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  • SAN FRANCISCO ART GALLERIES OPENINGS

    FIRST THURSDAY - 04.07.11 Part II

    (with assistance from Geoff Smith, Clare Coppel and RWM)



    Art opening protocol for artists. Click Here.

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    Togonon Gallery: Dean Dempsey - Selected Photography & Installation.

    Comment by AB: Dean Dempsey takes his alter-egos on another wild ride. Who says you can't live multiple lives simultaneously? I'm already lookin' forward to the next exciting episode. Check it out.

    Dean Dempsey artist art

    Photography by Dean Dempsey.

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    Dean Dempsey photograph.

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    Dean Dempsey and his photograph in above image closer.

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    Photographs by Dean Dempsey at Togonon Gallery.

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    Backlit photography by Dean Dempsey.

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    Dean Dempsey photograph at Togonon Gallery.

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    Cain Schulte Gallery: Jessica Drenk + Shawn Smith - 8-bit and Mixed Media Sculptures.

    Review by Clare Coppel: Works by Jessica Drenk and Shawn Smith focus on different views of computer technology. Shawn Smith's colorful 3-D repersentations of plants and animals jump out at the viewer. Jessica Drenk uses found materials such as books and toothpicks to create symbolic abstract works, like the way the internet takes random information and absorbs it to create the whole.

    Review by RWM: Lego supreme in shapes that are both startling and amazing. Inspiring and impressive as well.

    Shawn Smith artist art

    Art by Shawn Smith at Cain Schulte Gallery.

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    Shawn Smith art in above image closer.

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    Shawn Smith spinal art in top image closer.

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    Shawn Smith art in top image closer.

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    Shawn Smith art above closer (image c/o Clare Coppel).

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    Shawn Smith art above closer yet (image c/o Clare Coppel).

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    Art by Jessica Drenk at Cain Schulte Gallery.

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    Jessica Drenk art in above image closer.

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    Pinkie cam detail of Jessica Drenk book page art in above image.

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    Hespe Gallery: Eric Zener.

    Review by RWM: Overgrown brush, shrubs and trees as both subject and symbol. The woods are messy here without a clear way for anyone to make their way through. Nice workmanship and technique, though a bit overwhelming. You can spend the seasons lost in the thicket or connect with others up high on the branches.

    Eric Zener artist art

    Art by Eric Zener at Hespe Gallery.

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    Eric Zener art.

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    Art by Eric Zener.

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    Eric Zener art show at Hespe Gallery.

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    Jenkins Johnson Gallery: Cliché-Verre in the Digital Age.

    Artists: Jo Bradford, Peter Feldstein, Maggie Foskett, Suzanne Izzo, Courtney Johnson, Fredrik Marsh, Abelardo Morell, Fred Parker, Frank Rossi, David Symons, Käthe Wenzel.

    Comment by AB: Cliché-Verre, an uncommon artistic technique, is a combination of art and photography dating from the early 19th century. Images are drawn onto transparent surfaces and then photographically printed onto light-sensitive paper. This show is about the state of that art.

    Fred Parker artist art

    Cliché-Verre art by Fred Parker.

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    Art by Käthe Wenzel at Jenkins Johnson Gallery.

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    Art by David Symons (left) - Jo Bradford (right).

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    Cliché-Verre art by Courtney Johnson.

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    Art by Fredrik Marsh at Jenkins Johnson Gallery.

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    Peter Feldstein Cliché-Verre art.

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    Hang Art Gallery: Action, Reaction.

    Artists: Lea Feinstein, Jeff Loehmann, Lela Shields.

    Comment by AB: According to the ground rules, this art begins with chance occurrences and the compositions evolve from there.

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    Art by Lela Shields at Hang Art Gallery.

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    Lela Shields art.

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    Art by Jeff Loehmann (left) - Lea Feinstein (right).

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    Art by Lea Feinstein at Hang Art Gallery.

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    Lea Feinstein art at Hang Art Gallery.

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    Kokoro Studio: Catrine Bodum - Lightweight.

    Review by Geoff Smith: Catrine Bodum's work is light and airy with thin veils of color applied in layers to explore the resultant visual effect, and to serve as a metaphor for layers of time and experience. According to Kokoro, Bodum recently transitioned from oil paints to watercolor, and now utilizes the paint's ability to mottle, bleed, stain, veil, and resist on the muslin surface. Bodum describes her works as "containers of information" with the information codified in the successive layers of paint. She is a Swiss/Danish artist who lives and works in both London and Lucerne, Switzerland. She received her BFA from Parsons School of Design, New York City, and her MA in fine art from Byam Shaw School of Art, London.

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    Catrine Bodum and her art (image c/o Geoff Smith).

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    Art by Catrine Bodum at Kokoro Studio.

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    Catrine Bodum art at Kokoro Studio.

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    Ever Gold Gallery: Ever Wash - An Installation by Guy Overfelt. Curated by Tony Labat.

    Review by Geoff Smith: This show should please pretty much every conceptual art fan. Conceptual and installation artist Guy Overfelt's "Ever Wash" show transforms the exhibition space into a minimalist laundromat with a functional washer and dryer available for free use to anyone who visits and simply asks. The gallerists act as attendants on demand, providing the appropriate amount of white powder laundry soap. Examples of earlier Overfelt works are also included, such as one of his modified neon beer signs, a framed red shop rag from Overfelt's working on his beloved Smokey and the Bandit Pontiace Trans Am, and a burnout tire rubber monoprint produced by that very same machine.

    At first I have mixed feelings about this show but end up quite liking it. Overfelt is inventive and playful, and totally uninhibited by more conventional thinking about what art should or shouldn't be. He is based in San Francisco and Bolinas, and studied at the Maryland Institute College of Art (BFA 1994) and San Francisco Art Institute (MFA 1996). The show is curated by Tony Labat, Chair and associate professor in the New Genres department at the San Francisco Art Institute.

    Comment by AB: Good show; go see; bring laundry.

    Guy Overfelt artist art

    Installation art by Guy Overfelt at Ever Gold Gallery.

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    Laundromat installation art by Guy Overfelt.

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    Make your own fun art by Guy Overfelt.

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    Guy Overfelt & his tire rubber art (image c/o Geoff Smith).

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    Used shop rag art by Guy Overfelt at Ever Gold Gallery.

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    Lighting design installation art by Guy Overfelt.

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    Guy Overfelt chats up the fan base at Ever Gold Gallery.

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    Fifty24SF Gallery: KMNDZ - The Heaviest.

    Comment by AB: Dark urban with apocalyptic overtones, courtesy of Los Angeles artist and graphic designer KMNDZ.

    KMNDZ artist art

    Art by KMNDZ at Fifty24SF Gallery.

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    Art by KMNDZ closer (finger span = 6 1/2 inches).

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    KMNDZ and his art.

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    KMNDZ art closer at Fifty24SF Gallery.

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    Art by KMNDZ.

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    FFDG (Fecal Face Dot) Gallery: Magician's Garden - Josh Keyes.

    Review and images by Geoff Smith: Josh Keyes displays his considerable drafting skills as well as his ecologically-oriented style. The works in his show surrealistically address how nature, in the form of certain of his favorite animal subjects, may be "magically" transformed by the accelerating and ominous environmental changes we are increasingly experiencing. In a recent Fecal Face interview, by Keyes own account, recent events increasingly fuel his concerns, imagination and art, such as continued global warming, the largest oil spill in history, the nuclear disaster in Japan, and political clamor and influence from the right-- all ultimately resulting in more power for the few who benefit the most from environmental degradation.

    His artworks are meticulously drawn and painted and one feels compelled to get up very close to appreciate the intricate details. Keyes recently moved from Oakland to Portland Oregon. He was born in Tacoma, Washington, received a BFA in 1992 from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA in 1998 from Yale.

    Josh Keyes artist art

    "Waking" by Josh Keyes (30 x 40 inches).

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    Josh Keyes art at FFDG.

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    Art by Josh Keyes in above image closer.

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    "Writhing" by Josh Keyes (30 x 40 inches).

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    Josh Keyes, right, & affiliates.

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    "Cerbenus" by Josh Keyes (30 x 40 inches).

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    Addendum:

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    It's 7:32 and Sandra Lee Gallery is already closed. Oh well...

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    Tracy Lee Griffith art at 12 Gallagher Lane.

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    Tracy Lee Griffith art & tunes at 12 Gallagher Lane.

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    Long view from Tracy Lee Griffith art at 12 Gallagher Lane.

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    Uh oh. What have we here? The Mr. Lucky-mobile's out front at Tosca.

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    Mr. Lucky live at Tosca. The perfect First Thursday nightcap.

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    It's never too late to support the cause.

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    First Thursday - March 3, 2011

    First Thursday - February 3, 2011

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