Dec 15, 2015
john patrick mckenzie
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Russia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Congo - Brazzaville
seen from Ireland
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from Netherlands
seen from Japan
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Netherlands
seen from Belarus
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
john patrick mckenzie
John Patrick McKenzie
I came across the work of John Patrick McKenzie on a spring trip to San Francisco (in town on a secret GT Issue 2 mission!) at Creativity Explored, a gallery in the Mission District that supports work by artists with developmental disabilities by providing them with the means to create and exhibit their art. Among these artists is John Patrick McKenzie, who's expressive, hand lettered work is full of wonderful, poetic, often-humous free-associative statements that speak to our culture and everyday life. See more work here—definitely worth a few minutes exploring on this Friday morning.
CREATE @ Berkeley Art Museum
The "CREATE" show is curated by Larry Rinder, Director for the Berkeley Art Museum and Matthew Higgs, Director for White Columns, New York. It's a great reunion of sorts as both served as Director of the Wattis. Rinder, being its founding director. With great sensibilities and vision, the pair have put together an incredible showing by artists from Creative Growth Art Center in Oakland, San Francisco’s Creativity Explored, and NIAD Art Center in Richmond.
I spent a lot of time at the show which is always a good sign. Each piece held its own in this vast group exhibition including over 20 artists from the Bay Area. The works were very formalized, but fun. There was a tension that pulled me into examine and enjoy each piece-an openness of approach paired with precision of execution overwhelmed me to say the least. I wanted to buy so many of them. I wish they didn't prohibit photographing the work, so you could see, well you should see, this show.
A sculpture sailed silently on one of the landings. With a delicate peach textile, my current fave color, braced by wood slats it stood tall and non-threatening. A flag for pastel. Representing Tuttle. Representing blushing. Representing the power of silence and softness. Drawings of repetitive ovular scribbles. Red and abstract with some figurations, they echoed the late Twombly's strokes but evoked an emergence of Basquiat's crude characters. The yarn sculptures (one pictured above) was like Isa Genzken on speed. Pulling, kinetic and frenetic the spider coccoons its prey into oblivion. The aggressive multicolored yarns draw 3 dimensionally and have the fury of a Louise Bourgeois.
The one that floored me, with most bravado, was the John Patrick McKenzie piece. The beloved San Francisco artist that I've been following for over 12 years, wrote, (bless him) over a Felix Gonzales-Torres piece. Known for his cut-up writing style, channeling Brion Gyson and with perhaps a bit of his tongue in cheek humor as well, he added to this poster that everyone had picked up at the SFMoMA. It was inspiring because he had attempted to overwrite this sacred ground and he totally succeeded. Like, when I remixed an Aphex Twin track. No one had ever touched it. But I thought, it's matter. It's for us to use.
This show is set to tour, but everyone in the Bay Area should really see it. And, at what better time than during George Chen's L@TE programs? It's a triple-header during the Kurt Schwitters seminal collage show. I'll be hangin' hard in the Merzbau. We can listen to Sir Richard Bishop. So, stop complaining about all the bad shows. Take BART and take 3 hours, to really soak in these exhibitions. We're lucky to have so much talent here, and the curators to celebrate these exceptional artists. (pssst. I think that a couple works might be missing.. I didn't see Chris and Ben Ospital's painting from their collection? Maybe, it will be there this Friday).
John Patrick McKenzie is one of Creativity Explored's most prolific artists. He currently has a solo show at Creativity Explored called They Are Full of Holy Nonsense which runs from 28 April to 22 June, timed to coincide with a show at the UC Berkeley Art Museum called Create! If you are in San Francisco, please, please go see either/both of those shows.
Creativity Explored
3245 16th Street (at Guerrero Street), San Francisco CA 94103
Studio Hours:
M-F 8:30-2:30
Gallery Hours:
M, T, W, and F 10:00-3:00
Th 10:00-7:00
S 1:00-6:00