Yarn Art Attacks in the Bay Area

Yarn Attack, downtown Berkeley

While driving around Berkeley, Albany and Oakland lately, I noticed many stop sign poles and other public sign posts were recently adorned in cute little sweaters. Custom knit to fit the poles, they are colorful and strange oddities. Found a little note on one crediting "Streetcolor" , an anonymous knitter who documents his or her work on the Streecolor blog. A little web research reveals these yarn attacks are known as yarn bombing...


From Wikipedia - Yarn bombing, yarnbombing, graffiti knitting or yarnstorming is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colorful displays of knitted or crocheted cloth rather than paint or chalk. While yarn installations – called yarn bombs or knit bombs – may last for years, they are considered non-permanent, and, unlike graffiti, can be easily removed if necessary. The practice is believed to have originated in the U.S. with Texas knitters trying to find a creative way to use their leftover and unfinished knitting projects, but it has since spread worldwide.


There is a wealth of weird yarn bombing pix here at Yarn bombing. It has become a worldwide movement that aims to “improve the urban landscape one stitch at at time”.

Albany yarn bombing

Wanda Exhibit, New Works by Kurtis Rykovich at Kaleid Gallery, San Jose

Made it down to San Jose's Kaleid Gallery to see Kurtis Rykovich's new works, "Wanda". A heartfelt homage to his mother and the victims of breast cancer, this was a personal and emotional exhibit. I was very, very moved by the artworks and scrawled notations on the walls next to each painting. Kurtis's work had one dedicated wall in the gallery space which he painted it a loose pastel green, complete with roller paths and drips. It gave a nice contrasting edge to the primarily pink and white palette of his works. The works themselves were wonderful, sad but beautifully haunting with happy memories.
From Kurtis:
" I hope that when these paintings are viewed that they are not blunt about the disease but show a beauty and respect for those that might be going or have gone through this war."
His goal was achieved and then some; the care, tenderness and thought behind the art is obvious. These beautiful women and symbolic cures float graceful and strong in their netherworlds of hope.

The "Wanda" show is up thru April 30th, try to get down to see it. Take a gurlfriend or your mom. :)
Kaleid Gallery
Kurtis has shown in a number of Eclectix exhibits, as well a solo show "Delicate". For more of his works, visit the site here: Eclectix Available Art

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’

Bay Area Townie: The Photography of Peter Tonningsen

Second In a Series on Bay Area Artists:

Inspired by the "This Town" Exhibit at Eclectix Gallery, Thru August 16th

Peter Tonningsen is a fine art photographer, living in the SF Bay Area. His work runs truly eclectic - historical documenting, street portraits, scientific archiving of postmortem birds, to found art collections from the shorelines of the San Francisco Bay. The one common thread through-out all his works is his impeccable technical skill and luscious printing, beautiful statements on the past and current world we inhabit. From a look at his mother's dressing table and it's daily decor, to desolate naval stations, to street punk rockers and abandoned buildings, he captures the moods and feelings with graceful artistry.

In his "Flotsam & Jetsam" series; things that were discarded, left-behind or washed ashore become discovered anew. A rubber ducky, an old jar or a lost glove- poetic symbols of our culture arranged in hauntingly beautiful, specimen-like presentations. A fun and unique approach to re-cycling our memories and appreciating our histories.

See the "Flotsam & Jetsam" series and four of his street portraits in the "This Town" exhibits, thru August 16th, 2009 at Eclectix Gallery.

"This Town", Images of Northern California, Art Exhibit

Our Northern California: People, Places & Things
If you are looking for some great images of the local area and something "hometown" to do over your vacation, this show is for you. Stunning art of the cities, people, cultures and landscapes that inhabit our diverse Northern California environs. Featuring works by more than 25, known and unknown, local artists with photography, painting, sculpture, mixed media and drawing. Not your typical exhibit of tourist landscapes! Images of costumed San Franciscans, sleek sky scrapers, Oakland Hell's Angels, cool coffee shops, the majestic Golden Gate, thirsty deserts, happenin' neighborhood scenes, and even the Bay's landfill -- all compose an exciting, beautiful and eclectic look at our local world.
Artists: Don Albonico, Joanne Corbaley, Alicia DeBrincat, Maria DeRoy, Paul Graf, Joe Hayama, John Howard, Aaron Johnson, Larry Jones, Eric Joyner, Joanna Katz, Boris Koodrin, Sonia Melnikova-Raich, Patrushka, Crystal Morey, Chuck Mitchell, Fletcher Oakes, Christopher Peterson, Kurtis Rykovich, Andrew Jay Schlussel, John Seabury, Laurie Search, Strephon Taylor, Cynthia Tom, Peter Tonningsen, Katherine Westerhout
Exhibit Dates: July 3rd- Aug.16th, Opening Reception: July 3rd, 7-10 pm, Live Music by "Eclair de Lune"
Voted “Best Gallery” in the Bay Area by SF Chronicle’s ‘Best of the BayList’
Eclectix Gallery, 10082 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito, CA 94530
For Hours and More - Please go to: http://www.eclectix.com

Isabel Samaras - In Da' House at Eclectix Gallery, June 20th!

If you're not familiar with Samaras's art you should be. A fixture in the Newbrow (or lowbrow) art scene for many years, Isabel has contributed her feminine wiles to the (more-often-than-not) male contemporary art world with fantastic and creative masterpieces of pop-surrealism. Her new book is titled "On Tender Hooks", just released by Chronicle. In it, you will be able to journey thru her works, past and present. Pulling images from pop culture, classic novels, TV shows, music and movies, she intelligently plays with icons and symbols of our youth and history. Putting well-known characters in fun, erotic, political and evocative situations we can only try to fantasize about. With witty settings and twists on personas, she leads us through her imaginative land of strange and wonderful juxtapositions. Painting in a lush and vibrant style, borrowing heavily from famous Old Master paintings and classic surrealist imagery, she merges  "now" into the old. 

In her latest body of work, "Into the Woodz", Samaras turns her keen eye and thoughtful humor towards classic fairy tale characters and plots. Plucking well-known types such as Little Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks from their traditional settings, she injects them full of today's bling and sting. 

Blogged here, are just a few of her paintings, however she has a whole book full! The web can hardly do justice to her art (or any art for that matter), so to view some REAL paintings in person and to meet the REAL live artist herself, come on down to Eclectix on June 20th. A connected, down-to-earth, involved, wonderfully fun person, she's a treat to meet! You may grab a copy of her book there and have the diva do a little doodle in it. Also, check out the very cool, limited edition "Nutz" china plates by Samaras. "Bling Squirrel", anyone? Plenty in the house for you all to eat up! Buy one for Papa Bear, after all Father's Day is the 21st, (he can always use more bling) and you can help support Eclectix as well!

Saturday June 20th, 6-8 pm

http://www.eclectix.com

http://www.astrocat.com/samaras/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ0j7N90kyg

A Look at Laurie Hassold's Art, Meet the Artist, June 20th

Laurie  Hassold's masterful works cry out in their own little wiggly world. At first glance, I was struck by their symmetrical, flowering grace and elegant composure. Somehow, one knows a woman created them, both beautiful yet somehow painful. At closer look, the juxtapositions in her imagery start to smack you around. They are delicate yet grisly, feminine yet macho, organic yet mechanical, cerebral yet sensual, fun but also dead serious. The ying and yang of her works are reflective of life itself and it is her singular creativity, which holds our interest and makes us want more. Sculptures which resemble organic creatures of the Alien variety, they are composed of sometimes humorous, often symbolic and always strangely wondrous recycled items. 

"Their elaborate bone-like structures give the appearance of predatory fossils from the future, aggressive bodies without minds that leave one to ask “what will reign at the top of the food chain after the human race has become extinct?” In my artistic practice, I explore the symbiosis of apparent opposites to suggest that the tension between mind and body is precisely what makes us uniquely human."

It seems she begins with a formed wire base, molded with epoxy clay and florist tape. From there the piece evolves into it's own incarnation and along the way, items are incorporated. Enamel paints, life casts, fur, chiffon, jewelry, elephant tusks, toys, found objects, lace, dolls, beads and skull parts, to name but just a few.

"My core interest in making art lies in blurring the boundaries between art, science, literature and psychology, by focusing on how these disciplines each negotiate the split between mind and body. Growing up in a physician’s household, I was exposed at a very young age to the body’s visceral workings, and by the age of eleven had witnessed a range of surgical procedures, from minor mole excisions to full hysterectomies. I continue to be fascinated with our complex, yet efficient biology, and how we, as a species, mediate our corporeal existence within an increasingly advanced technological world. Technology enables us to surpass the limits of our physical form, but how does it affect our psyche, our spirit? By using the body, both literally and symbolically, I fuse scientific with artistic practices in an effort to blur the boundaries between my own mind and body."

Laurie currently has four pieces on display in the "All-Gurlz" Exhibit at Eclectix Gallery. A Southern California resident, she will be in town at the Closing Reception on June 20th, from 6 to 8 pm.

For more info: http://www.eclectix.com

Great Gurl Art: Cool Colette Calascione

Eclectix found Colette's work while surfing around San Francisco artists for fashion related art (for the previous 'Fierce Fashion' exhibit).  It turns out she no longer lives in S.F. but has moved to New York. Plus, she deals with only one gallery, on the East Coast. And it seems she paints very slowly, not producing much during a year. But what she does produce, is so well worth the wait. Her work has got to be seen! So... until she shows here at Eclectix,  for all you West Coasters, are just a few of her  wondrous and elegantly detailed works. They evoke the classical Old Masters with a New Mistress twist, full of surreal wit and sensuous beauty. For a link to her site, click on the title of this post... and Colette, you go, gurl!

100 Influential People Art

This  is a beautiful, old-master style, painting depicting 100 of the most "influential people", at least according to Time magazine. Women are playing an all-to-typically small part in their scenario of "his"tory, since none of them would exist, if it weren't for the moms out there. However, this is an interesting ponder, there are links on all the faces to info on them. So click on a few noses and have fun testing your knowledge.

Painting by Dai Dudu, Li Tiezi, and Zhang An, 2006, oil on canvas

Go Here to click the art-

http://cliptank.com/PeopleofInfluencePainting.htm

Entomology: McCann's Ladybug Collection

A must see at Eclectix, Katie McCann’s latest body of works, “Entomology”, comprise elegant insects, Victorian images and recycled materials into her specimen creations & “Lady Bugs”. Using collage, beads, fabric, old photos and paint she weaves a wonderful web of eclectic personas.  

All Gurlz Again, Get Your Mom Art On!

It's time for a sneak peek at the upcoming All Gurlz show at Eclectix. Just a few of the many striking pieces of art that made it into the packed, loaded and dangerous show.

All the art is produced by women or gurlz. Get your glasses on, your checkbooks out and your mom in tow, for a fun & exciting exhibit. Because girls just wanna' have fun...