The most recent show is listed first, then shows are listed in chronological order
In 1991, nine San Francisco artists put their heads and hearts together with a singleness of purpose. Their collaborative genius created the inspirational hotel that's definitely hip: Hotel Triton, a 140-room wonderland like no other.
Alexander von Wolff’s ‘Vintage Expansion Principle’ ensures that nostalgic ephemera continues to survive, revived as larger-than-life size replicas. Click on the Facebook image set below for pricelist
GATHER
Arran Harvey
Mar 30 – May 8, 2017
We constantly navigate a balance between closeness to and separation from others. People arrive and depart, coming and going as we navigate our daily routines. We need to express our individuality yet we are bolstered by the presence of others, especially in times of extreme emotion. We control our own space yet we have the ability to come together to put our collective effort toward a common goal. We follow our instincts and cultural cues to establish a regular practice of gathering together. ~ A. Harvey
ALL IN : ArtSpan’s Studio Residency artists group show
Feb 8 - Mar 28, 2017
Addendum 24; Claira Alta Elliott; Denise Laws; Dyanna Dimick;LE Bohemian Muse; Nancer Lemoins; Seok Don (Tony) Choi; Sherry Schaffer; Sophie Lee; Taiko Fujimura; Tisha Kenny; Uma Rani Iyli
ALL IN is a mindset that champions inclusiveness, commitment and perseverance. ALL IN defines the attitude necessary to form a functioning community that supports creative practice by encouraging shared ideas, community service and opportunities for collaborative projects and individual growth. These artists, like all of the artists selected to participate in ArtSpan's Studio Residency program, are examples of artists working in community who take seriously their creative output as a viable business venture and whose dedication underscores the need for saving and creating viable studio space in San Francisco.
ArtSpan's Studio Residency Program debuted in 2015 with the Journal Building Residency located at 1540 Market St (x. Van Ness, home to the highly visible and near iconic 'Birdsong' mural by Josh Coffy). The Journal Building currently provides studio space for 17 artists.
ArtSpan's second site, Art Hive, is located in the Portola district at 1775 Egbert St. Located close to Yosemite Place and a short drive from Hunter's Point, Islais Creek, the Noonan Building, the Midway and Minnesota Street Projects, the Bayview / Portola neighborhoods are the next renaissance areas for artistic footholds in SF. Housed in an active industrial complex, Art Hive provides space for 11 artists when at full capacity.
OCEANSCAPES
Marius Starkey
Dec 20, 2016 – Feb 7, 2017
The true transcendence of life occurs during the creative process. Through the richness and power of color, shape and form, a painting can become truly a transcendent vehicle for altering one’s consciousness and reality.
The exploration of what is real and what has meaning is the apotheosis of art’s purpose. My endeavors into the exploration of the ideas and profundity of life are what ignite my passion in finding a new perspective.
Imagining images that transcend my thoughts and my own expectations send me to unexplored places. In my world, I get to transform and reimagine what paintings can be and that fuels my hopes and possibilities for life. There is no time, no fear, and no expectations when I work, only the chance to understand our deep emotional and physical connections with each image.
Fluidity of brush strokes, motion, time, and space are fundamental concepts that truly deserve deeper aesthetical exploration. My paintbrush is merely a candle that lights my way through the vast journey of that exploration.
My ultimate goal is transcendence, and through every brush stroke and caress of the paint on canvas, each dab of paint is a sacrament to experiencing a more authentic and beautiful perspective to life itself.
ArtSpan Open Studios Hub Exhibit
Oct 11 - Dec 13, 2016
POINT OF VIEW
Rodney Weiss
Aug 10 – Oct 11, 2016
Please join us for the a reception for the artist: Wednesday, Aug 17 6 - 8pm
How does one describe a flower? The answer lies in your perspective according to Rodney Weiss. When examined under a microscope the details of a flower’s complex structure is revealed. Yet, from afar, the details converge to create an entirely different experience.
Rodney Weiss' detailedwork has a sense of balance that reflects this interconnectedness and interdependence seen in nature. He creates microcosms that he invites you to experience and explore, presenting each work as an point of intersection for our experiences to come together. Whether you are looking at the details or the bigger picture, he offers these works as a place to be curious and discover a whole new world. Rodney shares, “Art comes in many forms & can be a tool to bring about awareness. Every person is bringing or taking away something different.”
What colors would you add?
As an invitation to share your unique experience with his work Rodney invites viewers to add your own colors to the show postcard & share your creations:
FaceBook - Rodney Weiss Art and/or McKinley Art Solutions
John Held Jrand Global Art Project (GAP), curated by Carl Heyward and featuring Carl Heyward, Gregory J. Rose, Glen Rogers, Robert Reed, Suzanne Jacquot, Vered Gersztenkorn and Akiko Suzuki celebrate Dada’s centennial anniversary with a special exhibit at Hotel Triton.
Dada Here & Now, curated by Matt McKinley and Hanna Regev, is a 3 week celebration of music, performance, art and film inspired by Dada in conjunction with the 2016 SF International Arts Festival, May 19 – Jun 5 at Fort Mason
Wendell Shinn and Lennell Allen combine to explore the world on opposite scales. Lennell's work draws you into the details, literally capturing the passage of time in the oceanscapes on view in this show, while it also appreciates the beautiful results of happenstance interplay between light and object. Wendell, on the other hand, uses panoramic and circular imagery formats to tweak our perception of the scale of urban architecture and the assumed perspective within a cityscape by distorting each in clever, subtly humorous ways.
MY LIFE IS FULL OF COLOR
Lisa Fernald Barker
I see leaves of green, red roses too, and I think to myself what a wonderful world.
But mostly, I see Coastal Blue.
I enjoy my time near the coasts the most. My childhood memories were created on the East Coast of New England, with its display of salty bright blues, lighthouse whites and lobster boat reds.
Here in Northern California, most of my visual inspiration comes from places along the water. California provides a beautiful backdrop for an artist. I also paint the warm colors of wonderful Sedona and the fresh colors of Tahoe, from trips enjoyed with family and friends.
Most of all the teal blue in both of my Sons’ eyes inspire me daily… and I think to myself what a wonderful world.
through Jan 27, 2016
ARTSPAN'S FALL OPEN STUDIOS PREVIEW AT HOTEL TRITON
(an ArtSpan Hub Exhibition)
Meet the artist: Thurs, Aug 27 6 - 8pm
Artist Joshua Coffy explains some of his theory around what informs his practice and his general outlook: "Life moves in circles. Everything has a way of coming back around. History plays out over and over again, changing ever so slightly like a turning wheel. Darwin’s Theory of Evolution rolls on as we revolve around each other, only to realize that we are all sentient beings connected to one another."
This retrospective collection of paintings is inspired by the flora and fauna that makes up our natural world. With a touch of whimsy, these works offer a portal to explore our connections to these sentient beings.
A self-taught artist, Josh is active as a both a creator and a community catalyst for connection through art. His recent projects include a successful two person show at Secession Art and Design and a mural commission for ArtSpan (on view at 1540 Market St x Van Ness). Josh and his family reside in San Francisco.
through Oct 7
SPIRALS AND SPARKLES
Matt Pipes & Tracy Fetter
Lifelong friends Matt Pipes and Tracy Fetter explore similar paths with their artwork. Although their subject matter and techniques differ, each seeks an emotional connection to their subjects that fuels further creative explorations in color and technique.
Matt Pipes’ ‘Friday Harbor’ series, named so because all but two pieces were created on a Friday afternoon, is a celebration of sailors’ contribution to forming a vibrant thread in the diverse tapestry of the Bay Area’s gay culture. This series in an homage to the ‘Blue Discharges’, the 9000 gay and lesbian servicepeople discharged in SF between 1941 – 1945 who paved the way for gay migration in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s.
Tracy Fetter’s ongoing series of semi-abstract floral motif paintings serve dual purposes, one aesthetic and one personal. As an object to be viewed for pleasure, each piece offers saturated jewel tones combined with metallic glimmer in order to catch light as well as your attention. As the names suggest, however, the works also play a functional role for the artist. Each piece is given the name of a person the artist has recently met. Through this naming convention the work becomes a memory device for the artist. Also a benefit for each piece is the personalization that a proper name provides - associations to color and composition within a painting to the personality traits of similarly named people familiar to the viewer are a natural consequence of considering what's in a name absent of suggestive figurative cues.
through Aug 18
Move to Form, Acrylic on Canvas, 48w x 36h
INDETERMINATE PATH
David Silva Rose
Although this grouping of work borrows from many of my different painting series, there are two ideas that are prevalent in all of the work here in one way or another. One is evolution, an idea that was the actual basis of a series that I created and have continued to work on over the years, and the other is impermanence, an idea intertwined with both physical evolution and spiritual evolution. It is impermanence that intrigues me the most and is weighing most heavily on my heart as I write these words.
through Jun 9
In this series I am attempting to exploit the relationship between language and color. These systems have a number of characteristics in common; e.g. form, context, and structure. Both are subject to conditions like abuse and contamination, and both share a reciprocal relationship; language has color, and color is a kind of language. I use print materials as a primary medium in the work. The materials are broken down, altered, and reassembled. The use of degraded and reconfigured print speaks to a range of themes, including loss, recovery, adaptation, and renewal.
I use a wide range of print materials with an emphasis on color and bold sans serif type. The use of fluorescent print in this series accomplishes a few things. It extends the range of the pallet, and positions the work as contemporary. The materials were acquired in and around San Francisco – posters and signage from the Mission district, newsprint from Chinatown, and packaging from throughout the city. Sourcing materials for this series has proven to be an important part of the process. It supports my personal connection to the work without being overly sentimental.
One objective in this series was to draw on the disappearance of print as a basis for large collage works. Towards that end I chose inexpensive four-color newsprint, high grade print material, and a variety of low-fi posters and other signage, in combination with oils, acrylics, and pencil. As the materials are broken down and reconfigured, the text and imagery becomes disassociated, reducing to pure form, texture and color. As the materials become less and less identifiable, the subtext of the work seems to broaden. The result creates a conflict between depth and surface, between continuity and dismemberment. ~ J. Thompson
POUR LINES
Philippe Jestin
"In my work I often use drawings relating to the human figure, lines around the body, fabric structures applied to the body. My goal is to produce an object offering different lectures between the figurative and the abstract, going back and forth, unresolved and open to the potential of a fluid perception. The finished work has a sculptural dimension with a decisive edge much like in a bas-relief.
Along the way I have produced works with wood, metal, paper, wire and charcoals. One common material to many of those works is the resin which is applied with different casting techniques, often born out of experimentation and necessity to bring forth the initial idea."
"My new work involves the creation of urban based idealized landscapes in dream-like circumstances. Ambiguous relationships and unsettling juxtapositions. I am focusing and dissecting, rearranging forms derived from the architecture of the Bay Area to create new perspectives.
My text are idioms of my perception of reality based on the current social political climate in which we live. The outcome can be whimsical and yet it offers a serious sociopolitical commentary on the changes to our urban landscape. My perception of reality, and how I interpret it, was shaped by the implications of the housing scandals of the last decade. I am attempting to combine these observations to create a compilation of connective awareness.
In 2006, I began working with architectural forms using ink, pencil markers, acrylic paint, and archival pigment. My use of these materials has become a prominent feature of my work." ~ D. Lynch
Derek Lynch was born in Englewood, NJ and currently lives and works in San Francisco, CA. Solo and Group exhibitions include: Schneider Museum of Art, Ashley Oregon; Bedford Gallery of Contemporary Art, Walnut Creek, CA; SFMOMA Museo gallery, San Francisco,CA; SFMOMA Artist Gallery San Francisco, CA; Gallerie Citi, Burlingame, CA. Derek considers himself fortunate to have attended the School of the Visual Arts in New York City in the early 80’s with artists such as Keith Haring and Kenny Scharf.
through Sept 29, 2014
WORKING WITH THE FORCES OF NATURE
Sara Kahn
The exhibition title, WORKING WITH THE FORCES OF NATURE, sums up the major challenge facing plein air painting, Sara's method of choice for creating her works. In both her acrylic paintings and her watercolor works on paper Sara has developed a fluid style which utilizes the transparent nature of both water-based mediums to capture the drama of changing light on a scene while pushing the colors in order to pop the details. Her work has been described as “facets of crystal” and “ribbons of colors” by art critics and colleagues.
Light-heartedly, Sara says that one of her biggest challenges is when a bug falls onto the painting. She has to both rescue the bug and minimize the mark it makes on the canvas. Windy conditions are also trouble—once the wind broke her tripod and she had to finish the painting at home (the only time she did so).
Sara has exhibited her work at San Francisco’s Open Studios (at Fort Mason’s Gatehouse) since 2004. In addition to holding degrees in painting, psychology, and art therapy, she has illustrated numerous children’s books and stories. Her most recent book, Seasons: Rhymes in Time, uses the same “transparent watercolor” technique she developed en plein air.
The musicians behind 'Seasons: Rhymes in Time', Michael DeWall and Pete Elman of Real Dreams Music, will be playing two acoustical sets during the event beginning at 6:15pm. Additionally, join curator Matt McKinley for a birthday toast & welcome at 7pm!
through Jun 17, 2014
URBAN IMPRESSIONS
Edward Sherman
“Traveling will always be an inspiration for my visual art, as well as my art in other forms, including music, dance, theater, film – the list doesn’t end. I enjoy being in city environments as well as nature, and I truly enjoy experiencing the cultures to which I’m exposed and the diverse groups of people I meet. When it comes to cities, I’m often captivated by my home town, San Francisco: the colors, hills, lighting, energy, neighborhoods and people hold my interest and keep me engaged.
My goal is to create work with as few brushstrokes as possible, and just react to the scene as much as possible while I’m painting. I like to interpret my subjects in loose, spontaneous brushstrokes that convey a sense of movement or energy in rich, vibrant colors with slightly distorted perspectives that take the viewer just beyond reality. I avoid rigid plans in how the work should be when finished, preferring instead to let the process and the paint guide me. I want to be open to possibilities, the twists and turns, following my intuition as much as I can in order to let the work have a life of it’s own. I have to remind myself at times to let go of control – this is when I enjoy painting the most – so the process begins to feel effortless and by the time I get to the end result I’m not sure how I arrived there! I want to be surprised by the paint and the painting, and I tend to look for the same thing in life.” ~ E. Sherman
Edward Sherman holds a BA in Fine Art and Illustration from the Academy of Art, San Francisco. His illustrations have been published in many formats, from theater promotions to medical textbooks. He has been represented by galleries in Carmel, Sausalito and Healdsburg and his work is held in private collections locally and internationally. The artist currently resides in San Francisco.
Feb 26 - Apr 30, 2014
VINTAGE MATCHBOOKS
Alexander von Wolff
Bringing some old school SF to Hotel Triton with a selection of ALEX VON WOLFF's vintage matchbooks, including some new pieces! Available for you to see starting today.
"Lately I find myself working on the 'Vintage Expansion Principle' - a habit of taking little artistic relics of the past and giving them new life, larger than life, on canvas. Current subjects include matchbooks, lighters, postage stamps, vintage B/W photography and stills pulled from 8mm film from the 60s." ~ A. von Wolff
Dec 4, 2013 - Feb 26, 2014
l to r: Karl Roeseler; Philippe Jestin's wife, Loren; Steven Santamaria (ArtSpan artist); guest; Harvey Abernathey; Amir Salamat; Shiva Pakdel
For 2013 Fall Open Studios, ArtSpan is debuting their Open Studios Super Hub program, a collaborative program involving a city-wide network of local businesses exhibiting a sampling of work from participating Open Studios artists. Each Super Hub site is also a distribution point for the all-new, redesigned and re-sized Open Studios Guide - be sure to pick one up!
In support of Open Studios, McKinley Art Solutions and Hotel Triton are pleased to showcase the following participating artists:
Harvey Abernathey - Weekend 1: Oct 18, 19 11a - 6p Fort Mason Bldg D Fleet Room
Fabiola Addamo - Weekend 2: Oct 26, 27 11a - 6p 744 Alabama St #318
Stephen Albair - Weekend 3: Nov 2, 3 11a - 6p The Ranch, 1433 Van Dyke @ Keith
Blake Barrett - Weekend 1: Oct 18, 19 11a - 6p Fort Mason Bldg D Fleet Room
Tesia Blackburn - Weekend 4: Nov 9, 10 11a - 6p Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard Building 101 Studio 2315
Helen S. Cohen - Weekend 3: Nov 2,3 11a - 6p 1777 Yosemite Place @ 3rd, Studio #300
Susan Gregory - Weekend 1: Oct 18, 19 11:30a - 5:30p | SMAart Gallery and Studio 1045 Sutter St @ Hyde
Philippe Jestin - Weekend 1: Oct 18, 19 11a - 6p 646 Laguna St. @ Grove
Lola - Weekend 4: Nov 9, 10 11a - 6p Hunter's Point Navy Shipyard Building 101, Studio 2107
Shiva Pakdel - Weekend 3: Nov 2, 3 11a - 6p Public Glass 1750 Armstrong Ave. @ 3rd St
Karl Roeseler - Weekend 3: Nov 2, 3 11a - 6p 334 Kearny Street @ Bush St, Studio 2A
Amir Salamat - Weekend 3: Nov 2, 3 11a - 6p Public Glass 1750 Armstrong Ave. @ 3rd St
Greta & Manu Schnetzler - Weekend 1: Oct 18, 19 11a - 6p Fort Mason Bldg D Fleet Room
Gregory Vernitsky - Weekend 1: Oct 19, 20 11a - 6p Veterans Community Media Center, 1720 Market St @ Octavia
Deirdre Weinberg - Weekend 1: Oct 19, 20 11a - 6p Star of the Sea School, 8th Ave @ Geary, upstairs in the gym
Roxanne Worthington - Weekend 1: Oct 18, 19 11a - 6p Fort Mason Bldg D Fleet Room
Xan Blood Walker - Weekend 3: Nov 2, 3 11a - 6p Lennon Studios 468 9th Street @ Bryant
exhibit dates: Oct 9 – Dec 3, 2013
UP
Trish Tunney
Trish Tunney’s photography is about shadows and contrast more than objects. Because of this, the quality of light is crucial. She seeks out the directional light of early day or early evening where colors, both light and dark, are at their most exaggerated. She is drawn to bits of urban decay and endeavors to reveal the beauty that may be overlooked by the casual viewer. She has a "found object" aesthetic to her work where she will not manipulate the scene she is photographing either before or after the capture.
Aug 7 - Oct 8, 2013
PORT AUTHORITY
Mike Kimball
Mike Kimball is an artist in love with the city. He is best known for his paintings and prints of urban landscapes that seem to inhabit the worlds of both representation and abstraction simultaneously.
The subjects of his artwork have been the urban environments of San Francisco, Oakland, New York, Tokyo and Osaka. "Whenever I look at the city, I end up seeing it in terms of patterns and textures and layered geometry. Its all in plain sight if you think to look for it." says Kimball.
His artwork focuses on the underlying geometric abstraction of the architecture and design found in the urban landscape, as well as the curious effect that time and chaos has on that geometric order as it moves towards disorder and entropy.
Kimball has exhibited his work both nationally and and internationally. He is a member of the California Society of Printmakers and the Los Angeles Printmaking Society. He is also a two-time recipient of the Yozo Hamaguchi scholarship for printmaking excellence.
In 2004 Kimball was an atist-in-residence at the KALA institute in Berkeley, CA. In 2005 Kimball was an artist-in-residence at the Centrum Franz Masereel studios in Kasterlee, Belgium, where he editioned a series of six serigraph prints.
Kimball lives and works nearby in his painting studio in the South of Market area (SOMA) of San Francisco. Before coming to California, he lived for many years in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where his art was influenced by the regions' high desert landscape and luminous blue skies.
On exhibit through AUG 6
ON & OFF THE BEATEN PATH
Linda Ruggieri
The principles of design inherent in the world around us have always stopped me in my tracks, often to pause and enjoy but more often to capture in a photo. Contrast, harmony, balance, dominance, repetition, unity, I see these everywhere expressed in shapes, lines, textures and colors.
Some days the world offers up an image I see in a whole new way. I can marvel at a fallen leaf or a light dappled shadow dancing on a wall. An architectural form suddenly delights. I photograph because I find beauty in the details, and a sense of tranquility in the process of preserving that moment.
On exhibit through Jun 4
ALL THINGS CONSIDERED
Scott Idleman
Scott Idleman questions everything: "Do we live in a big, big world or a microcosmos where everyone and everything is connected in increasingly facile ways?" Inspired by topographic maps, cellular imagery, archeological excavations, Aboriginal art, and rhythms and patterns in nature, the artist explores themes of connectivity and energy with the works on display in his solo exhibit, All Things Considered.
When asked to describe his work in a single word, Scott provided several responses. “I like resonant and connected, those words make sense thematically to my art. I came up with alchemy, a reference to how the mediums interact to each other (i.e. washes of color and clear and opaque medium), flow (in reference to connectedness and movement), particular (in reference to the made-up particulate matter that I illustrate), elemental, and circulation, a reference to movement and the circles and dots that make up many of my pieces.”
The notion of how we perceive things based on relative scale is an overarching theme in Scott’s work. “We all have that experience of going to the airport, driving down a highway with a lot of traffic, being aware of the scenery and being amongst other cars around us carrying people to their various destinations. [Compare that to being on a] plane and looking out the window after take off at the same roadway and your perception/emotion is completely different. As the plane ascends, the road is seen as part of a vast circulation system with no emotion attached to it, it's simply a conduit or artery in the big scheme of things. Maybe it's actually an ancient crop circle! It's that duality of macro vs. micro, something perceived as a visually pleasing pattern to one may seem to another to be a map of the cosmos and to yet another a microscopic portrayal of a diseased cell.”
“When I create my art,” Scott shares, “what my intention and reference points are doesn't really matter once I hear the vast and varied reactions expressed by the viewers. I like to think of my work as kind of Rorschach tests, everyone's perception is valid if that's what they feel. If they sense and connect to the energy of what is going on my work and what it took energetically for me to create it, then I feel like those pieces are successful.” The metaphysical connection to others felt by the artist is best represented by the rhythm and patterns of his mark-making.
All Things Considered bridges the analytical notions of theme and artist’s intention with how the art makes the viewer feel. It covers both the ‘big picture’ perception of viewing each piece as well as the ‘naval gazing’ aspect [artist’s humorous description!] of getting lost in the minutiae.
On exhibit through Apr 2
FLUID PLANES
Rebecca Shortle
Shapes, patterns and processes of the natural world inspire Rebecca Shortle’s paintings; by layering acrylic mediums that have differing optical properties, she evokes images of microscopic worlds seen through luminous watery depths.
"My fascination with the natural world and its laws, forces, patterns, and phenomena has long been a driving force in my life. I have pursued it academically in research science,artistically in painting and sculpture, casually in nonfiction reading and in natural observation,
and professionally in chemical and biotech patent law. My years of formal and informal study provide me with a lens through which I view the world; I cannot see shapes and patterns in nature without considering the forces from which they resulted, or without noting ratios and patterns universal to living and non-living things. This fascination informs the subject matter of my paintings as well as the process.
I create paintings on a horizontal plane, building up rich semi-transparent surfaces over weeks or months by pouring, dripping and brushing on layers of acrylic paint and ink mixtures. Each layer is primarily acrylic medium with very little pigment, and the successive layering results in paintings with a luminous watery depth. I mix and layer different acrylic mediums, each having their own unique properties affecting opacity, reflectiveness, texture, and flexibility.
Wet acrylic mediums are also bluish and opaque, not showing their true color and final transparency until dried. Each layer is an experiment, frequently yielding unexpected colors, textures, and optical properties. Unanticipated results direct the evolution of my paintings.
Dec 5, 2012 - Feb 5, 2013
¡VIVA RATON!
danyol
The white-washing of my culture and youth came early. I grew up white, middle class and was taught to fear those not like me. Later in life I soon learned that I was 1) not white, 2) not middle class, and 3) not like anyone else I grew up with. The portraits in this show represent my gentrification and my parent’s conscious efforts to try and fit in. While using equal parts nostalgia and current events together, my pop-influenced mixed media paintings explore the liminal spaces between surface and emotion; gender role, responsibility and reality; along with other inconsistencies in our social fabric.
San Francisco artist danyol was born in 1970 in Orange County, California just a stone’s throw away from Disneyland.
“I want to bring part of my everyday life into my art and show people that there is beauty in the mundane, harmony in the abstract and power in the inspiration.” ~ danyol
“It’s like Warhol having dinner with Tex Avery with light carnival music playing in the background.” ~ homeless person outside my show.
Oct 9 - Dec 4, 2012
Colorful Urban Landscapes
COLORS OF THE CITY
Lisa Feather Knee
As Picasso once pointed out, there is no abstract art. My work originates in realism, then goes on to have fabulous adventures in places only my mind can see. Overcomplicated art bothers me, so I omit surplus details to focus on essential visual elements and color. My work is mostly about color, the language of spirit and emotion.
I want my art to take the observer somewhere new, a place at once familiar and totally different; an oasis from ordinary. Much of my imagery is drawn from my love of the natural world and a wish to convey a sense of sanctuary. My urban scenes are deeply colored by a sense of landscape. I focus on natural rhythms of shape and form found in landscapes, as I feel these patterns create a sense of harmony in composition. Even the most mundane or busy location can become a sacred place when the eye finds beauty there.
As a 3rd generation artist I was born with a paintbrush in hand. I consider oil to be my primary medium however, lately. I have been doing a lot of printmaking with silkscreens using acrylics. As a painter first I am more familiar with the properties of paint pigments than with silkscreen inks. I preferred acrylics for my prints because they age well and dry rapidly. I do small limited editions and employ painterly techniques in my printmaking (each print is slightly different within an edition). The paper is an acid-free French Rag made out of 100% cotton, so no trees were sacrificed in it's making.
Through Oct 8, 2012
Unique perspectives of SF's iconic architecture
centriCITY
Karl Roeseler
In centriCITY, I find myself exploring one of my favorite subjects, San Francisco, and our relationship to the City that surrounds us. I spend a lot of time walking in the City, and wanted to evoke the feelings that particular neighborhoods and blocks create for me: not only a sense of place, but also an emotional centering.
I like to think of each body of work as a new language that I’m learning. Each painting teaches me more about how the language works and what it can express, its rules and its grammar. Each contributes to an ongoing process of discovery, and with each painting I find my vocabulary increasing along with my ability to form increasingly complex sentences.
COLORFUL EXPRESSIONS
Marconi Calindas
Black lines and pure hues are the trademarks of Marconi’s distinctive rendering style. While his subject matter varies from pop icons to triumphs of the human spirit, it’s the boldness of his visual vocabulary that holds the viewers attention and continues to attract a widening audience.
Marconi Calindas is making waves. Translating his art onto clothing using designs inspired by Guam and Northern Mariana Islands, his clothing line, Wear-A-Marconi™, is gaining momentum along the Pacific Rim - including publication in popular Japanese magazines! Stateside, he has been invited to display his work in public art projects ranging from Francisco City Hall and UC Berkeley to exhibits at Bayfair Mall (San Leandro, CA), Newpark Mall (Newark, CA) and Aspect Gallery in San Francisco.
CONSUMERS OR THE CONSUMED?
Pamela Keilson
Pamela’s aim is to draw attention to propaganda in nutritional marketing and the potential consequences of consuming food based on convenience over quality. After living abroad for a decade, Pamela was “shocked” to observe ‘how, where, and what’ people eat in the US. In response, this body of work comments on the divergence from natural ingredients especially as it applies to processed foods and the glorification of an ‘on-the-go’ lifestyle leading to a general cultural acceptance of relegating enjoyment of food to a secondary activity (eating in the car, on foot, or otherwise engaged in an activity other than the enjoyment of each meal during the day). Pamela does admit to occasionally succumbing to the convenience of ‘grab-and-go’ nutrition, so she understands how easy it is to make the choice of convenience over quality. Taking inspiration from the visual vocabularies of Andy Warhol and Wayne Thiebaud, ultimately these works illuminate her desire to see a cultural shift towards spending quality time with quality food to enjoy to a better quality of life.
About her work and process, Pamela shares, "I create digital paintings that are social commentaries. I consider myself a realist in that my images are recognizable with romantic interpretations. I use intense colors so that people look at these everyday objects in a different way, provoking thought and conversation. I usually have an idea in mind when I start. Then, I photograph each element and compose the general piece, “painting” with paintbrushes in Photoshop. I love Photoshop because I can create hundreds of layers, allowing me to experiment with different layouts and colors. Some pieces come together in a month; others have taken years before I’m satisfied. I then print on canvas or fine art paper. My canvas pieces are finished with strategically placed acrylic paint to add depth and texture to an otherwise flat print."
RACING THE MOON
JOHN KRAFT
John Kraft’s iconic and instantly recognizable work is inspired by the personal but celebrates the universal. His bold and whimsical compositions are surreal yet accessible, light-hearted and full of meaning, illustrating themes of love, hope and joy. His recurring use of androgynous blue figures emphasizes his belief that strong positive emotions transcend gender differences and override negative preconception. Sailboats, as in his piece Racing the Moon, often serve as metaphor for individuals and society as a whole; wishing, hoping, dreaming... loving.
AT PLAY IN THE FIELD OF THE PSYCHE
Gary Bacon
In my artwork, which exists as a snapshot of my own psyche, I attempt to shed light on the inner world through metaphor, archetypes, and known systems of exploration. Some of the mechanisms that I use in my explorations into the psyche are drawn from the sciences of the mind, some are drawn from ancient spiritual systems, and others are drawn from direct knowing through meditation, induced trance or psychic travel. In my prints, you will see vestiges of Jungian Psychology, Kundalini Yoga, Southwest Indian lore, Huichol Indian Cosmology, Amazonian shamanism, Gnosticism, Christian mysticism, ancient Egyptian mythology, Sufism, Hinduism, and Alchemy. Each cultural representation brings a fuller and richer gestalt to the understanding of the human psyche.
On exhibit through DEC 6
COLOR/FORMS
Michael s.j. Beckler
My pieces are colorful forms influenced by my interest in patterns, geometric shapes and dimensions...graphic….yet free flowing...creating three dimensional feelings through the use of bright acrylic paints, epoxy, chunky textures, glass, paper, sand, nails, metal and smooth as felt finishes
On exhibit throughOCT 4
SWIRLS & SQUARES
Timothy Stroth
Shapes are easy for me. Shapes are simple. They don’t mean anything and they don’t need any explanation. Shapes allow me to explore the endless possibilities within combining and exploring the interactive qualities of color.
Each painting is thoroughly planned out by means of placement, composition, and color location. In my latest works, I am more conscious of the visceral feeling of painting as the paint strokes hug and embrace the asymmetrical, non-linear shapes while I move my arm. The most important element of painting for me continues to be the creation of stimulating work that has overall balance, harmony, and imagination.
BEAUTIFUL BOTTLECAP CREATIONS!
TRASHED TREASURES
Leigh Ellison
"There is magic left in things we dispose of. This collection was created with the intention of taking something so easily disregarded and giving it another chance at Brilliance.
The pieces are crafted from recycled bottle caps. Once assembled, these caps take on a whole new life filled with magic, beauty and alchemy - transforming the ordinary and overlooked bottle cap into something extraordinary!" ~ L. Ellison
During the week of April 18 - April 22, Hotel Triton will be celebrating Earth Week with a variety of eco-conscious events, beginning with the Opening Reception for Leigh's exhibit on April 19.
Reception: Tues April 19
5:00 – 7:30pm
featuring Redwood Hill Farm and Creamery products
BEAUTIFUL SAFETY - Casey Koerner
Beautiful Safety is the realm of peace achieved through harmonic balance.
Beauty Safety represents Sacred Geometry - the complete balance of colors, shapes and tones, which is a reflection of universal nature. We experience comfort in this safety, and a restful state of peace. Animals within each piece serve as co-protectors and guardians alluding to spiritual and metaphysical connections.
Taking cues from nature, balance is obtained by carefully weighing the three perfectly ratioed colors BLUE, RED and YELLOW, the three shapes CIRCLE, SQUARE and TRIANGLE, and the three tones WHITE, BLACK and GREY. Within the focal point and continuity of a careful design, this balance represents Sacred Geometry, and in a larger metaphor the presence of the Supreme, in whatever context you have defined. These colors, shapes and tones symbolize pure intention, and carry specific universal and emotional connotations.
~ Casey Koerner
On exhibit throughAPR 14, 2011
BOTTSPHERE - Johnny Botts
When people see my work, I’d like them to be excited and smile - I hope to be a positive influence in people’s lives. I paint playful images of alien-robots with simple shapes and bold colors. Many of my pieces are coated with with high-gloss epoxy resin which makes colors pop and adds a nice depth to the images. I like to recycle and reuse, so I paint on various found materials in addition to canvas. I also participate in the Art-o-mat project which dispenses miniature versions of my art from re-purposed vending machines around the U.S.
"Animism and shamanistic beliefs are a common thread in much of my work. The genesis of these works was inspired by “Afterlife,” an art project sponsored by Visual Aid, in which artists were asked to present their views on death and dying. I chose the raven because of its symbolism in shamanistic cultures where it is considered to be the carrier of the soul. In this series, the raven becomes merged with a figure who, in turn, finds in the raven a catalyst to go from a place of unfulfilled desire to a place of acceptance and peace. Ultimately, the raven becomes a powerful symbol of growth and change.
I think of the whole series as a meditation on change. As I think about the imagery, I begin to see the raven as a metaphor for transformation in my own life as well as an agent for dealing with loss. " ~ Matt Pipes
Omar creates images that blend an Arts and Crafts aesthetic with a bold palette influenced by mid 20th century pop culture. He strives to produce images that have impact - even if they are over the top!
“I love creating beauty all around me and I can’t imagine anything more beautiful than the Feminine essence. Whether it is her form, her ability to create and destroy, or her energetic magnetism, I am simply in love with all of her expressions. I feel honored to channel her through my art, and I do so with outermost delight and in any way that I can. I hope that my audience finds the Feminine as heart melting as I do, and derives inspiration from her power and beauty. “ ~ P. Assal Gheysari
Born in Iran at the beginning of the Islamic Revolution, Priya Assal Gheysari witnessed a significant social and political shift in her country. The consequent upheaval led her family to flee to France and Canada and return to Iran when she was 17. Influenced by the diverse backgrounds she lived in and a deeper sense of curiosity, Priya became fascinated with exploring her femininity, a journey she is fully engaged in today. Her art is a depiction of this journey and a commitment on her part to give voice to the beauty and power of what she refers to as the Goddess Archetype.
My loyalty to painting is coupled with my delight for digital imaging, and one medium informs the other. My computer tools have become essential to my method of sketching a design, choosing colors and executing each piece. The ease with which I can create mathematically precise geometric shapes, mirror reflections and symmetrical iterations has deeply influenced my artistic voice. What's most essential to me is that I'm able to express my visions successfully - I use whatever tools the visions require.
Growing up in Canada, I was surrounded by the visually rich and powerful images of Northern Indigenous artists, full of stylized forms that vibrate with straightforward spirituality. These artists pay homage to the deep connection they feel with nature in their depictions of magical deities and mythological spirit animals, pulsating with colorful life-force energy. Eventually I found myself being drawn to the art of other indigenous cultures such as the ancient people of Australia and South America. The commonalities that inspire me are the expressions of awe at the beauty of the intangible; the act of creating art as a work of devotion; the ability of the artist to bring the unseen into visible form; and most unambiguously, the visceral potency of color.
Profound metaphors and dynamic images are triggered within me when I read the writings of cosmologists and theoretical physicists. The idea that we are nothing more or less than a dance of energetic potentialities is, to me, a palpable truth. This existential dance, like dancing to music, is at its heart, a tapestry of patterns and order. Our brains are pattern-recognition machines, as Michael Shermer calls them, organs that have evolved to look for and interpret patterns in our perceptions. It's how we learn and how we create meaning. This is the essential dialogue between what we believe ourselves to be and what we believe to be outside of ourselves.
"I first learned about Shepard Fairey's work when I was in school in San Diego. I loved the way he pulled images from different media and re-shaped and re-purposed them. And I loved how he shared his art with the world by way of posters and stickers. I began following similar tactics. I found images in children's books and other sources which I began re-purposing for my own stickers and t-shirts. After moving to San Francisco and meeting Dave Warnke, I was inspired to do less image appropriation and more development on my own characters. I now have a small set of four characters which I use in most everything I do.
With these characters as a constant, I've been exploring different mediums in which I can represent them. Primarily, I work with paints: acrylic, spray paint, paint pens. And often, I use recycled materials as my canvas: windows, desk chairs, oven doors, etc. More recently, I've been doing more wood sculpture pieces. These pieces give my characters a new dimension and me a new challenge that was not present in my earlier paintings. I enjoy working with my hands, and I love thinking of new ways I can render my characters for people to enjoy." ~ Mr. Rogers
With my background in the disciplines of both design and fine art, my drawings are a pure expression of my person. My love for colors, the lines, the actions of creating a piece of work with just a small piece of chalk or pastel never ceases to amaze me. I want to keep an innocence and as much intuition that I can allow myself, considering my formal background. I maintain a spontaneous view of the world and have a keen eye for composing, viewing the nuances of the colors and textures of the skin or object. The challenges and anticipation of what will emerge next gives me great pleasure. I favor the more conceptual work as I can never predict the outcome. - R. Rosler
EXPOSED - Genea Barnes
he title of the show, ‘Exposed’, is an intentional double entendre referring to both the literal imagery, figurative nudes, as well as the conceptual framework behind Genea Barnes’ photography. Genea has always been compelled by reality and imagination. She endeavors, in her own words,”… to see what is really there, underneath the masks. But appreciating the masks, the show, and the deceit that our perceptions carry.” - Matt McKinley, curator
The titles, images, and blurbs in the prints I’ve created are a pastiche. I borrow from existing pulps, add some local color and an occasional autobiographical detail, and mix it all up with my own imagination. I find it a delightful challenge to see how many words like “twisted,” “vortex,” “perversion,” and “twilight,” can be crammed into a single sentence! I gathered a small collection of pulps back when you could pick them up for a few bucks. I’ve read quite a few, and for the most part judging these books by their covers would be overly charitable. Nonetheless, the covers express eloquently the social tensions and cultural preoccupations of the era. I find myself drawn to reclaiming pulp art’s busty babes; sex may have been their only source of power, but what delicious domination it was! – Katie Gilmartin
BLIND PERSPECTIVES - Melisa Phillips
The aesthetics of stencil characters interacts with blind contour figure drawings in oil on canvas abstractions by Melisa Philllps
The aesthetic qualities of stenciled letters and symbols produce a pictorial atmosphere filled with depth and visual tension when scale, spacing, color contrast and traditional orientation are all manipulated to challenge the constraints of the picture plane. Instinctually drawn figures ('blind contour' drawings) simultaneously serve as a point of personal entry into these character-based abstractions as well as a foil for comparing both the relative scale of the figure or object to the text characters within the composition and the depth of the picture plane. The conversations between the figures and characters conceal, reveal, support and distort the underlying concept of ‘blind’ compositions producing unique and unexpected results. – Matt McKinley, curator
The new logic that arises from a blind contour figure drawing never ceases to surprise me and continues to inspire me to create environments for them to ‘live in’. I like the broken and bent quality of the drawings, which abstracts the figure down to basics, as well as the feeling that I can't produce the same drawing twice. My progression of images has moved from faces to figures and I think that shift has been more about exploring body archetypes and feelings that thematically direct each piece. All of the figures are turned with their backs to the viewer, hiding themselves, but also turning toward the layered background of the painting, directing our focus there rather than at the figure itself. – Melisa Phillips
NOW IS ALREADY PAST - Gianfranco Paolozzi
When I asked about his works, Gianfranco Paolozzi simply replied, “Art is life and only life”.This succinct statement, simple, direct and, in his case, accurate, comes not from the standpoint of elitist dogma espousing ‘A’rt’s pre-eminence over all other aspects of life.To the contrary, it is a statement from a maker who, with an understanding of the ephemeral nature of life and a compulsion to explore the possibilities within each moment in time, uses his marks to log his presence.Each canvas becomes a summation of these marks, distillations of Gianfranco’s unconscious thoughts, energy, and emotional state at the time they are made, which create a ‘permanent’ record that speaks to the both being in the moment and the interrelationship of one moment to the next.– Matt McKinley, curator
“I need to start to mark my presence here. I start with a line. I start with a color. I start on one canvas. After the first canvas absorbs the initial lines the second canvas has marks, a continuation of what was present, now past, on the first canvas. The third and forth canvasses follow. All white surfaces are marked. I'm here. I was there. I can continue to mark the past on all the surfaces. All the lines become actions of the past. I'm trying to be in the present. One small line, 2, 3, 4 more........... Soon [as] I start the mark, I created the past. I do not know the future. I cannot be in the future. The canvasses are work of the past already. How can I stop in the present? Can I stop in the present? When I die, that moment when I'll die, that dot of the line of my life, that small dot that becomes past, that small dot that interrupts the line, that line, my line, my life, is that dot, that moment, going to be the eternal present?” – G. Paolozzi
ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS - Charlotte Kay
“As a photographer of urban landscapes I’m elated when there are clouds to give texture to the sky. Throughout my life the elusive, ethereal, and elemental beauty of clouds has enthralled me. In this new collection of work,Atmospheric Conditions, the clouds and fog play a starring role as San Francisco becomes the backdrop. I tend to see patterns of color, shapes and shadows in both natural and man-made environments, capturing in my images the beauty created when these two environments combine.” – Charlotte Kay
The rich color palette of Jan Small’s most recent nudes combined with confident brushwork imbue a strong kinetic energy that radiates from each work. Essentially portraits of feminine power, all at once bold, sensual and assertive, the female form as rendered by Ms. Small communicates a statement of empowered confidence informed by positive body image.
image: 'Woman In Moonlight' 24 x 20 Oil on Canvas 2008
UNBUTTON THE PAGE - Cheryl McDonald
Unbutton the page
What is inside that clean white facade?
It is unknown
What will it lead to when you have come undone?
– C. McDonald
“Each image is an expression of emotion and experiences I have been through; a journal of life and what my perception of it is. I use contemporary cultural symbols to express universal concepts and allow the viewer to make up the details of the story on their own.”
Image: 'Hanging On To The Last Mask' Graphite, Color Pencil 30 x 22 2008
CATERING FOR THE EVENT PROVIDED BY PIAZZA MARKET:
Piazza Market, the newest addition to North Beach, opened December 3, 2008. Fountains, Italian tile, Tromp l'oeil village facades and ceiling give you the feel of sitting outside in an Italian Piazza. You can enjoy specially prepared food by the pound and sip a glass of wine or share a bottle with friends while sitting by the indoor fountain. Our Wine Store offers over 400 different Californian and Italian wines with some of the best prices in the city. We are excited to be part of the North Beach neighborhood and look forward to establishing long term relationships with everyone here in San Francisco.
“Miners. I am interested in the concept of living and working underground— what that represents spiritually. Moving through darkness guided only by the light that one carries.
Research for the MINERS began in 2005 well before the media picked up on the Sago mine disaster. I found a commonality in the faces regardless of age or race. After five months, the first, BLUEMINER, was completed. That one painting encapsulated the feeling I was hoping to portray and was the standard I tried to emulate in each.
The related objects (helmets, gloves, lanterns) soon blossomed into icons and the nod to “Americana” also intrigued me. The expressions are not so different from you and me after a “day in the mines”. I tempered that expression with color. As the series continued, I became focused on pushing away traditional color and temperature. Purple jackets, race-less faces and pink lanterns are unexpected in paintings of miners. The series culminated with the largest and most ambitious piece 4 MINERS.
The mixed media work beginning in 2008 is derived from events taking place around us. Sometimes shocking, sometimes humorous. I developed a technique that utilizes resin, pigment and oil on hand-cut panels. I've broken away from squares and rectangles and now have the freedom to create any shape I need. More sculptural in nature, this work is a great step forward. Playing with opacities and focal points allows me to better determine how the viewer perceives the image.” – Scott Mickelson
Image: 'Alemany Exit' Resin, Pigment on Hand Cut Panel, 40 X 36 (approx.), 2008
DAY OF THE DEAD - Maria Bartola Mejia
MARIA BARTOLA MEJIA considers herself a documentary photographer, pushing the boundaries of how to connect with her subjects in found scenarios rather than staged or posed settings.
This exhibit features select images from her journey to capture the spirit of the people that participate in the unique cultural celebration, Day Of The Dead.
The Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) is a holiday celebrated mainly in Mexico and by people of Mexican heritage (and others) living in the United States and Canada. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and relatives who have died. The celebration occurs on the 1st and 2nd of November, in connection with the Catholic holy days of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. Traditions include building private altars honoring the deceased, using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts.
THE GOOD OLD DAYS
THE GOOD OLD DAYS
Depictions of bygone eras and nostalgic images of people, places and things that remind us of what we still appreciate about our individual and collective pasts.
featured artists: Judith Miller, Marie Dvorkin, Virginia Garcia, Ann Simms, Charlotte Kay, Dannell Powell, Bernice Gross, Lisa Fiorentino, Steven Gray, Irene Hendrick
LANDSCAPE IMPRESSIONS - Tisha Kenny
These sumi ink and watercolor landscapes incorporate both Asian brush painting techniques and impressionist style to depict both beautiful scenes from her travels and plein air views of the Bay Area.
image: Romantic Oak Lane, 2005, Watercolor, 26" x 33"
