Fiestas Frida

Creativity Explored artist Nita Hicks, known for her portraits of iconic women, painted an image of Frida Kahlo for display in the Somos Frida Community Day event on July 7, 2013.

See Nita's work along with several other artists' portrayal of the infamous Frida Kahlo during this one-day exhibition. The Somos Frida Community Day event also includes live performers and dancers, local artisans and vendors, face painting for youth, and a costume contest for the Best Frida, Fridita, Fridrag, Diego and Dieguito.

This one-day event and exhibition is part of Fiestas Frida, a yearly event celebrating the life of Frida Kahlo.
Somos Frida Community DaySunday, July 7, 2013
2:00 pm to 9:00 pm

The Women's Building
3543 18th Street, #8
San Francisco, CA 94110

http://www.examiner.com/article/somos-frida-community-day

'Folding Paper: The Infinite Possibilities of Origami' at the Crocker Art Museum

Richard Sweeney. "03M (Partial Shell), 2010. Watercolor paper, wet folded. Credits:  @Richard Sweeney.

 "Folding Paper: The Infinite Possibilities of Origami" at the Crocker Art Museum is the first major exhibition to explore the rich tradition of paper folding, both in Japan and Europe.

“Folding Paper” is organized into four sections, beginning with The History of Origami. Paper was introduced to Japan via China around the 6th century AD and Japanese paper folding is assumed to have begun shortly afterward. Rooted in the ceremonial world, most notably in the native Shinto tradition, priests performed purification rituals using zigzag strips of folded white papers known as shide. Paper folding as a pastime arose under the Imperial Court of the Heian period (794-1185).

A little known European tradition of paper folding also existed, and after Japan adopted the German kindergarten system in the late 19th century, both Eastern and Western paper-folding techniques were incorporated into the Japanese curriculum as a method of developing children’s mathematical, artistic and manual skills. The two folding traditions combined to become known for the first time as “origami”—which translates to “folded paper.”

Michael LaFosse, Alexander Swallowtail. Butterfly

The second section, "Animals and Angels: Representations of Real and Imagined Realms, "illustrates the work of origami artists who create realistic and stylized representations of the natural and supernatural worlds. Many contemporary origami artists have transcended the traditional flat, angular representations of animals and humans and use specially made paper to enhance textural richness. Artist Eric Joisel and Michael LaFosse, in particular, have adopted the wet-folding technique—which enables the smoothing and rounding of points and angles—so skillfully that their figures appear chiseled rather than folded.

 Miyuki Kawamura

"Angles and Abstractions: Geometric Forms and Conceptual Constructions" highlights origami’s mathematical roots through modular objects and tessellations. Typically, modulars are geometric structures like the works of mathematician Tom Hull and artist Miyuki Kawamura, whose works are made up of many pieces of paper held together with friction and tension, but they can be as diverse as the twisted floral forms of Krystyna and Wojtek Burczyk and Heinz Strobl’s paper strip spheres.

The final section, "Inspirational Origami: Its Impact on Science, Industry, Fashion and Beyond," explores the transformative power of modern-day origami. Origami is not only used to explain and teach arithmetic and geometry, but computational origami employs algorithms and theory to solve complex problems. For example, Dr. Robert J. Lang is a scientist and mathematician who used computational origami to determine how to fold the lens for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Eyeglass Telescope so that it could be launched compactly and then re-opened in space. The resulting design used an origami structure he called the “Umbrella” after its resemblance in the furled state to a collapsible umbrella.

216 O Street. Sacramento, CA 95814. 916.808.7000. cam@crockerartmuseum.org

https://www.crockerartmuseum.org/  Through September 29.

At the Examiner.com: http://www.examiner.com/article/folding-paper-the-infinite-possibilities-of-origami-at-the-crocker-art-museum

'Beyond Belief' opens at the Contemporary Jewish Museum

Agnes Martin, Falling Blue, 1963; oil and graphite on canvas; 71 7/8 in. x 72 in. (182.56 cm x 182.88 cm).

Co-organized by the Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM) and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), Beyond Belief: 100 Years of the Spiritual in Modern Art is an expansive exhibition conceived as a journey into the connections between spirituality and modern and contemporary art. Spanning the years from 1911 to 2011, the exhibition features more than sixty works on loan from SFMOMA.

The exhibit benefits from the more intimate space; smaller works like those by Klee and Kandinsky have been lost in SFMOMA's larger galleries. But three pieces in particular - Philip Guston's"Red Sea; The Swell; Blue LIght," .Rothko's 'No 14" and  Teresite Fernandez, 'Fire" needed more space. Each piece needs a room by itself as each is so powerful. But, again, it may be the more intimate spaces at the CJM that make the viewer aware of the power of this art.

Teresita Fernández. Fire, 2005

"Beyond Belief" is divided into ten sections, organized under headings that examine widely held spiritual ideas, many of which closely parallel or are rooted in Jewish religious thought—such as the Bible’s original creation story and the bias against literal depictions of God.

The exhibition begins, aptly, with Genesis and wends its way through different sections that reveal how artists have addressed diverse spiritual ideas, such as the invisible presence of God, death, redemption, mystical writing, and the understanding of God as a divine architect.

In Tallus Mater (Madre Tallo/Stem Mother), Mendieta evokes the power of prehistoric fertility goddesses, especially those associated with Mayan and Native American spiritual systems. The ficus, or fig tree, roots with which Mendieta created this sculpture might allude to the Garden of Eden, a primary creation myth in Western monotheism.

Many rich religious stories are translated into complex and provocative works of art, some on display for the first time in years.

Helen Lundeberg’s mysterious painting Oracle—a Greek word meaning either a prophet or the physical shrine where a divine voice emanates—evokes a host of natural forms.

The show requires an open mind to other dimensions of spirituality. There is a lot of wall text and some have found the organization confusing, but a thoughtful and contemplative approach will allow the deeper meanings to emerge.

While perhaps the museum overreaches in their attempt to bring together the aesthetic and the spiritual, the presentation of artists who affirmed the transcendental in art yields much in the way of both enjoyment and enlightenment. In a decade which has seen art reduced to cow parts in formaldehyde, any attempt to break away from the crass commercialism and expensive emptiness is commendable.

The museum has created an interactive website to help visitors explore the exhibit in more depth: http://beyondbelief.thecjm.org

Contemporary Jewish Museum: 736 Mission Street (btwn. 3rd and 4th Streets), San Francisco, CA 94103 | Hours: Daily 11am–5pm, Thursdays 1–8pm, Closed Wednesdays | 415.655.7800 | info@thecjm.org

http://www.examiner.com/list/beyond-belief-opens-at-the-contemporary-jewish-museum

The de Young's tribute to 'Richard Diebenkorn. The Berkeley Years...'

 Berkeley #22. 1954

"Richard Diebenkorn: The Berkeley Years: 1953-1966," which opened Saturday at the de Young Museum, is the first show to focus on the thirteen years that he spent in Berkeley between 1953 to 1966. The core of the show is the breakthrough work of this period, where Diebenkorn developed his working methods, important artistic themes and gained national recognition.

More than 130 paintings and drawings, beginning with the artist's earlier abstract works and moving through his subsequent figurative phase, display how he moved all his life between abstraction and representation.
http://www.examiner.com/list/de-young-s-tribute-to-richard-diebenkorn-the-berkeley-years-1953-1966

'Introductions' at Creativity Explored, 'West of Center' at Mills College Art Center

 Marcus McClure, Watermarks. 

"Introductions" at Creativity Explored presents recent work by four young studio artists who represent a range of artistic styles, perspectives and subject matter in its new summer exhibition.

Kate Thompson, 24, expresses her vision in exquisitely detailed scenes using pen and ink on paper, one of which is licensed to the contemporary home furnishings store CB2 for an upcoming pillow design.

Marcus McClure, 29, creates exuberant layered abstracts in mixed media using predominantly circular and other geometric forms; CB2 also selected two of McClure’s works as the basis for past rug designs. 

Steven Liu. Cyclists.

With black marker on canvas, Steven Liu, 24, fluidly renders intricate scenes with people– all elaborately detailed and in a state of motion, reflecting his own active physical nature.

Keenan Dietiker, 23, specializes in abstract landscapes using mixed media on paper.

The four artists have all attended Creativity Explored for at least one year, and are still evolving in their practice.  “Each of these young artists incorporates a unique vision, approach and technique,” says Gallery Manager Amy Auerbach, co-curator of the exhibit. “We felt their combined pieces offer an intriguing spectrum of work, from very abstract to intricately rendered,” adds Gallery Assistant and co-curator, Janessa Post.

Since its inception 30 years ago, Creativity Explored’s innovative and respected programs, structure, and culture have served as an organizational model worldwide in the field of art and disability. Creativity Explored provides artists with developmental disabilities the means to create, exhibit, and sell their art in their studios and gallery, and around the world.

Through August 7.  3245 Sixteenth Street (at Guerrero), San Francisco, CA 94103, http://www.creativityexplored.org/

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, artists living in the American West produced an incredible amount of beautiful, innovative, and far-out artwork. Now, Oakland’s Mills College Art Museum is hosting a retrospective of art from that place and era. Dubbed "West of Center: Art and the Counterculture Experiment in America, 1965-1977, " the exhibition features drawings, videos, and photographs from that time period’s counter cultural movement, with artists like the Ant Farm Collective, Anna Halprin, and Single Wing Turquoise Bird.

"West of Center" illuminates the unique works of these individuals through videos, photographs, drawings, ephemera, and other original and re-created objects and environments.

through September 1, 5000 MacArthur Boulevard. http://mcam.mills.edu/

http://www.examiner.com/list/introductions-at-creativity-explored-west-of-center-at-mills

'Impressionists on Water' at the Legion

 Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French, 1841–1919) Oarsmen at Chatou,1879

 The "Impressionists on Water" show at the Legion has received, at best, tepid reviews from our local art critics. I suppose that they prefer work that is considered more challenging, like the current show of work by Nicole Eisenman at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. 

Impressionism is so familiar to us by now that we have forgotten what a radical movement it was, a new way of experiencing the world through quick sensations, expressed in paint. Even their preferred mode of painting - en plain air - was considered revolutionary. They experienced nature directly, instead of through the medium of staged sets within a studio setting. Their art making depended on the radical changes in art supplies which included portable easels and manufactured paint in tubes. The impressionists created a work without mythology or kings or monsters; one which still speaks to the sensual and sensitive within us.

Paul Signac (French, 1863–1935). À Flessingue (At Flushing, Netherlands),1896

But in these perilous times, where it looks like we might be throwing more money at yet another Middle Eastern country in the middle of a confusing civil war, what would be better for the spirit than experiencing beautiful art? 

Why art that is beautiful became suspect and then, denigrated and even despised is an essay for another time. But for now, imagine yourself floating down the Seine on a summer day in 1898. The Franco-Prussian war is over and the horrors of WW I not even on the horizon. Enjoy a brief moment of tranquility before the 20th century arrived, beginning with optimism and ending with the destruction of so much that was promised but seldom delivered.

Paul Signac (French, 1863–1935). Le Soir (Abend-La Jetée de Flessingue) (Evening), published in Pan,1898


http://www.examiner.com/list/impressionists-on-water-opening-at-the-legion-of-honor

Weekend picks for June 13 - 16

Photographs from the Iraqi invasion at the de Young, a Sunday lecture at the Museum of the African Diaspora, Leibovitz at the San Jose Museum of Art and a call for artists from the San Francisco Center for the Book:

http://www.examiner.com/article/bay-area-weekend-picks-for-june-15-16

Joss Whedon's witty homage to Shakespeare, 'Much Ado About Nothing'

"Much Ado About Nothing" is as charming and as well acted as any viewer could hope for. Filmed in 12 days in black and white, it's a breezy, somewhat truncated version of the original and will delight viewers with it's modern take and fast clip.

In the summer of 2011, the writer-director Joss Whedon, having completed principal photography on Marvel's Avengers Assemble, was contractually obliged to take a week off before he began editing.

Instead of taking the time off, Whedon, a Shakespearean geek from a long ways back, and at the urging of his wife, decided to film a play.

Those familiar with Shakespeare's version won't find anything startling about this: Claudio (Fran Kranz) falls in love with Heor (Jullian Morgese). At the same time. Benedict (Alexis Denisoff) and Beatrice (Amy Archer) trade barbs. Their encounters are made all the more bitter by Benedict's betrayal of Beatrice's love.

The Duke (Reed Diamond) and his entourage have decided to play a little trick on the two antagonists. When the two enemies are in view, but ostensibly hidden, the rest of the  gossip what the two are really madly in love with each other.

Soon enough, both Beatrice and Benedict are being fools for love; Denisoff shows a real talent for physical comedy which will come as no surprise to those who saw him as Wesley in both "Buffy" and "Angel."

The snake in the grass is the Duke's bastard brother, slickly and sexily played by Sean Maher, another Whedon regular, who sets up the lovers for a nasty bit of misunderstanding. Villainy, comedic turn by Nathan Fillion as the weary fool, head of a security firm, a fake death are resolved for a happy ending for all.

Don't worry about spoilers. Playgoers since Shakespeare's day know how the play will end. Lacking the artificial suspense of an unknown ending, viewers can relax and enjoy the Southern California setting and lines spoken clearly with an American accent. Whedon's stripped down version works better in the comedic scenes than in the one's which need Shakespearean narrative. But for lovers of good, old-fashioned romantic comedy, it's this summer's sparkling hit.

Directed by Joss Whedon; written by Mr. Whedon, based on the play by Shakespeare; director of photography, Jay Hunter; edited by Daniel S. Kaminsky and Mr. Whedon; music by Mr. Whedon; production design by Cindy Chao and Michele Yu; costumes by Shawna Trpcic; produced by Mr. Whedon and Kai Cole; released by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions. Running time: 1 hour 47 minutes.

WITH: Amy Acker (Beatrice), Alexis Denisof (Benedick), Nathan Fillion (Dogberry), Fran Kranz (Claudio), Jillian Morgese (Hero), Sean Maher (Don John), Reed Diamond (Don Pedro), Clark Gregg (Leonato) and Tom Lenk (Verges). 

http://www.examiner.com/article/joss-whedon-s-witty-homage-to-shakespeare-much-ado-about-nothing

Free Sunday at the CJM, Ferlinghetti at Krevsky, Sandi Yagi at Bash & a new gallery opens at the Oakland Museum of California

The Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM) welcomes its new Executive Director Lori Starr and celebrates the first five years in its Daniel Libeskind-designed home in downtown San Francisco. Free admission, dance and music performances, art-making and crafts for families, and more on Sunday, June 9, 2013.

The festivities will include a reading by San Francisco Poet Laureate Alejandro Murguía and remarks by California State Senator Mark Leno on Jessie Square in front of the Museum, plus  indoor and outdoor performances by AXIS Dance Company, a cappella Leonard Cohen choir, The Conspiracy of Beards, Bulgarian woman’s choir True Life Trio, and Porto Franco Klezmer All-Stars.
Sunday, Jun 9. Free admission all day. http://www.thecjm.org/

Bash Contemporary: Grand Opening tonight with an exhibit of works by Sandi Yagi , mistress of 21st century Gothic. This will be Yagi's first solo show at a location that is becoming full of interesting, quirky art spaces, not afraid to show "risky" art. The Tenderloin is becoming the center of SF”s cutting edge art spaces, as noted in a recent article in "Beyond the Chron":
http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=11458
http://bashcontemporary.com

 Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Future Woman. Through June 2013

George Krevsky: "Future Woman." SF poet laureate Lawrence Ferlinghetti is having his 7th solo show at George Krevsky. The 94-year old shows commendable vitality, if little finesse, in his current paintings of brash nudes.

“In 20th century art, the image of woman was constantly under attack, from Picasso’s two-faced women to De Kooning’s merciless portraits, to the latest tagger’s decimation.” Ferlinghetti wrote recently, “Women’s liberation movements freed women from conventional restraints, but also dethroned her from the pedestal where she had always been seen as the embodiment of pure beauty and mystery.” Pure beauty and mystery? Obviously he hasn't been looking at much for the last 50 years. Ferlinghetti's work is crude enough to qualify as a sexist attack and as far as women's lib freeing women - maybe Mr. Ferlinghetti should read the daily news. http://www.georgekrevskygallery.com/

But he is still the poet laureate of SF and can do no wrong as evinced by this laudatory interview at SF Weekly: http://www.sfweekly.com/2013-06-05/culture/lawrence-ferlinghetti-beat-generation-city-lights-howl-and-other-poems/

 Oakland Museum of California: After more than 3 years of construction, the Gallery of California Natural Sciences is open to the public. Visitors can experience seven real places throughout California that depict the stat's diverse habitats. A new exhibit is on display "Inspiration Points: Masterpieces of California Landscape," presenting more than 60 iconic paintings, photography and works on paper.

Xavier Timoteo Orozco Martinez

The artworks included in Inspiration Points have been carefully selected from the Museum's extensive and pre-eminent holdings of California art from the Gold Rush era to the present to tell the stories of how people have interacted with the natural world. Artists featured will include Ansel Adams, Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Hill, David Hockney, William Keith, Arthur Mathews, Richard Misrach, Thomas Moran, and more. The exhibition will be divided into several areas of focus that reflect artists' depiction of the landscape from a celebration of California's sublime natural world, to the documentation of exploitation of natural resources, to the investigation of the intersection of the urban and "wild."

 Arthur Mathews. Spring Dance.

Drew Johnson, Curator of Photography and Visual Culture,  says, "From majestic scenes of unspoiled wilderness to exploited lands and dystopian visions, Inspiration Points illuminates how artists have interpreted the landscape at particular moments in time. Highlighting important recent acquisitions while also shedding new light on timeless favorites, the exhibition examines the changing attitudes toward the environment over time and provides a surprising investigation of California's natural world." http://www.museumca.org/

http://www.examiner.com/list/cjm-sandi-yagi-at-brash-ferlinghetti-at-krevtsky-oakland-museum

SFMOMA on the go

After a 4-day extravaganza to end all museum extravaganzas, SFMOMA closed on Sunday for a 2 1/2 year expansion plan to make room for the Fisher Collection and other anticipated purchases.

People took photos of themselves in front of favorite artworks on every floor, and stood in line for hours to see the 24-hour film "The Clock." The free Family Day had a variety of activities for the kids, including making a model of a trebuchet and flinging non-lethal boulders. No castle walls were destroyed but there was a lot of laughter.

49,467 attended the museum, partied throughout the night and ended the celebrations at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday with a free-form dance through the atrium and out onto the street. As closings go, it was a joyous event.

But the museum is not going away. If anything, it's going to be even more present. "We're not going to let you forget about us," SFMOMA Director Neal Benezra told the crowd. "The lights may go off here at 6 o'clock this evening, but we'll be turning on the lights all over the city for the next 2 1/2 years until we see you all back here in 2016."

Bay Area's own Mark di Suvero's sculptures are on display at Crissy Field.  The eight sculptures scattered across the 26.5-acre field is the largest display of di Suvero's work on the West Coast. It is also the largest public single-site, single-artist exhibition mounted by SFMOMA and the pilot for an Art in the Park program by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which manages the field. The exhibition is free and will be up for a year.

The mammoth sculptures are also large enough to withstand the hurricane force of the wind coming through the Golden Gate Bridge. In fact, they are so study that it seems a shame that di Suvero wasn't put in charge of building the Bay Bridge. The bridge might have been built faster and with a greater respect for the steel bolts and girders.

"Lure: Bay Area Artists Explore the Sea" at SFMOMA's Artists Gallery at Ft. Mason. The America's Cup is the news of the day and several museums are taking advantage of the fact. This exhibit will bring together works by Bay Area artists whose art is inspired by the sea. Opening Saturday, June 15, 2013. 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.Building A, Fort Mason Center San Francisco, CA 94123. Free to the public.

 Teresita Fernández, Fire, 2005. Silk yarn, steel armature, and epoxy, 96 x 144 in. Collection SFMOMA, Accessions Committee Fund purchase; copyright © Teresita Fernández.

"Beyond Belief. 100 Years of the Spiritual In Art." Jointly organized by the Contemporary Jewish Museum and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, this expansive exhibition — spanning the years 1911 to 2011 — journeys into the far-reaching connections between spirituality and modern and contemporary art. Featuring diverse works by artists ranging from early 20th-century visionaries such as Paul Klee and Piet Mondrian to leading postwar and contemporary artists including Jay DeFeo, Kiki Smith, and Zarina, Beyond Belief offers a fresh new vision of familiar and lesser-known works from SFMOMA’s collection. On view June 28 through October 27, 2013. Admission is free for SFMOMA members. 

http://www.examiner.com/article/sfmoma-on-the-go

SFMOMA kicks off upcoming renovations with a 4-day party

Today, or Wednesday, May 28, 2013 at 11:02 a.m. to be exact, various San Francisco dignitaries were joined by the pupils of Bessie Carmichael School to officially kick off SFMOMA's upcoming two and-a-half years of renovations. They counted down, pushed the lever and flooded the temporary media space with glittering confetti. The glitter certainly reflects the upcoming 4-day long party, which began today with free admission until the museum closes on June 2.

SFMOMA has planned something for everyone. Visitors will have the opportunity to party on the rooftop with cocktails and live music; stay up all night in the galleries and catch performances by 48 artists in a 24-hour variety show marathon. Or they can explore SFMOMA’s landmark photography exhibition Garry Winogrand and line up to catch Christian Marclay’s 24-hour video movie "The Clock."...more at:
http://www.examiner.com/list/sfmoma-kicks-off-its-two-years-of-renovations-with-a-4-day-long-party

At the Legion. 'Impressionists on Water'

The marketing people at the Legion have linked the upcoming Amerca's Cup with the Impressionists' exhibit of works about water.

Caillebotte, Regatta at Rrgenteuil. 1893.

The upcoming show at the Legion does not need this dubious honor. Unlike the multiple fails of the cup, including a death, these works never fail to delight. While Impressionist paintings now sell for millions of dollars, the artists were not rich or famous when these works were painted. These are the visions of men who rebelled against the establishment of the time. The fact that their painting still delights us, 100 plus years later is a testament to the enchantment of their art. 

 Monet. Boats Moored at Le Petit-Gennevillers. 1874.

The play of light, sense of atmosphere and physical experience of floating in a groundless world were irresistible for artists like Monet, Renoir, Sisley, Signac and Caillebotte (an accomplished sailor in his own right) -- key Impressionists who spent many hours at sea, on river boats, leisure craft and floating studios. Opens June 1

http://www.examiner.com/list/impressionists-on-water-opening-at-the-legion-of-honor

The Contemporary Jewish Museum presents 'Beat Memories. The Photographs of Allen Ginsberg'

On March 25, in 1957, Allen Ginsberg helped make literary history. when 520 copies of his poem "Howl" were seized by U.S. Customs agents on charges of obscenity. Ginsberg and his publisher, City Lights, would fight those charges -- and win.

The current exhibit of his personal photographs at the Contemporary Jewish Museum won't make artistic history but they will help illuminate the private life of Ginsberg and his band of famous friends. The focus is on the personal lives, a disappointment to those who are looking for more documentation of the history that Ginsberg lived through as a poet and an activist.


http://www.examiner.com/list/the-cjm-presents-beat-memories-the-photographs-of-allen-ginsberg

artMRKT & ArtPadSF opening this week.

Hung Liu, The Sewer, 2013, oil on canvas, 72 x 72 inches. Nancy Hoffman Gallery

This is certainly proof of the old adage that when it rains, it pours. Two huge art fairs, opening in the same town, in the same week. 7x7SF has a game plan for those who are already overwhelmed: http://ht.ly/l48ZQ

artMRKT San Francisco, the Bay Area’s premier contemporary and modern art fair, opens today, May 15, at the Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason. The show will feature 70 galleries from around the globe, bringing some of the world’s most intriguing artists and galleries

Walter Robinson, Capitol Hill Billy, 2012; Plywood, steel, polyurethane plastic, rubber, digital print on tyvek; 32.5 x 32 x 21 inches. Catherine Clark

Regular hours: Friday, May 17, 2013 - 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.. Saturday, May 18, 2013 - 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Sunday, May 19, 2013 - Noon to 6:00 p.m.

http://www.art-mrkt.com/sf

Daniel Green. Smell Sumo Feet Wrestlers. 2002. Creativity Explored

ArtPadSF, a smaller but edgier art fair opens tomorrow. Located in San Francisco Tenderloin district, the area is a bit rough around the edges but full of hidden treasure for the adventurous art seeker. The Phoenix Hotel closes to the public and turns 44 rooms for the creative and traveling into an art benefit for SF MOMA.

Over the course of the weekend, art patrons will be given the run of the hotel including the tropical courtyard. That's just for starters. The 4-day weekend promises more of the same, with screenings, panels, performances, access to a wide range of galleries and opportunities to talk to the artists.
http://artpadsf.com/

http://www.examiner.com/article/art-pad-and-artmrkt-opening-this-week-san-francisco

Jose Ramon Lerma at ArtZone 461. A 60-year retrospective

Lerma's paintings and collages, now on view at ArtZone 461, contain all the various threads of 60 years of art making in the Bay Area, including Abstract Expressionism, Funk Pop, and Conceptualism. The show is a slice of art history but it is also a tribute to the son of migrant workers who managed to live the life of an artist without compromising his integrity.

 Born in Hollister in 1930, Lerma was a long time Californian, a Chicano and the first in his family to attend college.

His 4th grade teacher was the first to recognize his talent and from then on, he painted constantly, copying Renaissance art from 10-cent books. Later, in 1949, another teacher helped him to get a scholarship to the California School of Fine Arts  (now SFAI).

The Korean War interrupted his schooling but when he returned to San Francisco, he continued his studies, studying under such Bay Area notables as Hassel Smith, Edward Corbett and James Budd Dixon.

The artist commented on his early years at the school as having, “…the most impact on my life and art.  The art world of the fifties was free of the market and its temptations.  There was a certain purity about it.”

He showed at the small galleries that came and went in the San Francisco of the 50’s – Sparas, the “Six” and even Ubu. He was part of a scene that included Alan Ginsberg's 1955's public reading of "Howl.' Lerma was part of the culture which valued making art over making a career as an artist.

“We were rebelling against some of the things that were going on in the city, “Lerma explains. “We wanted to be ourselves, to express things that were unique about the West Coast. We were not interested in following what was happening back East…It was a very spirited thing without much money... We were all outsider’s and we knew it, but we still wanted to show everybody what we were doing.”

Lerma lived the life of a Bohemian artist, painting as much as he could and not that interested in a career. At various times, he worked as a live-in baby sitter and later worked at Macy’s.  There he collected what would have been swept out the door – paper, fabric, and iconic images.

In the 70’s, he developed an allergy to oil paints and began making collages, constructions and the occasional installation. Some of the more interesting pieces in the show are his construction/collages, made from bits of yardstick and other building material from long lost SF landmark businesses such as Goodman Lumber.

Lerma experimented fearlessly across genres and avoided categorization.  The retrospective shows a representative example of his work but the show is confusing because the works are not all hung chronologically. The strongest visual piece in the show is a figure drawing in black and white while his collages and assemblages reveal a quirky, questioning look at American icons such as Mickey Mouse and art goddess Frieda Kahlo. The abstract pieces are less successful, showing but not integrating influences as widely diverse as Jackson Pollock’s drip pieces and the stylized Zen landscapes of Mt. Tam. According to gallery owner, Steve Lopez, their matt surface is due to the use of inexpensive oil paint, a frugal choice made necessary by Lerma's finances.

Lerma’s fierce independence and refusal to play the art game have impacted his visibility. He lived his life as a seeker after his own truth, not looking for financial security or career success. He lived without compromising his principles and has never regretted it. For that reason alone, his art is worth recognizing and respecting. If Diaogenes were alive today and looking for an honest man, he would recognize a kindred spirit in José Ramón Lerma. (all images courtesy of the gallery).

http://artzone461.com/gallery_/home.html

http://www.examiner.com/list/jos-ram-n-lerma-at-artzone-461-a-60-year-retrospective

Isabelle de Borchgrave at Serge Sorokko, Suhas Bhujbal at Dolby Chadwick:

Belgian artist Isabelle de Borchgrave, whose "Pulp Fashion" exhibition of historical gowns made of paper was the Fine Arts Museums most-attended show in 2011 is back in San Francisco with a smaller show of Fortuny pleated dresses, textile-like paintings and new bronze clothing sculptures at the Serge Sorokko Gallery.

Isabelle de Borchgrave began her studies at the age of 14 at the Centre des Arts Décoratifs in Brussels.  She went on to establish her own studio designing dresses, jewelry, and accessories, and later specialized in designing fabrics. Following a 1994 visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York, she dreamed up the idea of paper costumes, for which she has become world renowned. 

Isabelle de Borchgrave: "New Paintings and Sculptures" is a departure from the work shown at the Legion. Instead of the monochromatic palate of the earlier show, the works at Sorokko feature pieces in vibrant colors, tribal patterns, and ethnic textiles

Borchgrave. Petite Chapeau

Works on paper are meticulously hand painted with bold patterns and then folded into an origami-like, accordion-style canvas. Elaborately painted life-size kimonos pose across from de Borchgrave's paper pleated Grecian dresses modeled after Fortuny's famous pleated silk Delphos gowns. And across from those fragile forms are dense corsets of worn patinas. Small scale sculptures of jewelry-like neckpieces are juxtaposed with larger-scale bronze works.

In de Borchgrave's art, the starting point is almost always the same: sheets of paper one meter by one and a half meters (3.3 feet by 4.9 feet), which she sets to work on with her brushes and paints on an enormous linen-covered table in her studio in Brussels. "Her colors, reports The New York Times, "are very much inspired by her travels: reds from the roses of Turkey, earth hues from Egypt, blues from Greece...Borchgrave produces astonishing effects of scintillating color, weight, transparency and texture. Her renderings of diaphanous gauzes are especially astonishing."

The exhibit is an expertly curated display of the artist's range and unique ability to transform a common medium into the otherworldly. Givenchy puts it beautifully, "Isabelle is one of a kind. She plays with paper as a virtuoso plays an instrument."

Best of all for those with a bit of spare change -you can now buy the dresses at a mere $45,000 per item.

Exhibit on view through Sat. April 20 at Serge Sorokko Gallery, 55 Geary St., sorokko.com

Suhas Bhujbal at Dolby Chadwick: The Indian born artist, more known for his geometric compositions, has new work which fuses his previous fascination with urban landscape with luminous figurative works.

 Bhujbal. Getting Ready for the Day

During a 2011 trip to Cat Island in the central Bahamas, artist Suhas Bhujbal found something he craved: peace and quiet. The island's lifestyle -- one in which people gather on the beach and enjoy each other's company -- reminded him of his childhood in India. "I appreciate the simplicity in life," he comments. "I paint what I see, experience, and feel. It is really about falling in love in that moment and bringing that on the canvas in a visual form."

Bhujbal. Hanging Out.

 Suhas Bhujbal: "Dialogues" from 
April 4 -- 27, 2013
. Dolby Chadwick Gallery. 
10 Post Street
San Francisco. http://www.dolbychadwickgallery.com

http://www.examiner.com/list/isabelle-de-borchgrave-at-serge-sorokko-suhas-bhujbal-at-dolby-chadwick

Museum of Craft & Design reopens, Misrach's 'Cancer Alley' at the Cantor

After losing their space in 2010, the Museum of Craft and Design has finally found a new home in the old American Can Company factory on the edge of Dogpatch, San Francisco's latest trendy district. The public opening kicks off tomorrow, Saturday April 6, 2013, with a community celebration of the new museum and inaugural exhibits.
The new location is at 2569 Third Street in San Francisco. For more information, go to sfmcd.org.

At the Cantor: Revisiting the South: Richard Misrach’s "Cancer Alley"

Like the Western landscapes for which Misrach is best known, these photographs challenge viewers with environmental, political and social concerns while engaging them with evocative and lyrically beautiful large-scale prints. In focusing on the delicate state of the Mississippi River, Misrach signals not just the environmental challenges facing the South but also the larger costs of our modern world at the dawn of the 21st century. His photographs are a stark commentary on the concentration of petrochemical complexes located along this 100-mile stretch of the Mississippi River.

For the 85 miles between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, the haunting swamplands of the Mississippi River corridor—called America’s wetland for its biological value to the nation—bump up against the sprawling refineries and paraphernalia of the petrochemical industry. Industry leaders call this stretch of the Mississippi, sandwiched between 150-plus oil and gas plants on both sides of its devastated banks, Chemical Corridor. But locals—who blame the millions of pounds of toxic chemicals pouring out of industry smokestacks every year for high rates of miscarriages, cancer, respiratory ailments and other serious diseases—have another name for it. They call it Cancer Alley.

Looking through Misrach’s lens, the viewer comes to realize that Cancer Alley’s industrial corridor—which produces almost one-third of America’s gasoline, plastics and other chemicals—is generating a lethal combination of pollutants that is quietly deteriorating local communities and watersheds, leaving behind only cryptic relics of what was once a richly diversified past.

Hazardous Waste Containment Site, Dow Chemical Corporation, Mississippi River, Plaquemine, Louisiana, negative 1998, print 2012

But his images do more than hint at pollution and death: The petrochemical industry reveals itself as an omnipresent and brazen specter through the photographs’ rusted pipelines, mammoth tankers and tangles of steel, concrete and smokestacks belching noxious fumes and toxins into the air and water.

The exhibition “Revisiting the South: Richard Misrach’s Cancer Alley” highlights the severe environmental degradation of the Mississippi River corridor from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. The show, which includes 19 large-scale color photographs and 14 contact sheets, is on view from March 27 to June 16, 2013 at the Cantor Arts Center, Stanford.

http://www.examiner.com/article/museum-of-craft-and-design-reopens-misrach-s-cancer-alley-at-the-cantor?CID=examiner_alerts_article

The week ahead: Modernism, Walt Disney, RayKo Photography Center Show

Kraemer's work, now up at Modernism, is stunning. The range of work in the current exhibition dates from 1993 to 2013, with the older work just as fresh as the current batch. The exhibition announcement features “This Much,” a large (74” x 95 ½”) breakthrough work in pastel, acrylic and charcoal on paper from 1993.

The "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" show at the Disney Museum was more interesting that I thought it would be. I think that "Peter Pan" was the first cartoon that I remember seeing, which lead to some interesting experiments in thinking that I could fly. Hey, I was only 7. But the show was a revelation to see how skillful and detailed the early cartoons were.

http://www.examiner.com/article/the-week-ahead-modernism-walt-disney-rayko-photo-centerhttp://www.examiner.com/article/the-week-ahead-modernism-

Drop In Jazz

Sometimes you just want to sit down and listen to live jazz. Starting at 6:30PM many nights, you can drop in and listen to student jazz concerts at The Jazz School in Berkeley.
The basement concert room of the school is adjacent to the Jazz Cafe, about a half block from the Addison/Shattuck exit of the Berkeley BART station, right near Berkeley Rep.
The night I was there, I enjoyed hearing a piano player accompanying a procession of young jazz singers. I left during the set break, after which a jazz ensemble was to perform.
Most nights are free, including a special event this Sunday, Jazz Search West 2013 talent search.

Posted by Phil Gravitt

The FBI has new leads on the 1990 robbery at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Govaert Flinck’s Landscape with an Obelisk (1638)

On Monday, March 18, the art world was galvanized by the information that the FBI has  identified the perpetrators in the $500 million art heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990. Investigators have long been baffled for decades over the theft.

In the early morning hours of March 18, 1990 the robbers entered the museum and tied up two night watchmen. Once in, they roamed the galleries with impunity, picking off the cream of the fabulous collection. The robbery was not discovered until the next morning. 

 Rembrandt’s Storm on the Sea of Galilee (1633)

The stolen works include: Rembrandt’s Storm on the Sea of Galilee (1633), A Lady and Gentleman in Black (1633) and a Self Portrait (1634), an etching on paper; Vermeer’s The Concert (1658–1660); and Govaert Flinck’s Landscape with an Obelisk (1638); and a Chinese vase or Ku, all taken from the Dutch Room on the second floor. Also stolen from the second floor were five works on paper by the Impressionist artist Edgar Degas and a finial from the top of a pole support for a Napoleonic silk flag, both from the Short Gallery. Edouard Manet’s Chez Tortoni (1878–1880) was taken from the Blue Room on the first floor.

A decade ago, an attempt was made to sell some of the 13 artworks, including three Rembrandts, a Vermeer, a portrait by Edouard Manet, and sketches by Renoir. But the location of the stolen masterworks is still unknown.

 Vermeer’s The Concert (1658–1660)

Richard DesDesLauriers, special agent in charge of the Boston office of the FBI, said that "the probe “accelerated” in 2010 and “crucial pieces of evidence” were developed identifying the robbers and their associates.

“The FBI believes with a high degree of confidence in the years after the theft the art was transported to Connecticut and the Philadelphia region and some of the art was taken to Philadelphia where it was offered for sale by those responsible for the theft. With that confidence, we have identified the thieves, who are members of a criminal organization with a base in the mid-Atlantic states and New England,” stated DesLauriers,

DesLauriers added that because the investigation is continuing it would be “imprudent” to disclose their names or the name of the criminal organization. He said the probe was in its “final chapter.”

Officials are seeking help from the public and will be launching a massive public awareness campaign that will stretch beyond New England. Among the exposure tactics will be a dedicated FBI website, video postings on FBI social media sites, digital billboards, and a podcast. To view and listen to these items, visit the FBI’s new webpage about the theft: www.FBI.gov/gardner.

 There is a $5 million reward for information on the whereabouts of the missing art. The statute of limitations has run out on the robbers, and they might be granted immunity for other charges, such as possessing the stolen paintings.

 

Arts journalist Lee Rosenbaum, who writes the art blog "Culture Grrl" added further details about Boston Globe reporter Milton Valencia‘s Twitter feed from the news conference. His tweets suggests that the hunt may be moving to Philadelphia.

Special Agent Geoffrey Kelly, who is the lead investigator in the case nd a member of the Art Crime Team. “In the past, people who realize they are in possession of stolen art have returned the art in a variety of ways, including through third parties, attorneys, and anonymously leaving items in churches or at police stations.”

If you have a tip, call : 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324). Or you can go to this website: https://tips.fbi.gov. In addition, the press release gives you permission to “contact…the museum directly or through a third party.” Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

http://www.examiner.com/list/the-fbi-provides-new-information-on-the-1990-isabella-stewart-gardner-art-heist