , GETBIZI , Liesa Lietzke , RWM and DeWitt Cheng)

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Gallery Paule Anglim : Mildred Howard; Leo Bersamina - Sunshiny Day, Finding Optimism in Bits and Pieces.

Review by Kathryn Arnold: Waltzing into Gallery Paule Anglim, I notice a variety of inventive assemblages greeting me. First to mention, the creations are developed from found objects that are at times coated with paint or gilding, but not always. Often there is interplay of words, but not always. My art historical mind sees Duchamp when the readymade globe is used seemingly straight off the store shelf and then begins to see Johns/ Rauschenberg with the 'Take an object, do something to it, do something else to it' approach. These works rise to the occasion, creating a conceptual play of boundaries, both inner and outer, as I explore the framework in which they are situated. Globes are much more than globes when combined with the text or the additional items seen in the assemblages. This describes, just in brief, the work of Mildred Howard and is worth examining further.

Review by GETBIZI: Leo Bersamina's "Sunshiny Day, Finding Optimism in Bits and Pieces" show is a very positive-energy exhibit; looking at the body of work definitely gives you a sense of colorful optimism. It is a great thing to have such upbeat art in these depressed economic times when all you hear is negative news on television.

Mildred Howard's work engages you as an individual viewer with each of her pieces... it challenges you to think as you look into a mirror with has the phrase "You are Here we are Here"... a true statement as it stands when there is a crowed in the gallery for the artist reception, but what if you are the only person in the gallery, who would 'we' be? Just another thought to ponder.

Review by RWM: The whole world can be in your hands... or in those of others. Terrific show with old globes in a variety of contexts. Mildred Howard uses ingredients like astroturf, hoops, pedestals, and frames. Untitled worlds.

Sprinklings of optimism can be found in Leo Bersamina's paintings of natural landscapes. Droplets of color in the outdoors remind one of art and hope.

Comment by AB: Mildred Howard effectively employs the globe as a vehicle to expound on a variety of matters including the military, international relations, race, borders, the environment and more. Good show; go see. Leo Bersamina's elemental abstractions and landscape gouaches with abstract elements "seek to capture the fleeting moment in its perfection."

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Rena Bransten Gallery : Candida Höfer - Zoologische Gärten; Jennie Smith - New Works.

Review by Kathryn Arnold: I have never seen anything like Candida Höfer's photographs which are connected to international zoos (from her Zoologische Gärten series). It is a quite fun experience to view this wide range of animals until you begin to realize they are all in cages. Then the reality hits regarding the type of information one is viewing. A much directed Pleasure/Pain principle in effect.

Jennie Smith's compositions take this principle into play as well, as she subtly combines these gorgeous colors and whimsical, almost storybook-like, compositions within small to medium size works. For example, one composition I notice is filled in almost a fan-like shape of clothing (not figures). At first I imagine a crazy wind blowing but with more research, I understand she is portraying a sense of homelessness. Pleasure/Pain.

Review by GETBIZI: Dainty & adorable are the first words that came to mind as I walk into the Rena Bransten Gallery where Jennie Smith's new works are on exhibit. The tiny graphite drawings, affectionately watercolored, entice you to get up close and visually appreciate every single detail.

Review by RWM: In the back gallery, Candida Höfer's sad photos present the wild creatures in artificial habitats. The animals are dwarfed by the human made environments. Sad to see such bold creatures under such complete control. The "wild" setting in which they live is also imprisoned. Great environmental statement about our treatment of and plight of these ambassadors from the hinterlands. However, things are not always better for these creatures in the wilds either.

Comment by AB: In the front gallery, Jennie Smith's complex miniature itemizations combine into commentaries on issues like man vs nature, the homeless, the landless, oppression, and the like.

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George Krevsky Gallery : Gordon Cook.

Comment by AB: George Krevsky gallery now represents the estate of noted Bay Area artist Gordon Cook (1927-1985)-- accomplished in a number of mediums-- painting, etching, wood sculpture, bonze. Worth a look.

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Togonon Gallery : Marion Gray - Still, Photographs from the Archive; Constance Harris - Action & Words, in.Form.

Review by Kathryn Arnold: The works of Marion Gray in exhibition, large-format photographic prints, are in actuality documents of a Noguchi exhibition long ago. They are clear and pristine arrangements in black and white. The sense of movement captured in these stills is masterful. Very human and very sensitive. And compositions that are formally delightful.

The paintings and sculptures of Constance Harris are seen in the two larger rooms. The sculptural forms are mirrored in the paintings and visa versa. Loop after loop of net-like wire structures-- the shimmering (copper?) screen hanging installation in the center of the room-- is mesmerizing as I attempt to photograph it. The paintings are incorporating words which appear to be random statements. I am intrigued by the layered surfaces of a few of the smaller all-over field-like compositions of pure mark-making, and look closely to interpret how they were done. They are larger than Mark Tobey's work at the SFMOMA but have a similar quality (referring to his gouache works filled with marks). Really into these!

Review by GETBIZI: Knit words on canvas two-dimensionally are on exhibit by Constance Harris along with her better-known knitted copper sculptures. Looking at the collection of paintings, you can certainly tell that it's created by the same artist who created the sculptures... the curves of the written word mimic the curves of the knit copper. Standing by the gallery entrance, in front of the the multi-layer copper curtains, you can almost imagine them as a painting. Whether her work is done in 2-D or 3-D, the Constance Harris signature is definitely apparent.

Review by RWM: Nice use of color and lettering in paintings by Constance Harris. Words explode on the canvas in colorful but undecipherable ways. There is vibrancy without meaning. Eminently artful. Her sculptures of knitted wire netting also have life and seen to grow out of the floor. Nice to see the vitality.

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NOMA Gallery : Green Cube - Mark Flood.

Review by Kathryn Arnold: Definitely a reference to Don Flavin's fluorescent light works as you walk into the Noma gallery main space. Only this light is crazy green, creating a luminescent foreshadowing of what is to come. Green, green, green-- with many works on cardboard with text. An installation where I feel the need to read to understand this gesture as a comment on how much visual stuff there is in the world today. (I suppose: "Why not cardboard, if it is going to go the way of much visual culture?") I read further and feel Mark Flood may be a poet "...the pseudo-scientific R&D feel of the white cube gallery spaces in favor of something dark, irrational and vaguely salty..." I think he, in a sure manner, has created this look and feel.

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Frey Norris Gallery : Kate Eric - Bug War Over Two Blue Mountain.

Review by RWM: Wild abstracts with strange clothes-like forms. One gets lost in the movement. Bewilderingly strange manifestations.

Comment by AB: Kate Eric tells me she was raised in Great Britain and currently spends half the year in San Francsico and the other half in Italy. Like it. Speaking of like, the detail work in her paintings is quite remarkable and worth an inspection.

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Consulado de Mexico en San Francisco (Mexican Consulate): NTERDEPENDENCIA | INTERDEPENDENCE.

Artists: Francesca Pastine, Theodora Varnay Jones, Marta Vasquez-Sanchez.

Review by RWM: Highlight of my night-- the Pitchfork with the burning candles. Great anti-statement about permanence. Do all good things really need to come to an end? Novel idea that art can sometimes be impermanent.

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