THE SECRET LIVES OF CHAVS
A retrospective for danyol at W SAN FRANCISCO
danyol's mixed media collage works juxtapose the idyllic innocence of 50's era fashion iconography with a modernized mischievousness contained in the underlying layers. danyol has always nourished himself on a a steady diet of pop art, cubism, and sarcasm. danyol's use of his own life and surroundings combine to form a dizzying combination of colors, patterns, and textures. While using equal parts nostalgia and current events together, danyol's pop-influenced works explore the liminal spaces between surface and emotion, gender role, responsibility and reality; along with other inconsistencies in our fragile social fabric.
danyol was selected as one of 1800 TEQUILA's Essential Artists for 2009. To celebrate this achievement, 1800 TEQUILA will be providing 1800 Silver Agave tequila for the opening reception which will feature tequila-inspired concoctions, of course
On exhibit through JUN 15, 2010
Quirky characters and collaged surreal narratives influenced by Oakland's urban environment
exhibit on display in XYZ Restaurant, XYZ Cafe, Library Room (2nd Floor)
W San Francisco
181 3rd St (x. Howard) SF, CA
ROUGH AROUND THE EDGES
paintings by GARRETT ROBINSON
One gets the impression that Garrett Robinson’s characters are…experienced. They’ve seen things, they’ve done things and they wear expressions that suggest they’re not quite ready to recede into tranquil, quite lives. Their faces show the wear of living for the moment, not the wear of defeat. Maybe they can’t get out of their own way but neither can we stop watching them, waiting for their next adventure, hoping for the next chance to be amused.
Of his work, Garrett says, "I can't explain how I translate my ideas into art, it's just subconscious. I like painting and started doing it as a kid when I was skating around town. Like other artists, I get an idea and build on it. Sometimes, it can be difficult to realize my 'vision' so the actual process can take from days to weeks and, sometimes, years."
W San Francisco
181 3rd St (x. Howard) SF, CA
On exhibit through MAR 15, 2010
LOVE & OTHER CONNECTIONS...
Mixed media works by Kim Thoman
venue: XYZ Restaurant / W San Francisco
W San Francisco
181 3rd St (x. Howard) SF, CA
Kim Thoman's work is on display in XYZ Restaurant, XYZ Cafe,
Mezzanine Balcony/ 2nd floor landing, lobby of Bliss Spa (4th floor)
I interpret Kim's work, and her words, as exploring an honest path seeking maybe not truth but, perhaps, experiences. Exploring dualities provides ample room for probing and questioning. Kim uses digital media in a way that respects traditional media and techniques (both painting and drawing) through the pairing of images created in both ways. Each side is unique yet dependent upon its mate, able to stand alone but 'active' when paired. Common elements of form and color present obvious clues for comparing paired images at the same time visual tension is illuminated through comparing disparate elements. In-between the obvious connections and differences between images is where conversations about their interaction thrive. Matt McKinley, Curator
Dualities that exist in nature as well as in the mind intrigue me. I have a certain fascination with connections between body and soul, intellect and intuition, male and female, life and death. We order our lives in mundane ways, while we move continuously, and most often unconsciously, toward a final shape-shifting transition. In my work, I attempt to reflect these contrasts. - Kim Thoman
DREAMSCAPES
Atmospheric landscapes explore sensual expression, timelessness, and emotion rendered in oil on canvas by Audrey Kral
venue: XYZ Restaurant / W San Francisco
W San Francisco
181 3rd St (x. Howard) SF, CA
The paintings in this exhibit are from Audrey Kral’s ‘Dreamscapes’ series which explore atmospheres of sensual expression, timelessness, and emotion. These works have a mysterious, beckoning quality, often evoking the impression of a landscape. Combining the indelible color memories of her travels with a painting technique cultivated through the watercolor medium, Audrey uses the richness of oil paint to explore the depths of the mind, the emotional resonance of colors, and the transformational quality of nature. Through an intuitive process, her mind and body partner with the paint, canvas, brushes, turpentine, and gravity to explore the depths of beauty and wonder in the ordinary expressed as vibrant colors, soft brushstrokes, and bold compositions. In an improvisation of space and time, color and form spontaneously dance together to the rhythm of Audrey’s process, their interaction recorded onto the emptiness of raw canvas.
Image: 'Contemplation: Space' Oil on Canvas 24 x 18 2008
Worlds Within Worlds
Photography by Richard Tauber
venue: XYZ Restaurant
W San Francisco
181 3rd St (x. Howard) SF, CA
Creativity with lighting and lensing is Richard's life long passion and informs both his commercial and personal work. Experience has taught him that the choice of lens defines how a subject is rendered and the lighting sets the mood and creates the emotion of the photo. This collection of macrobotanical images demonstrate that light and lens are the essence of creative photography.
Image: 'Attractor' Archival Digital Photo, 43" x 33" 2008
absinthe tasting during the reception provided by:
MESSAGES - Mixed media works by Judith Miller
DECEMBER 12 - JANUARY 30
venue XYZ
181 3rd St (x. Howard) SF, CA
ARTIST'S RECEPTION: Thursday, January 8 6 - 8pm
"Many of the images I work with I draw from two environments. I try to integrate these two different environments:
1. The environment of my childhood. I lived on a cattle ranch in the cold/hot desert of Eastern Oregon. In the spring Dad and I rode to the cattle camp where we stayed until fall. My dad was born in 1889. We stayed in a small cabin without electricity or water. Our conversations are still with me. Some of his messages were universal and timeless,; others limited and irrelevant. Which are which?
2. Silicon Valley, where I raised my children, is a very different place. During these years the vallley was a great center of the communication industry. The world we live in is now a technical world. Which of the messages we receive day in and day out are meaningful; which relevant. Do we understand life and each other any better?
In these paintings I was thinking about messages we give and receive at every level: personal, spiritual, societal. Much information, both visual and textual, is truncated, partial, distorted, false, or esoteric. Our views of the world are shaped by such intormation.
Afterthought: My little dog, smaller than any of my three cats, joyfully bounces up to them with her helicopter tail wagging. The cats scream “She is trying to kill us!.” They echo a much larger stage." - J. Miller
Judith Miller graduated with honors from San Jose State University (B.A., New College, 1975) and from the San Francisco Art Institute (BFA, Painting, 1980) where she had an honors studio.
Her work has been in numerous shows in her home state of CA as well as in sixteen other states. The work is in public collections in CA, Washington DC, Japan and Iowa. Judith’s work has been reviewed in over twenty newspapers or catalogs.
Image: 'Connection' Mixed media, 52 x 44, 1994
IMPROMPTU - mixed media paintings by Jean Wu
OCTOBER 15 - DECEMBER 12
venue XYZ
181 3rd St (x. Howard) SF, CA
ARTIST'S RECEPTION:
Thursday, December 4 6 - 8p
(a FIRST THURSDAY event)
Wine tasting featuring selections by:
"My passion for life and years of training in both music and art motivated me to develop a series of abstract paintings with colors, forms, lines, and strokes all interplaying within a confined space. Much like a unique arrangement of musical notes creates a distinct tonal harmony, each canvas is a visually harmonious arrangement of color combinations designed to be universally understood as well as personally felt and appreciated." - Jean Wu
Image: 'Impromptu #1' Mixed Media on Canvas 48" x 60" 2005
