EclectixPicks:The Academy of Art Spring Show, 2012

philip prudhomme

The annual spring show of the SF Academy of Art is always an interesting, varied and eclectic mix of fresh art. This year it is exhibited at The Cannery buildings, a nice large spread of artworks between floors. There is illustration, digital, architecture, book design, animation, 3d, fine art painting, sculpture, jewelry, product and graphic design, photography and you-name-it...  something for everyone here, many quality pieces - student art that is better than many pieces of "established" artists. Was very difficult to get good pictures of all the pieces we liked, due to glare - so some gems had to be left out. Even still, we've uploaded a lot of wonderful works to a Flicker set, 52 of our favorite picks. Another great thing about the show - is it is open on Mondays when all the other art galleries are closed!

Flicker Link to all the photos

laura craig

janelle claire beranek

lotan kritchman

hsin-yao tseng

yannan kang

ping hua chou

adrianne tamar mcphail

kristen grundy

Outlandish Art - in Walnut Creek!

"Outlandish" is the current exhibit at the Bedford Gallery and it is very worth seeing. Full of favorite locals we are familiar with and some new artists - it is a beautiful show in a great gallery space. Large, classy, brightly lit, very well hung and presented with lots of room to move and view. Some of the pieces were a bit too esoteric for my taste but overall it is a well thought out and curated show with tons of local flavor and different mediums. From their website:

"Outlandish: Contemporary Depictions of Nature — a two part exhibition that features both a juried section and an invitational... twenty-eight contemporary artists that explore themes of nature — from micro to the macro — ranging from a tiny speck of a garden to a global view of the world. This intriguing exhibition looks at over-the-top depictions of landscape from a variety of vantage points and in a range of media." 

Scrolling down are our picks from the exhibition.

 A dynamic, two-faced sculpture (in the alcove outside the front of the gallery) by John Casey & Derek Weisberg is the first piece, don't miss it - kinda easy to walk right by.

Gary Brewer

Yvette Molina

Detail from above

Tiffany Bozic

Crystal Morey

Detail from above piece

Arthur Bell

Dan Lydersen

Dan Lydersen, detail from above

Dan Lydersen

Jean Shifflet

Michael Hall

Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds, detail

Teresa Cunniff, resin sculptures

Jennifer Nelson

James Allison

James Allison, detail

Tim Armstrong, documentary photograph

Nicki Bernacchi

Nicki Bernacchi, detail

Tony Bellaver

Tiffany Bozic

Charlene Doiron Reinhart

Charlene Doiron Reinhart, beautiful detail from top of left head

Josh Keyes

Josh Keyes, detail

Wonderland Art in Los Angeles

Wonderland Gallery is Kat Von D's latest venture, which she opened in 2010 right next door to the LA Ink space. For those of you who don't know who Kat is - she is an incredible tattoo artist and has become quite a celebrity. Watching some of the LA Ink TV show will give you a better feel for her presence than any words or slick, airbrushed photographs can portray. Adept at realistic rendering, Kat's portraits on flesh are excellent as well as her design sense - she can merge a new image within previous tattoos very gracefully and cleanly. She has a very engaging way about her, a friendly and warm manner, enthusiastic about great art, fashion and music. She is very young to have so much success and the shallow pressures of the cosmetic Hollywood image are taking their toll on her. I hope she can rise about it all and concentrate on what really matters in life, retaining the attitude and integrity that made her unique, a kick-ass woman in a tattoo art world previously dominated by men. 

Tattoo by Kat Von D

Tattoo by Kat Von D

Tattoo by Kat Von D

Tattoo by Kat Von D

"Lady Kat Von D" by Patrushka

The current exhibit at Wonderland is Kevin Llewellyn's - "The Unsaid", which Eclectix previously posted about (link here.) This excellent exhibit has been up for a very, very long time and there doesn't seem to be any news on their site about future shows. Disappointing, as I have been secretly cheering Kat on - to kick some newbrow ass into the LA art world.  The exterior has great circus-like signage (top foto) which looks like it came from an old amusement park, right out of the neon boneyard. The gallery itself is a nice space, decorated in Victorian-vintage-Goth-salon style. Beautiful and lush antique furnishings with incredible frames on all Kevin's  art. A small shop area in the front contains a solid selection of art books, fierce glittering platform heels, taxidermy relics and other one-of-a-kind accessories for the tragically hip.  

The whole ambiance of the space was right up my alley - lots of red and black, velvets, carved gold and interesting, creepy fringe items. We had 4-5 questions about the art and merchandise while we visited - sadly, none of the employees could answer any of them and didn't offer to refer us to someone who could. Wonderland obviously has a creative and imaginative vision behind it, the window displays were a funky and surreal treat and the overall experience was chock full of arty inspiration. Just one last question- Kat, when and what is the next show?

Window display, Wonderland Gallery

Window display, Wonderland Gallery
We ducked into LA Ink next door to check out all the fantastic art on their walls. A veritable gallery itself, the folks were nice enough to let us wander around the tattoo area to eyeball the abundant imagery, lots of great originals by some of our favorite artists. Really loved the "The Four Agreements" text (bottom image) that was gorgeously framed on the wall - wonderfully perfect words to live by!