Jennifer Trask: Intrinsecus

The final and absolute favorite artist which I discovered at The Dead or Alive Exhibit was Jennifer Trask. This wall installation made from a found 19th century Italian wood and gold leaf frame uses bones, teeth, antlers, silver and gold leaf to create a completely organic and absolutely beautiful piece of art. This installation, Intrinsecus, refers to the Dutch tradition of Vanitas, which is Latin means “emptiness”, and loosely translated corresponds to the meaninglessness of earthly life and the transient nature of vanity.

What's even more interesting is that she is formally trained as a jeweler and metalsmith. I can see how that has transcended into using natural objects to create something so intricate.

These "flowers" are actually made of rattlesnake vertebra.

Tessa Farmer: Little Savages

Two artists I saw at the Dead or Alive Exhibit were so compelling I felt they deserved their own post - Tessa Farmer being of of them. The attention to detail in her sculptures is impeccable. Each tiny scenario has a crazy amount of detail which is hard to even make out with just the human eye alone. Her background working in a Natural History Museum and entomology inspires her work - which I suppose is why I am so drawn to these spooky little scenes.

This series is called "little savages" - quite fitting...

Her work, made from insect carcasses, plant roots and other found natural materials, comprises hanging installations depicting battles between insects and tiny winged skeletal humanoids.

Dead or Alive: Nature as Art

During a recent trip to New York I had the pleasure of stopping into the Museum of Arts & Design for a much anticipated show - Dead or Alive: Nature Becomes Art. Naturally I was drawn to this exhibit because of it's focus on organic materials which were once produced by or part of living organisms - feathers, bones, egg shells, insects, fur, antlers, dried and rotting plants. Once-living parts of flora and fauna were recombined and rearranged into works of art that address the transience of life, and examines beauty in the extreme.

Here a large cascade of 1000's of pigeon feathers emanate from one of MAD's signature glass bands that cut across the gallery ceilings (Kate McGcwire)

Levi van Veluw’s photo series are self-portraits, drawn and photographed by himself: a one-man-process. His works constitute elemental transfers; this youngest artist of the exhibition uses his own head and shoulders as a canvas on which to build natural landscapes.

Some favorites were the skulls by Jan Fabre which use actual Jewel beetle, click beetle and ground beetle shields on synthetic material to create these beautiful sculptures. The texture and colors of actual beetle shells are just amazing, I could look at them for hours.

ArtSpan's ArtLaunch 2010, Saturday Oct.2nd

I recently completed this piece which will be showcased in ArtSpan's SF Open Studios kickoff event ArtLaunch 2010 (formerly The Private Preview Gala) on Saturday, October 2nd.

Featuring over 430 original artworks by SF Open Studios artists, all work will be on sale and will take place at the SOMArts Gallery, 934 Brannan Street at 9th Street. Tickets are available to registered SF Open Studios artists and members for $35 in advance / $40 at the door and to non-members for $50 in advance / $60 at the door. ArtLaunch 2010 will stimulate your creative side with an interactive art project, an open bar with Pernod Absinthe cocktails, fun eats by Thomas John events, music, and a 5% discount (up to $50) for members on the original artwork for sale. The show will run through the end of October.

What: ArtLaunch 2010
When: Saturday, October 2nd. 7-10pm
Where: SOMArts, 934 Brannan Street @ 8th
More info: info@artspan.org 415-861-9838

Official Site: http://www.artspan.org
Buy tickets: http://artlaunch2010.eventbrite.com/

Bar 821 in NOPA

I was invited by Bar 821 to be part of this years 9th annual Divisadaro Art Walk which was held this past September. The Art Walk held in NOPA - from Geary to Haight - is held quarterly, and the event’s tone is much more casual, with a younger, more alternative clientele, and overflowing with community pride. In addition to the community galleries presenting the latest artwork from neighborhood artists, many bars and restaurants also participate in the festivities by curating their own art shows, including Bar 821. My work will continue to be on display through the end of October, and we will hold an artist reception sometime near the end of the month, so stay tuned!

Bar 821

821 Divisadero (btwn McAllister & Fulton)
San Francisco, CA
open 5-11pm daily

SOMA Spring Open Studios

Stop in at my Open Studio this weekend at:
Clara Street Studios
185 Clara Street
(off of 5th street between Folsom & Harrison Streets)
Saturday & Sunday, April 17-18, 2001
12noon - 6pm

Please join me this weekend for Spring Open Studios. For the past few years we have been organizing a spring event in addition to the fall, but it's never been that well attended or publicized. Artist Mike Kimball and myself have taken it upon ourselves to organize over 100 artists in the South of Market neighborhood in order to create a larger artist network and sense of community, making our fellow artists more accessible to the public. It has been a work in progress, and this year I feel as if we are finally seeing the results that we've been looking for.

The addition of Arc Gallery to our neighborhood has been an integral part of creating this sense of community and has acted as a catalyst in identifying SOMA as an emerging artist mecca. Last Friday's Spring Open Studios Preview Reception at Arc was a HUGE success, bringing in over 500 guests. The energy at this event was amazing - a wonderful mix of San Francisco's finest mingled in our gallery while a full on temporary food court assembled on Folsom Street outside the gallery, including Pizza Politana, a mobile neapolitan wood-fired pizza oven.

I am particularly excited about this springs event because Mike and myself have worked so hard the past few years to get our group on the map, and it has been extremely satisfying to see all of our hard work pay off. Please come on by and check out over 75 artists in our neighborhood this weekend and see what all the buzz is about!

SOMA Spring Open Studios Preview Exhibition

Please join me at the SOMA Spring Open Studios Preview Exhibition this Friday.

View artwork by myself and over 65 artists working and exhibiting in San Francisco's diverse South of Market neighborhood at the Opening Reception of the SOMA Open Studios Preview Exhibition.

Friday, April 9th, 7-10pm
ARC Studios & Gallery
1246 Folsom Street
(between 8th & 9th streets)

www.SOMAOpenStudios.org
Official facebook invitation

The evening will feature some of the neighborhoods finest: Fresh fired oven pizzas from Pizza Politana, baked treats from Cups & Cakes Bakery, Hansen's Sodas, MetroMint Water, and aneighborhood favorite - Blue Bottle Coffee. There will also be wine, but feel free to BYOB!

Public showing also on Saturday, April 19th, NOON - 6pm.

This show will be held in the newly opened and renovated ARC Gallery (formerly New Langton Arts), a great new SOMA space and resource, featuring 10 newly renovated artist studios, rental art gallery, & art education center. We are proud to make this new space a "home base" for our artists and hope to grow our community.

As our 4th year officially holding an organized SOMA Spring Open Studios, we are confident that this will be our biggest year yet - and hope to see everyone out at the studios the following weekend! More info to come...

Deb & Michael's Ketubah

I finally have some images to share of the Ketubah that I created for a friends wedding this past fall. The text is surrounded by acrylic painting and has a resin finish. (resin was applied after the bride and groom signed on their wedding day)

A Ketubah is The Jewish Marriage Contract, and is a tradition in Jewish wedding customs and in Jewish history. The Art of the Ketubah entails a unique document known as a marriage contract that outlines marital responsibilities and, at the same time, is set into an artful background.

The ketubah is signed by two witnesses and traditionally read out loud under the chuppah. Close family friends or distant relatives are invited to witness the ketubah, which is considered an honor. I couldn't have been more excited to be such an integral part of this very special day, and was my most intimate and personal commission yet.

Marks by Aaron Nagel

Later Saturday we moved on to the opening reception over at White Walls and Shooting Gallery. Aaron Nagel, from Oakland, displays his show, Marks, at the Shooting Gallery. 11 pieces showcase stunning women which are portrayed as Catholic martyrs. Although most are penetrated by arrows, the women seem unaffected, if not calming. The black paint dripping from the women's hands represents a guilty past. What freaks me out the most was to find that Nagel is entirely self taught. His work is absolutely stunning - I couldn't get enough.

SOMA Saturday

Sometimes I take this little city of ours for granted - after living here for 10+ years I forget how many treasures are hidden around each corner, underground gatherings, unique experiences that only one can really experience in this utopia we call our home - San Francisco.

First stop, 31 Rausch Gallery for my friend Adam Wier's photography show: I got 5 on it.

While searching for this tiny gallery which I had never been to or even heard of - We stumbled upon what appeared to be a large garage/warehouse one block over, with a line of people down the street and around the parking lot next door. At first I wondered if this was the show, and thought to myself that I might not be cut out to wait in this line. I didn't have to - I found out that this was San Francisco's "Underground Farmers Market". Apparently this venue where you can taste the food that is being made in the kitchens of our fair city - and it moves around from month to month. The reason why? To sell at a farmers market, you need to produce your creations in a commercial kitchen. This is an impossible expense for many people, so the underground farmers market lets home producers get their products into the light. These are veterans, people who’ve been making their products for years, but only able to share them with friends.

Amazing! All these folks waiting in line for the underground Farmers Market, on a Saturday night, 10pm. Back on track to find Adam's show.... Finally arriving at 31 Rausch. It's essentially... a hallway. However what's so great about it is that it's a non-profit art space with everything priced under $200, and artists can take 100% of the sales. As an artist, that is a concept I can get used to. This encourages artists peers to purchase art, and the artists to create experimental work.

I got 5 on it: The show is explained:"Rambling around the finite physical world, photographer’s visions are bound to cross paths, intersecting across time, space and intent at touchstone subject matter. We've called a group of 20 photographers back to 5 such seminal subject crossroads. A chair, a flower, a window, a tree, and the road; these are subjects we have found our way to, in our own way, on our own way".

It was a fantastic concept - all artists presented the same 5 subjects. The show could be viewed by subject matter or by artist, creating two completely different viewpoints of the work and forcing the viewer to examine more than meets the eye.

Urban Forest

While walking to work down Market Street the other morning, I came upon this beautiful installation just past 6th Street. In what is an otherwise bleak and fairly depressed area, this little urban oasis brightened my day.

A Recent Trip to Puerto Rico

A recent visit to Puerto Rico was the perfect way to start off 2010. What I realized about taking a trip first thing in January is:

1. work is notoriously slow that time of year anyway

2. creates a positive outlook for starting off the new year

3. clears the mind of holiday madness just passed

4. traveling this time of year is cheap.

Therefore, this very well could have started a new tradition for me.

During the 8 days we traveled the island, we hiked through rainforests, swam in waterfalls, explored beaches and surf towns, slept in treehouses in the middle of a bamboo forest, endured some rainfall, enjoyed the PR beach scene, ate copious amounts of seafood, and drank from coconuts. Lastly, traveling with a local was a definite plus and allowed us to experience some of the local flavor we may have otherwise missed.