Eclectix Arts

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

David Ball & Locals in "The City We Love" Exhibit

This Saturday, Aug. 13th - an all locals group show opens at 941 Geary- "The City We Love." It has a large line up of great artists, predominantly all male, some of which we have blogged before. From the gallery site:

"The show is co-curated by Justin Giarla and local graffiti practitioner APEX, and features new work from artists actively engaged in San Francisco’s graffiti and street art culture. The opening reception is on Saturday, August 13, 2011 from 6-

9 pm, and the exhibition is free and open to the public for viewing through September 3."

Featured here are the works of one of the artists, David Ball. His surreal narrative works are sure to be one of the highlights - beautiful collage and mixed media spectaculars. When we asked David about his technique process, here's what he shared with us : "Acrylic, collage, and colored pencil. It starts with abstract paint, then goes to collage. From there it alternates between acrylic and pencil with the occasional collage addition, as it makes sense." And a wondrous sense they all make!

For a wonderful video on David and his insightful, non-toxic thoughts on art, click here.

For some informative tips from David on his mixed media technique, click here for the interview by Argot & Ochre.

Robert Montgomery’s Inspiring Word Works

Robert describes himself as working within "a poetic and melancholic post-situationist tradition" and his billboard-style art often "hijacks" advertising space in the city to highlight the absurdity and complexity of modern life. He also made a series of “hijacked” neon signs and created desert sculptures using solar cells. “They are intended to be encountered by commuters who don’t know they are art and an attempt to describe in public space what it feels like to live now.”

LINK to Robert's Website

(Originally posted on the Eclectix homepage "BURN" Issue, August 2011,

along with the permanent online exhibit of fire-related art, LINK HERE.)

Friday, August 5, 2011

Carved Matchstick Sculptures

These tiny sculptures are all the size of a matchstick!

A simple and original message from the Makati City Fire Station (above). Great advertising from DDB.

Above Three: Publicado Por Dr.Fofato, Dos Fosforos Bailando Tango and Santa by Javier Gobai

Don’t you just love the fact that he used a match head for Santa’s sack?

Above: Mythology matchsticks - Venus de Milo, David and Mercurio by Christian Hernandez

Monkey by Linda Master

Parrot by Linda Master

Artist unknown, Photo by Steven Depolo

(Originally posted in the Eclectix "BURN" Issue, July 2011,

along with the permanent online exhibit of fire-related art, LINK HERE.)

"Illusions of Grandeur" Opening at 111 Minna Gallery

Lee Harvey Roswell

Eclectix was so happy to feast our eyes at Minna's opening last night of "Illusions of Grandeur" - Paintings Reflecting the Imaginations of: NoMe Edonna and Lee Harvey Roswell.

This is a really stupendous show - full of surreal symbolism, Dali influences, drugged hallucinations, wry humor and tons of original artistic imaginings. One of the best Bay Area best shows we have viewed in a while. Both artists reflect and complement each other, playing off shapes and themes to engage the viewer, letting us wander inside their heads for peeks at twisted, sensual and funny subjects.

Lee Harvey Roswell's works (below) tell stories wit a narrative flow with humorous titles and details. He is obviously a huge fan of Salvador Dali and does skilled homage to the master in a number of paintings. The imagination and vision succeeds in each piece- wowing the viewer without being trite or pretentious.

Lee Harvey Roswell

Detail- Lee Harvey Roswell

Lee Harvey Roswell

Detail- Lee Harvey Roswell

Lee Harvey Roswell

Spoon toes, detail from previous - Lee Harvey Roswell

Lee Harvey Roswell

NoMe Edonna's works ( all below ) - while having surreal elements, tend to lean towards more abstraction or straight ahead portraits and rendering. He plays with shapes and geometrics, folding and molding them into visual trips thru his brain. Sometimes beautifully graceful, other times hard edged and confrontational.

Detail - NoMe Edonna

NoMe Edonna

Loved this triptych! - NoMe Edonna

NoMe Edonna

For a previous Eclectix post of Lee's works at ArtPads click here.

For a beautiful art book "Further" with some of NoMe's works, click here.

Get out to SF and 111 Minna Gallery to see this fantastic show, it's up through August 27th, 2011.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Cause Attaboy Sez- You Might Be A Monster!

Attaboy has a great new book out "You Might Be A Monster", a perfect hip gift for yourself or some kids in need of inspired imagination. Not to mention it may make all those "monsters" seem a little less scary. He is hosting a number of book signings around town and points yonder in the near future.

8/6/11: The Escapist

3090 Claremont Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705

Book Release and Attaboy Reads and Signs at Berkeley’s amazing new book store.

8/7/11: SFMOMA

151 Third St., San Francisco, CA 94103

Book Release and Attaboy Reads and Signs at the SFMOMA! This will be a reading followed by a signing, as part of their family activities day.

"Attaboy's creepy cool monsters are an insane delight. They'll leap off the page, squirm through your optic nerve, and haunt your brain forever. And that's a good thing."

- Mark Fraunfelder, founder of Boing Boing

Link for a look inside at all the beautifully fun imagery.

Link to the future signing dates and locations.

Scott Marr’s Pigmented Pyrography

Australian artist Scott Marr has a unique technique of drawing using pyrography (the art of using a heated tip to burn or scorch designs onto wood) and painting with natural pigments, predominantly from the bush. His works just blew us away- beautiful creatures and anthropomorphic mixtures - full of poetic tiny details, tribal decor and emotional imaginings.

“By the time Scott sits down at the easel, his works of art are already well underway. A large part of Scott’s artistic practice is comprised of the identification, collection and preparation of an astounding range of natural pigments. His bush pigments are unpredictable by nature, ensuring that each work of art is imbued with a genuine uniqueness. The variable palette reflects the dynamic and seasonal character of the natural world, where no two days or places are the same. Scott says, “Over the past few years, I’ve been experimenting with the extraction and application of natural pigments. I now feel my experimentation has become my applied practice. This confidence together with the discovery of new colors has opened up new dimensions for my art”.” - Via KatoomaFineArt

For Scott’s art blog, click here.

For a look/listen at Osunlade's new album "Pyrography", for which Scott did all the incredible art, click here.

(Originally posted in the Eclectix "BURN" Issue, July 2011,

along with the permanent online exhibit of fire-related art, LINK HERE.)

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

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.