A Redux of "Barbie Redux", Altered Barbie Doll Art

Finally blogged this fun exhibit and gallery in Venice, CA. Only took me 5 months!

Go to:

http://web.me.com/eclectixp/Eclectix/eclectix_etc./Entries/2009/12/16_Ten_Women_Gallery_in_Venice%2C_California.html

Warm and Fuzzy Art in the East Bay, EclectiXmas!

The Warm and Fuzzy Show
Just in time for the holidaze, Eclectix offers up some warm art to wrap around your walls.
Featuring selected bodies of works by Arabella Proffer-Vendetta, Chad Frick, Chiami Sekine, Chrystal Chan, Jamie Fales, Johnny Thylacine, Michelle Waters, Sheri DeBow and Yvette Buigues.
Fun and furry creatures, cute little girls, fabulous and glamourous women in furs, warm little critters and fuzzy teddy bears. Of course, a few will also have that twisted, eclectic wit.
There will also be locally made, artisan fuzzy ornaments, perfect for stocking stuffers. Get your holiday cheer on here!

Exhibits Dates: December 11, 2009 - Jan. 10, 2010
Opening Reception: December 11th from 7-10 PM
Music by Eclair De Lune

Delicate, A Solo Show by Kurtis Rykovich
Luminous, lush and fashion savvy works by the Bay Area's own artist extraordinaire, Kurtis Rykovich. His "Nesting Among Lemons" won the "Best of Show" in the Eclectix "Eat It" exhibit and now he's back with all new works. Girls with dreamy expressions and stylin' fashions pose in their own beautiful fantasy worlds. Some are sexy, some are moody and some are downright deep thinkers; but all are embellished by brilliant hues, floating strands of delicate hair and sparkling adornments. Small works, priced right, for that special someone...( or for your special self ).

Great one-stop shopping in the Eclectix store as well, so get your Xmas gifts and support local art!

Eclectix Gallery, 10082 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito, CA
For Hours and More - Please go to: http://www.eclectix.com

Voted “Best Gallery” in the Bay Area by SF Chronicle’s ‘Best of the BayList’

The Best Eclectic Shopping in the San Francisco Bay Area

Eclectix is all about eclectic - with something for just about everyone on your list. One stop shopping with artful, one-of-a-kind, unique and different gifts. Specializing in recycled, green and locally handmade. New & vintage: clothes, jewelry, kid’s stuff, Mid-Century, furniture, Elvis items, lamps, Day of the Dead, housewares, Isabel Samaras, Tiki items. Fun and strange, Tim Burton, lava lights, rock and roll, Emily the Strange, cards, Mark Ryden, lunchboxes, Hi-Fructose, folk art and masks. Art-related items galore...

And the two galleries exhibit creative, exciting, alternative fine art; really worth the trip! They are chock full of great original art and prints, starting at just $35.00 and up.

Here is just a tiny bit of the specific gifts EclectiXmas has to offer:

Warm, vintage wool coats with satin linings, perfect condition for that fashionable woman. Guitar pick earrings. "Accordian Babe" locally made calendars for that musician dude. A Robert Crumb "Devil Girl" lunchbox for the comic lover. Beautiful 1950's table top lamps. Tattoo design onesies for the hip little baby in your life. A Michael Jackson candle to light on New Year's Eve. Soaps sculpted into little hands for the dirty. A set of vintage crystal martini glasses for the couple that needs a housewarming gift. Miriam Wosk, Camille Rose Garcia, Rolling Stone, Todd Schorr, Annie Leibowitz and Eric Joyner art books for that artist friend. Hand made, artisan fine jewelry. A Fender jazz bass scale model for your desk. Hand painted skeleton plates & figures from Mexico for folk art collectors. Pirate and Cupcake bandages stocking stuffers for little ragamuffins. A 1940's rhinestone and jet Art Deco style necklace for New Year's Eve. Or a "Boss Lady" re-cycled shopper. A set of Caran d'Ache pencils for the doodler. A pair of 1950's china pink cows for the collector. Hand painted Frida tables for the Frida Kahlo fan. Silk scarves of every color for anyone. A "Tweet" artist tee for the Twitter fan. Pool ball ornaments. An emerald green silk dress from the 1960's for that holiday party... or a striped skinny tie from the 1950's, all cleaned & pressed, ready to wear. And there is so much more!

By shopping Eclectix you help support local the local art & business community. Skip the mall, keep the X in your Xmas and make it an EclectiXmas!

For more on the store go to: http://web.me.com/eclectixp/Eclectix/Eclectix_Store.html

For more on the gallery go to: http://web.me.com/eclectixp/Eclectix/Exhibits_News.html

Eclectix Store & Gallery

10082 San Pablo Ave. El Cerrito, CA

(just north of Berkeley, at Central Ave.)

Bay Area Townie: Miz Jennybird Alcantara's Art

I've been following Jennybird's art for at least 6 years (it just keeps getting better) and over the last few it has matured, really coming into it's own. Her work is quite arresting, full of vivid, deep colors, exploding symbolic imagery and expertly rendered. Why she hasn't gotten more recognition, is beyond me, she certainly deserves to be "up there" with the bigger Newbrow names. Maybe it's because she doesn't cater to the "half-naked-adolescent-girl-with-big-breasts" stereotype (yawn) or maybe because the old boy network is too busy patting itself on the back, to notice other artists anymore. Regardless, her art cranks. Varnish Gallery recently had a nice big solo of her works and it was breathtaking.

Her images are often part animal, part human - anthropomorphic compositions of union and conflict. Her creatures are often characterized with a side profile, just one eye is revealed, much like a whale's gaze. It has reminded me of illustrator Janet Woolley's early collage work.

Jennybird's compositions call to mind a spiritual side, arranged mandala-like and symmetrical, somehow reminiscent of Tibetan Buddhist art. They have an other-worldly feel, almost underwater in the way the images are suspended, floating ethereal, submerged and dis-connected. Mix this with the influence of vintage, anatomical science text illustrations, her wonderfully saturated hues, juxtapositions of animal & human life, symbols of life & death and end result is that of an apocalyptic, yet painfully beautiful panoramic narrative.

Jennybird also creates outlandish dolls with masterful aplomb. Some are mutant hybrids with insect limbs or wings spouting forth where arms might have been. With beautiful textiles, soft cottons, fun & furry hair-dos and shiny notions; the artist lures us past the darker side of a severed limb to experience beauty. So what if she has three breasts or eyes? So what if her intestines are on the outside looking in? Sure, her veins may be erupting outside of her skin but they are intricate, lacy veins waterfalling down a broken arm with painterly grace and abandon. And maybe her feet are on backwards but they're groovy in lace-up Victorian boots. Literally wearing her heart on her sleeve, it is surrounded by "satin n' tat" and who could do better than that?

Jennybird currently has two large dolls for sale, in the "All Dolled Up" exhibit at Eclectix Gallery. Try to see them in person, they are well worth the trip. Showing thru November 29th, 2009.

Halloween Art: The Kinetic Works of Nemo Gould

Recently visited all things Nemomatic at his studio & open house. Such a treat to see his workspace, as well as a number of his fantastic robotic & kinetic art sculptures. His studio was full of great tools, working surfaces and many collected objects on their way to becoming something else entirely.

Antique radio parts, display devices, metal bits and pieces culled from their former uses, discarded musical instruments, vintage paper memorabilia and eclectic framed shapes of wood and metal - all lounged about his shelves. Some were in the embryonic stage of being loosely arranged into a future creation. Most were just lying in wait.

Nemo's art is technically impeccable and asthetically lush. Don't let the snobbery of the "fine art" world detract from your appreciation. His art is not the usual maker faire, clumsy nuts and bolts inventions or folksy crafts goods. Rather, it is finely tuned sculpture, meticulously designed, elegantly assembled found objects, formed with a witty sense of play and an eye for vintage modernity. Weaving together eras - from streamlined Art Deco periods, designs reminescent of Norman Bel Geddes, to today's newbrow tentacles of science fiction and "Alien" inspired Geiger images. Nemo is a sculptural maestro of today's steampunk 3D art.

Experiencing his art in person is mandatory to appreciation. The precise execution, movement, the ambient glow of his lighting, the sensuous and gleaming surfaces of his metal finishes, to the mindplay juxtapositions of various components. Each anthropomorphic sculpture or diorama feels complete as it's own character or entity. He is a master editor, never under or over doing a piece, with an extraordinary sense of design. These are distinctly American pieces yet they've more than a hint of clean Japanese asthetic.

For a fun, step-by-step look at the evolution of one of his new pieces "Nowhere Fast", click here.

Nemo currently lives and works in the SF East Bay Area with a studio in Berkeley. He has two pieces, "One-Eyed Jack" and "Boogeyman" in the current Eclectix exhibit "Dementions". Do try to get in to see them in person.

A Nemo quote on what sparks his art -

"It was just a pure fascination with what else a thing could be, other than what it was."