Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Checkin' Out The Art Pads at ArtPadSF, 2011




Eclectix visited ArtPadSF, one of the art fairs going on in San Francisco a couple of weekends ago. This was our favorite of the bunch, mainly due to the set up within the Phoenix Hotel.
 A very fun, hip and cool alternative to the traditional fairs which are held in large convention halls - the Pad was set up in the Phoenix, a 1960's era hotel in the Tenderloin. From the outside you wouldn't know how sweet it is on the inside. A lot has been re-done and re-furbished, including a beautiful pool - but they managed to retain the retro base. The sculpture installation over the pool greets you upon entering (see above pic), wonderful light and airy dandelion-inspired suspended pieces. The bar and restaurant area had walls of vinyl to amuse you, with favorite album covers turned outward to display, every so often - a great little decor touch. There was also a really nice red lit back wall installation with large negatives of "mod chicks" screened on the glass. It set off the vintage diner booths and eclectic lighting fixtures with a nice warm glow.


The rooms of the hotel were all turned into mini galleries, (even some bathrooms) - some much more creatively than others. Many of the rooms had the beds removed, they were more open in the traditional "gallery" sense. However the ones with the beds still in them, gave a quirky challenge to the display; some had just laid prints or art on the beds while others incorporated the bed into an art piece itself. The most creative room was the Black Rock Arts Foundation's. They worked  out - covering the walls and furnishings with craft paper, much of which had writing and crayon art, graffiti style. They had paper towels folded in the bathroom and paper sheets on the beds.



Many favorite galleries and artists were represented as well as some new, fresher ones. The following pictures represent our favorite finds, some in detail shots. There were so many great art works here it was just a joy to slowly amble from room to room taking each little "art world" in. There was an enjoyable mix of eclectic tuneage playing in the pool courtyard while you perused.
Wonderfully gooey portrait by Ray Turner

Intricate papercut sculpture, Lyndi Sales

Got see a Brian Dettmer up close and personal!

Jamie Vasta had a number of really wonderful portraits, all "painted" with glitter on wood. Sparkly and spectacular, really hard to capture in a photograph!
 Jamie Vasta

 Jamie Vasta

 Jamie Vasta

Nick Gentry's "floppy disk faces" were another pleasant surprise to see in person...





Nick Gentry

Local Oakland sculptor Derek Weiberg's piece in room
The pink frame on Scott Scheidly's most excellent Hitler portrait just cracked me up.
Brian Viveros and others....

A beautiful piece by Sandi Calistro
Watercolor trees on newspapers by Phillip Hua

Detail, Phillip Hua
Knock out masterpieces by Edward Walton Wilcox
Tatiana Suarez's emotive dame

Kent Williams

Mercedes Heinwein
Linda Vallejo makes 'em all Mexican...

Another new discovery was the art of Lee Harvey Roswell...  his name alone was a riot! These pieces were surreal Dali-meets-angst, sexy street cred with great traditional skills. 
Lee Harvey Roswell

Lee Harvey Roswell

Lee Harvey Roswell

Lee Harvey Roswell

A painted cigar box by Carolyn Meyer



Art filled bathroom in one of the motel rooms

Robert Berman Gallery- "bed" display- love the rumpled sheets!
While we visited there was a synchronized swimming performance in the pool. This performance was organized and produced by Bean Gilsdorf and Tsunami Swim, a local SF team. It was a truly wonderful treat to top off the day.  




Friday, May 27, 2011

American Iconomics at Shooting Gallery, WeekEnd Pick


The works of Akira Beard and James Charles are up at the Shooting Gallery in San Francisco thru June 4th. This is a sold show with two interesting and talented artists, well worth  a visit this holiday weekend. The show is aptly titled "American Iconomics" and features faces of America, some famous and some not.

Akira's works have been featured here before on Eclectix - they are deftly painted and drawn portraits, many with writing, on journal paper, complete with wrinkles and tears. The frames have been wonderfully splashed with dripping paint adding to the grunge feel of  his works. A gritty and moving ambiance saturates Akira's works with a very human compassion and appreciation. I have seen many, many portraits of Keith Richards over the years and Akira's is by far the best of the lot. He really captures the weathered skin and character with a masterful result. These pieces really need to be viewed in person, the rubbed and smudged skin tones and the bleeding watercolors are just fantastic.


James Charles - overview of just a few...
James Charles works are witty, satirical and sometimes irreverent portraits drawn and painted on actual US currency. The title of the subject/image is hand lettered at the bottom of each bill, meticulously crafted in the same font style as the original lettering. For instance - the lettering on one of Bush read "War Criminal". He has many images in this show, do to their smaller size, a lot can be packed onto one wall without being over crowded. They are fun and interesting works within a really creative platform.


My favorites were the Jimi Hendrix, Iggy Pop and the Tin Man as "Heavy Metal". There was even one there of the curator himself,  Justin Giarla. Most of the portraits are monochrome matching the dollar color scheme but a few have added touches of brilliant color. Nice collection and exhibit. For all the images at the gallery's website click here.

artMRKT San Francisco 2011 Review

Detail - Sean Cheetham
Wonderful lady atop her fabulous tent dress at the artMRKT entrance.

It was a big weekend in SF for art, lots of art fairs going on. Eclectix visited two, the artMRKT and the ArtPadSF. ArtPad was our favorite for reasons (saved for a later review and post), however artMRKT was really rewarding and worthwhile. It was held at the Concourse Exhibition Center in downtown San Francisco, a gigantic space with a ton of great art. There were many familiar artists whose work we love and have reviewed in the past plus many new. We have featured images of most, concentrating on our favorite picks of the newer (to us) artists. Many of the images are large and cropped to allow the detail to show. Our apologies for not getting the names of all the artists, all the fantastic art affected our brain functions a little. (Plus the art fairs all have bars just like at opening receptions, after many hours it all adds up!) If you do know the name of the uncredited ones, please comment and we will update the posts. If you decide to go next year and are pressed for cash, search around the web for free tickets, they are easily obtainable. But try to support the fairs if you can. Enjoy the art, we sure did!

Chris Antemann

Chris Antemann

Need the artist's name...

Need the artist's name...

Love the textures in these portraits - Need the artist's name...

Great white faced, little black girl with cotton flowered hair - Need the artist's name...

David Michael Bowers

Talk about realism! - (Detail of above) - David Michael Bowers

Detail of a Mark Ryden

Chester Arnold

Shin-Young An

Detail,  Shin-Young An
Jason Walker

Jason Walker

Scott Yeskel

Joe Brubaker

Joe Brubaker

Need artist's name...
One of two huge incredibly commanding and detailed pieces by Ian Ingram
Robert Van Vranken

John Tarahteeff

Detail - John Tarahteeff

Mike Stilkey

Great photograph! - need artist's name....

Joan Brown