Leigh Merrill at Women and Their Work Gallery, Austin, TX
One of our favorite photographic ventriloquists is Dallas-based artist Leigh Merrill. Leigh received her MFA from Mills in Oakland, so called the Bay Area her home, and creative source, for several years. Since moving to Texas, she has borrowed inspiration from urbanscapes of that region her constructions.
The show is called, “Still,” and is at Women and Their Work Gallery in Austin, Texas, now through November 21, 2013.
From the web site: “Still is quiet yet unsettled. Leigh Merrill digitally constructs prints and videos of imaginary but familiar feeling places. Utilizing warehouse imagery that goes on and on, the changes in the images are subtle - a cloud shifts slowly across a parking lot. They suggest a visual hyperbole – an embellished scene circulating around a small fascinating detail. The seamless quality of these photo-based works slowly unravels, giving viewers a sense of curiosity as these hard to place street scenes shift in unfamiliar ways.”
This exhibitions features two large 18’ wide video projections and her recent panoramic photographic piece, The Strip, from the Fictional/Familiar show at Swarm Gallery (May-June 2013).
http://www.leighmerrill.com
Enjoy!
Web browsing: Making Space, a workshop with Emma Spertus
We can't think of a better title than "Making Space" for a program facilitated by Oakland-based artist Emma Spertus. Space has been Emma's intimate study for as long as we've known her work. She uses photography, installation, reproduction, repetition, and other mixed media and concepts to express her thoughts on the broad subject. If you are interested in exploring facets of this theme yourself, don't miss this workshop, held at the Berkeley-based Kala Institute Saturday, September 14, 10am-4pm (that's tomorrow!). Click here for more info and registration.
*Bio note: Emma's multi-media installation, "Assembly" was shown in Swarm Gallery's project space during our final exhibition. Click here to read about exhibit and see images.
We recently took a trip to visit our friends Aaron Harbour and Jackie Im at Et al., their new project-cum-gallery space run with Facundo Arganaraz, located inconspicuously beneath Union Cleaners in San Francisco's Chinatown. Currently on view is a selection of new works by Aaron Finnis, marking this the fourth exhibition in the young space and the first Bay Area solo show for the artist.
Aaron Finnis, Installation shot, Image courtesy of Et al.
Resting on the floor, tilted against or hung on the wall, the presented works examine the relationship between both atavistic and contemporary analog and digital material. Prefabricated objects, such as desktops and drawers, serve as the base for the printed surfaces. The sharp parallel lines, which run both horizontal and vertical, recall magnetic tape once commonly used to store information, while the checkerboard compositions immediately remind one of a blank photoshop file. Rather than offering a monochrome experience, Finnis playfully injects these works with gradients of color spanning the RGB spectrum. This is reinforced by the title of each work -- "2 KB (RGB: Magenta/Yellow)" for example -- which further tells one how much magnetic tape would be needed to store the work's referred amount of information. With these works, one is reminded not only of the changing nature of technology but of its increasing presence and role in one's daily life.
This exhibit runs through September 14, 2013. Et al. is open Thursday - Saturday, as well as be appointment. Be sure to see the work, and stay tuned for what Et al. has in store! For more information visit etaletc.com.
Installation and artwork images courtesy of Et al.
As promised, here is some excellent documentation of Jessalyn and Paul's work at Facebook this summer. The duo completed two individual installations each, and two collaborative installations. View the original blog post here. Photos by Paul Morgan. All images courtesy of the artists.
One of our latest and favorite artists, Mathew Zefeldt, opens his first museum exhibition at the Santa Monica Museum of Art in a couple of weeks. "Mathew Zefledt: Forms Forming Forms" was organized by New York-based curator Jeffrey Uslip and includes painting, installation, and sculpture. Mathew is a studious, prolific painter dedicated to his studio practice, and hugely ambitious professionally. His electrifying works combine Classicism, painterly obsession, and "ultra-zing" that conjures up the tech age. His works are some of the most exciting we've seen of late, so we are super happy for him. If you're in the area, GO GO GO! You will not be disappointed. September 13, 2013 - January 11, 2014. Opening reception Thursday, September 12, 6-7PM (members), Public opening 7-9PM.
Mathew Zefeldt, "Head-Face #4" (2012), Acrylic on canvas, 83 x 63 inches. Image courtesy of the artist.
Here's what the museum has the say:
Matthew Zefeldt: Forms Forming Formsis the first museum exhibition for this emerging Bay Area painter who has created an immersive, optical installation for SMMoA, rendering the gallery walls into a hallucinatory backdrop for three of his monumental still lifes. Fluorescent washes of color and intricate patterns of stripes, chevrons, and plaids provide the backdrops for the work in Forms Forming Forms. Headface, as one example of Zefeldt’s jubilant exploration of paint, is part still life part portrait, set upon a dizzying gingham background. Dozens of identical Classical busts, each painstakingly hand-painted, crudely outline a stick-figure face with gaping holes for its eyes and mouth. Zefeldt describes his paintings as windows into fictional worlds. With the steady hand of a masterful painter he plays with a reliance on simple forms reminiscent of Microsoft’s Paint, complete with pixel-induced shakiness and clip art-style copying and pasting.
The paintings and patterns inForms Forming Forms call up the visual lexicon of early 1990s computer hackers, who created viruses and other self-reproducing computer programs, which used excess and obfuscation to distract as they wiped out memories. Using this just-outdated aesthetic as a trojan horse, Zefeldt successfully invokes the digital age while ultimately emphasizing a love of paint. His still lifes encompass all of paint’s visual tools from abstraction to figuration: at times he piles paint directly onto canvas to emphasize its literal, sculptural qualities, but he also paints narratives with illusionistic, three-dimensional figures in two-dimensional planes. In Zefeldt’s paintings, repetitive decorous patterns are transformed from the monotonous into the maniacal.
As a beacon in SMMoA’s Fall 2013 exhibition schedule,Forms Forming Formsinvites viewers to consider the crisis of individuality in an era of instantaneous image sharing and replication. The project reflects SMMoA’s unique capacity as akunsthalle to collaborate with contemporary artists and highlight ambitious, never-before-seen artworks and installations.
Mathew Zefeldt: Forms Forming Forms is organized by Jeffrey Uslip, curator-at-large for the Santa Monica Museum of Art.
To see more of what Mathew is up to, visit http://www.mathewzefeldt.com
Mayumi is busy with her post at Kala Art Institute in Berkeley, but finds studio time for her beautiful and detailed art. Her work is subtle and enchanting, but carries strong political messages. Some pieces involve layers upon layers of paper cut out and pinned together like topographic maps. At first glance, it looks like a sculptural representation of a landscape. Looking closer, you can see her source is a photograph from wartime. Sometimes the shapes of Mayumi's pieces give her subjects away, like a group of soldiers standing in front of a fighter plane. Other times the subjects remain hidden, like the ravaged pages of history: a crowd of war captives, dead soldiers laying in lines in Germany, or Kamikaze soldiers right before their final flights. The understated presentation of this work is what makes it so interesting. In contrast to overtly political art, Mayumi pulls you closer into the nuanced details of her constructions. The effect is disarming and curious, and at times heart-wrenching.
Mayumi presents some work in this group exhibition (info below), closing Friday, August 2, 5-8PM at the Asian Resource Center, 310 8th Street (between Webster & Harrison) Oakland, CA 94607.
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Urban Imprints: Scratching the Surface
Artists: Paz de la Calzada, Marie-Jose Durquet, Mayumi Hamanaka, and Sun Hongbin
Curated by Lucy Seena K. Lin & Abby Chen, San Francisco Chinese Culture Foundation
Urban Imprints: Scratching the Surface - The exhibition showcases four artists whose works dialogue with the urban environment – its structures and surfaces. Sun Hongbin captures markings on walls in Beijing, China, left from interactions with individuals. Whether intentional or unintentional in its imprints, the markings represent a collision between people and the urban experience. Mayumi Hamanaka in her cutouts of landscapes and terrains actively reclaims site and history. Her images tying place together through time reflects the need to make connections in order to keep the history of events in a collective memory. Marie-Jose Durquet’s pieces comment on the environmental impact of urbanization. The works exist in two-dimensional form as well as public art where those encountering urban areas may witness the subtle interventions. Furthering active mark making in the public sphere, Paz de la Calzada creates large murals on city surfaces. Her mural of hair can be seen weaving through the length of a building wall. In her animations, she projects the possibility of her drawings to activate multiple urban surfaces. These interventions allow a glimpse of how we perceive and affect the surrounding environment. The artists in Urban Imprints: Scratching the Surface reveal that cities are alive and in constant evolution. The exhibition points to how we, as people, exist within them.
Preamble: If I were being brutally honest with myself about running an art gallery business, I would admit that the studio visits, time with the artists to establish and develop critique and in-depth discourse about the work and production of an exhibit are all compromised by the daily details of keeping the doors open. I'm not saying having a financial drive is problematic for art galleries. It's as necessary as any other business. I'm just saying as a sole proprietor, I had to prioritize the more pragmatic aspects of running the gallery over the ones that inspired me to open the gallery in the first place. In an ideal situation, like having a co-director or two, one would be able to balance the creative and curatorial needs of working with artists and developing programs with the administrative needs of the business. One thing I very much look forward to in my post-brick and mortar era is more studio visits and dialogue with artists about, yep, you guessed it, art.
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Michael and I visited Greg Ito at his San Francisco live/work space. Greg is an SFAI grad, former owner/director/co-operator of Ever Gold Gallery (with Andrew McClintock), presently the Co-Founder and Asst Editor of SFAQ, and full-time artist. He was proud to give us the tour of his epic self-fabricated space, and share recent exploits in his own practice.
After the tour we reviewed Greg's past projects and talked about the trajectory of his work. For someone so ensconced in the art world, Greg was refreshingly casual about discussing his art. He obviously takes his practice very seriously, but nothing was too precious. Packed with ideas and the wherewithall to fabricate pretty much anything he wants, Greg talked for over an hour about the arc of this process, with some interspersed questions and comments from us. Greg definitely developes his relationship to themes, and then arranges objects (he refers to them as "ready-mades") along the lines of these themes. There is a evident sense of humor in his arrangements but it's not over the top. I laughed out loud with one particular piece, but that was because it symbolically represented a way I feel when trying to relax. "Yep," I thought, "that is pretty much it." The piece was a semi-inflated beach ball strangled with a cord around its midsection and a head-scratcher on one end.
Greg also makes his objects interchangeable. He has a staging area in his studio where he creates installations and moves things around as he sees necessary. It's like his own play space. Conceptually, Greg is working with ideas of our connection to the natural world, with somewhat of a spiritual slant (what moves us inside to seek this connection?), along with ideas around leisure time (what do we do with it?). Some of the second tier themes focus on asinine aspects of our human rituals around vacation (spray tanning before going on a tropical trip, for example). Another sub-theme Greg works with is accessibility. Perhaps not coincidentally, Greg is highly concerned with how his work is received. He places a high value on people understanding what he's trying to say without too many conceptual hoops to jump through. He wants his viewer to "get" it. He showed us some images from a solo exhibition at Eleanor Harwood Gallery (November 2012) where he said this was successful. Greg's upcoming projects are definitely going to be worth a visit. They are a development of the work he has already done, bringing in new ideas of objecthood, space, and an immersive experience for the viewer. I'm excited. Hope you are too. Stay tuned at gregoryito.com.
Former Swarm Gallery artist Laura Ball unveils the mystique of her work in this short video profile. Laura had a solo show at Swarm Gallery in 2009, a two-person show in 2011, and was a part of numerous group exhibitions between 2007 and 2011. A graduate of UC Berkeley’s MFA program, Laura currently resides in Southern California and is represented by David B. Smith gallery (Denver), and Morgan Lehman (NY). I’ve been a diehard fan of Laura’s work since I saw it in LA in 2005, and feel very proud to see such skillful development of her artistic prowess. Enjoy!
http://vimeo.com/m/70014602
Facebook Town - A Visit with Jessalyn Aaland + Paul Morgan
On Wednesday, I visited Swarm artists Jessalyn and Paul during their curious residency at the Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park. Aside from a huge building with thousands of tech workers, I imagined stocked fridges, ping pong tables, maybe a few bean bags here and there. I really didn't know what to expect of the home office, much less of an art program there. Jessalyn and Paul were waiting for me in the front lobby, sitting beneath a huge monitor showing a map of the campus. I nervously signed my name on an iPad at the reception to obtain a visitor pass (noting without surprise the hip fluorescent orange lace for around my neck), and we passed through the building into what I assumed to be the inner courtyard. Instead, it was more like a small European town, with a thoroughfare of pedestrians and cyclists heading from one building to the next. Within 15 seconds, my mind was blown. Really. Blown. And my cheeks were already hurting from smiling.
Everything I observed, Paul would reply, "Oh, it gets better" (and by "better," he meant "more mind-blowing.") And he was right. At first I noticed the dashed traffic stripe down the middle of the road, the landscaping, the free bikes, buildings, and gaggles of happy and purposeful people enjoying the sunny day. Then I noticed the Facebook-branded drink coolers, the help-yourself Espresso machines (everywhere), and snack stations that looked like grocery stores. There was an organic cafeteria serving up fresh meals three times a day, a "Facebook blue" clothing store, tech equipment vending machines, restaurants, clubs, arcades, cafes, sweet shops, a wood shop, and outdoor movie theater. Winding our way through the buildings, we saw tons of work space, sprawling rooms filled with large monitors, and busy Facebook team members ensconced in work we couldn't even imagine. Back-end tech guys? Marketing? Design? Who knew. It was like a bee colony at work. No one seemed to notice or care about us, even as we continued to coo and gasp in astonishment like French teenagers at a perfumery.
I suppose it makes sense that one of the largest and most successful web-based social network companies would basically have its own town to house its worker bees. It is a brilliant model to promote pride and productivity. Everything is free if you have an employee badge. Need a new shirt? Swipe it. Need an external DVD player? Swipe it. Want a fresh sandwich, some green juice, or frozen yogurt? Just stand in line. Amazing. In addition to a Philz Coffee, there are two special restaurants you actually have to pay to patronize. Even still, I'd never seen, much less experienced such an excessively playful, pampered, and permissive work environment. So, the concept of an artist in residence program at a place like this became more concrete and sensible to me.
After a scan of the grounds and a hearty lunch (I helped myself to Louisiana-style fried fish, black-eyed peas, savory polenta, a Cesar salad, and a trip to the sweet shop), we grabbed free bikes and cruised over to "the lab" to meet Drew Bennett, the residency organizer. Drew is an artist and Facebook employee who in the fall of 2012, started informally inviting artists he knew to make work there. After a few months, he became full-time and has since organized a studio on campus called the "Facebook Analog Research Laboratory". The lab is stocked to the gills with printing presses and art supplies, all at the disposal of the resident artists. I ran into Barbara Holmes there, an Oakland-based furniture artist I know. She was working on a trademark spiral installation out of plaster lath for one of the "big walls." Drew handed me an in-house publication documenting the residency program. Many of the artists I recognized from the local art world, which was a really nice discovery.
In many ways, art makes sense there. In many ways, it's like a lost tourist. Throughout the endless hallways, stairwells, and dimly lit corners, there are art installations, some by resident artists, some by employees. In one of the large lobbies, a famed David Choe mural resides. Many hallways are filled with graphic posters bearing motivational and humorous messages. In one stairwell, there is a more formal installation by SF-based artist Jane Kim, with wall paintings, framed works, and small sculptures in customized alcoves (below).
Jessalyn explained that the resident artists have the opportunity to tour the grounds and decide where they want to work. Artists are encouraged to create work that "jives" with the space and environment, and barring any radical or offensive messages, are given carte blanche to create. Jessalyn and Paul chose discreet alcoves in an underutilized space to do their individual work, and two other locales to do collaborative pieces. I wondered to myself if I wouldn't prefer to have my work in a more "visible", or high-traffic area. But then it was clear that space didn't have a hierarchical bias at Facebook. It was Facebook. There really didn't seem to be a need to strategize that way.
In its own way, the informal mash-up of randomly placed installations works. As you walk around, you happen upon art like an unexpected friend. Some pieces "work" better than others, but then again, it depends on who you ask. This isn't a museum or residency program in a formal art institution. The lack of pretense was initially disorienting for me, but then came as a relief. I dropped all expectations of hanging height, lighting, signage, and other markers of a heightened awareness of the "public viewing experience," and just enjoyed the art. And not just the art itself, but the "art" of making art in a place like this. As soon as we passed one piece, I found myself scanning the walls for another. I also found myself looking at the employees and wondering how, if at all, they engage with the work. I asked the question out loud. Jessalyn and Paul said the employees have various levels of engagement with the artists and work. Some seem not to notice, some stop and start conversations. And a few add on (see Post-It note and chart left by anonymous employees below). Judging from Jessalyn and Paul's responses to this question, this has been one of many highlights of the residency for them.
Finally we visited Jessalyn and Paul's work sites. Each of them expressed excitement about the opportunity to work large-scale. One of the collaborative installations they recreated from their two-person Swarm Gallery exhibition. Of course, their individual works mimicked their individual styles. For Jessalyn, it is craft-oriented collage with lots of color and formal compositions. For Paul, it is full-spectrum, mind-boggling repetitions and visual musicality. Even though his images are still, they dance.
One of my 101 questions was, Is it hard to leave this place at the end of the day? They both responded, yes, but that it will be nice to be home once it's over. They are making great use of this opportunity, arriving by 9 in the morning, and leaving after dinner. And true to tech work life, they are often there on the weekends too. According to Jessalyn, artists are generously compensated for their work, which is always great to hear these days. It was also nice to reflect on the residual benefits of an opportunity like this for emerging, or any level artist. I certainly hope the connections they've made, the work they create and document, and the experience they've absorbed will act as a tributary in the stream of their art careers.
(Photos of final pieces will be posted at a later date)
Kathy's art motion isn't slowing down anytime soon. The South Bay-based artist is taking her practice on the road. From our local beach town Pacifica, to Belgium to Seoul, Korea, we follow her exciting next steps.
First, the Asian American Women Art Association presents "Shifting the Body," featuring Kathy's work along with the work of Jennifer Huang, Bonnie Wai-Lee Kwong, Julee Lee, Cathy Lu, Melissa Nolledo, Wei Lah Poh, Ruya Qian, Mara Red, and Cindy Shih. The group show is at the Sanchez Art Center in Pacifica and should be a grand old time. Opening is Friday, July 12, 7-9PM at 1220 Linda Mar Blvd, Pacifica, CA. Curated by Pamela Ybañez, and presented through Asian American Women Artist Curator Mentorship program. Through August 10, 2013.
Kathy just left for a five-week residency at Frans Masereel Centrum in Belgium. The center "offers residencies and a work place to graphic designers, artists and critics who want to work with intaglio, relief printing, screen print or lithography, or who want to investigate the relationship of graphics with other visual arts." Kathy will be realizing a lithography project during her stay. Below is an image of "Not Another Damn Parade," which was included in Kathy's recent solo show at Swarm Gallery (Note, the etching just sold from the Crocker Art Museum auction in Sacramento for nearly double its retail value. We love that!)
Kathy Aoki, Not Another Damn Parade (2012), Etching, 8 x 10 inches
In August, Gallery Godo will present Kathy's work for exhibition. The work will be selected from "Construction of Modern Girlhood" series (2003-2005).
Kathy Aoki, West Sorting Station (2003), Acrylic with Paint Marker, 50 x 70 inches
For more of Kathy's projects, visit her artist web site, http://www.kaoki.com/ or http://swarmgallery.com/kathy-aoki/. Cheers!
In January, I visited Kyle Austin Dunn at his Headlands studio, and was pretty keen on his work. I generally enjoy art that refers to the natural environment, or our perception of it, and has some conceptual social or political slant. Kyle's work is neither. In fact, it hardly bares a message at all. It is highly accomplished stylistically without taking itself too seriously. He is experimental with materials without showing his hand. There's wizardry in his practice of making metal look like wood paneling, plastic look like metal, and shadows look like light. His bright palette and polished products feel like a reference from a materialistic past. Yet still, I love the work, simply for being itself. It lives in a world of its own. I was happy to come across "Fan Mail" on Daily Serving, and see this interview. Enjoy!
Mathew Zefeldt + Chris Pew exhibition bridges the next stage for Swarm
Installation view, What Are I?, exhibition of works by Mathew Zefeldt
We handled a remarkably graceful, mildly emotional, and very satisfying "goodbye" of our 2nd Street brick and mortar gallery last week. We've been expecting some of the tumbleweed feelings to arise, but perhaps due to all the work that went into the smooth and peaceful transition, we are feeling pretty positive and excited for our future! It has helped to have worked with the boldly talented and soft-spoken artist Mathew Zefeldt, and a longtime friend and equally talented artist Chris Pew. The two-person show befits its new digs, a vast and clean rectangular space next to Johansson Projects on 23rd, Hatch Gallery. As we say goodbye to Swarm Gallery, we say hello to new curatorial projects in new spaces, along with other exciting prospects. Visit our web site for details, and please come see us! We will be here Fridays and Saturdays 1-5PM, and first Friday, July 5, 5-8PM. Through July 20, 2013.
Installation view, 80 Milliseconds in the Past, exhibition of works by Chris Pew
We have a handful of oh-so-exciting events coming up over the next week and a half. Kicking things off is an artist talk with Cybele Lyle and Emma Spertus, who are exhibiting in our current exhibition, Fictional/Familiar, with Leigh Merrill. Contributing to the discussion, which will be moderated by our very own Svea Soll, is Aaron Harbour of Et al. Gallery (San Francisco).
Cybele Lyle, Untitled (What's Yours Is Mine, Sculpture), 2013
Emma Spertus, Assembly, 2013
Saturday 1 June 2013
3 o'clock
Swarm Gallery
560 Second Street
Oakland, CA 94607
We had a great time at Fort Mason participating in artMRKT 2013. With galleries from the Bay Area, East Coast, and even as far as Tel Aviv showing strong selections of work, it was a great weekend for art in San Francisco. Here are a few snapshots from our long art-filled weekend!
Swarm associate Michael in the booth on opening night.
The crowd. What a crowd it was!
Taro Hattori's installation, Obscenity - a version for brotherhood, on display in the entrance.
The morning of the final day!
We received a few great shout-outs from our friends at SFAQ Online and 7x7. Read what they had to say about the fair and Swarm's participation here:
It is art fair season in San Francisco! We are pleased to announce Swarm's participation in artMRKT at Fort Mason, May 16 - 19, 2013.
Come visit us at booth #506, where we will be exhibiting new and recent works by Jessalyn Aaland, Syndey Cohen, Adam Katseff, Leigh Merrill, Ethan Worden, and Mathew Zefeldt. An installation by Taro Hattori will be on view in the fair entrance.
Adam Katseff, Bedroom (Facing North), North Andover, Massachusetts (2012)
Mathew Zefeldt, Head #1 (2012)
Leigh Merrill, Bushes (2009)
For more information and a calendar of events, check out the the artMRKT website here. Also be sure to read a recent interview of artMRKT's Max Fishko here.
Exhibiting artist Emma Spertus has a great feature in the current issue of San Francisco Arts Quarterly. Writer A. Will Brown discusses Emma's studio practice based out of Real Time & Space, a studio and residency program she runs near Oakland Museum of California, and shares thoughtful analyses of a selection of her works.
Swarm has been a longtime distributor of SFAQ. Please feel free to come to the gallery, pick up a copy, and check out Emma's project "Assembly" on view in Fictional/Familiar through June 9, 2013.
Last night, studio artist Kristina Basgen of Tina Produce really turned it out for our May Oakland Art Murmur extravaganza! Screen printing, music, and dancing galore.
Kristina has been working on a national order for Anthropologie's summer catalog, and recently sent out her first shipment of screen printed linens. Check out her products here.
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