"The Order" Opens This Saturday

 This Saturday at Modern Eden in SF- opens a new exhibition of two artist whose works we love and have featured over the years. Titled "The Order", it draws from the imaginative collaboration of Michael Ryan and Bradley Platz. Former studio mates and long time friends, "The Order" will be Platz and Ryan's 2nd duo show after 2008's acclaimed "Portraits and Allegories" at Eclectix Gallery. 

 In this new exhibition the concepts of both artists weave together through their respective solo work and culminate to find an exact cohesion in a 2 panel diptych in which Platz and Ryan have collaborated. The dramatic piece depicts Sophia and the The Demiurge, Gnostic and platonic deities responsible for fashioning the material world out of primordial chaos. From San Francisco to Seattle the artists have put together compelling individual bodies of work that, collectively, tell a story about the incidental beauty of creating Order from Chaos.

 Modern Eden will also be showcasing a International group exhibition “The New Surrealism : A Collection of Strange”- in homage to the strange and weird, reflecting the evolving future of surrealism in the modern age. Exhibiting artists include: Steve Bartlett, Bonni Reid, Sandra Yagi, David Ball, Lee Harvey Roswell, Vahge, Adriana Michelle, Lacey Bryant, Lance Hewison, Michelle Waters, Moises Hergueta, Christine Benjamin, Kieran Collins, Emilio Villalba, Anderson Lewis, Andy B. Clarkson, Natasha Dikareva, Archer Dougherty, Samuel Araya, Baldur Helgason, and David Camisa.

When: Opening Reception: Saturday, July 16, 2011 7PM, Artists will be in attendance.

Show runs through Sunday, August 13, 2011

Where: Modern Eden Gallery

403 Francisco Street

San Francisco, CA 94133

Sneak Details and Preview Of "That Was Then, This is Now" at 111 MInna

Eclectix popped into 111 Minna Gallery this week and caught the new exhibit before it's opening reception tonight. One of our favorite artists, the esteemed Nathan Ota has all new works here in a collaboration. From the Minna site:

Tonight, 111 Minna Gallery proudly presents, “That Was Then, This Is Now.” The first major collaborative exhibition by Kelly Graval and Nathan Ota, aka RISK and COOZ, reunites these artists whose friendship began before they would respectfully become graffiti legends in the streets and revered artists in galleries and museums across the globe.

Took some photos of the works below - some are very cropped to show the fantastic detail and glow of the works. For all the complete images - go to the Minna site HERE.

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.

Pulp Fashion Exhibit at the Legion of Honor

The current exhibit "Pulp Fashion" at S.F.'s Legion of Honor is beautifully executed and laid out. All the costumes are created out of paper by the artist Isabelle de Borchgrave and her minions. For info and more photos of the garments, as well as some of Isabelle working, click here.
Isabelle hand-makes the paper, manipulates the pulp, stretching, crinkling and puckering. And then she tears, sews, wrinkles, folds and pleats. If you look closely you can even find the inner structures of cardboard boxes - as in one of the intricate lace collars. Spotted some shredded packing materials in there as well. Multitudes of textures abound- delicate rice papers for gauze veils and petticoats, shiny satin-like papers and matte hued thicker papers. She paints detailed patterns and backgrounds, paying historical homage to the likes of the Medici family, Coco Chanel and Marie-Antoinette. From buttons to bows, beads to lace, corsets to belts (even the coolest little Aladdin-like slippers) no detail was left out. Many of the mannequins were also layered in paper bringing a tactile uniformity to the displays. Every outfit is an incredible assemblage, really makes one wonder just how many hours it took to complete this huge collection.

Pulp Fashion: The Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave, 
February 5, 2011 - June 5, 2011

Our Top Art Picks: From The Warhol Reimagined Exhibit in San Francisco

Dropped in to the opening of the Warhol Reimagined show in SF. This is the first show at Warholian's new gallery- Project One, a combined bar-club-gallery (a smart way to pay the rent now-a days). Nice large gallery space, hopping youngish crowd and plenty of parking- due to it being off-the-beaten track a little in the "design district".
Nice show with lots of solid pieces, a very fun theme, re-doing Warhol. Many superb local artists I recognized and some new to me. Really enjoyed the creative idea behind the "soup can" wall, where artists re-did their own Campbell's soup can imagery.
Couldn't find the images on their site, so thought I'd share photos of our favorite ones with you here. (sorry for the blurry ones...) The exhibit is up until April 19th, so check it out!

"New Beginnings" at Space Gallery in San Francisco, This Friday!

Zira from Planet of the Apes by Isabel Samaras

"New Beginnings" at Space Gallery

Opening: March 11, 7 pm to 12 am

Thru April 2nd, 2011

1141 Polk Street, San Francisco, CA