Porto Franco Art Parlor

I visited a new-to-me gallery this weekend: Porto Franco Art Parlor, at 953 Valencia, San Francisco. It's a small second floor walk-up in a Victorian building between 20th & 21st (across from Liberty Street.) Imagine a tiny apartment, turn each room into an exhibition space, and use the kitchen-dining area as the reception space. It's a warm, friendly space and it was really humming - lots of people were coming in off the street to check out the show, which was a retrospective of drawings by Henry Elinson.

As one of the visitors (an Elison collector) said:

"Violently pink and angry, and intrusive. Talent huge and phallic, like a battering ram, that makes me wince. But the gallery - Parlor - is a kind of place that you just want to have in San Francisco. Former bath house/spa and parlor for the ladies is understated, smart, whimsical and smooth, run by the owners who make you feel welcome and at ease ."

The next show at Porto Franco is an exhibition of drawings and sketches by Franchesca Yarbusova, wife and collaborator of animator Yuri Norstein.