Gesture and Gestalt Paintings of Albert Hwang and the Glass & Metal Sculpture of Victoria Skirpa

Opening Reception:
Saturday December 16th 06, 6pm-9pm
Show runs 12/15/06 through 01/15/07

What IS Gesture and Gestalt?

A Gesture is a form of non-verbal communication made with a part of the body, used instead of or in combination with verbal communication.

Gestalt: A collection of physical, biological, psychological or symbolic Forms that create a unified concept, configuration or pattern which is greater than the sum of its parts.

The art exhibit Gesture and Gestalt is a meeting place of opposites, an experience that summons you closer. This provocative show is akin to the surreal and evocative of human drama. Together the never before displayed black & white spiral paintings of Albert Hwang and the bodily, organic sculptures of Victoria Skirpa create a virtual theater of gesture and Form/Gestalt.

Who are the artists?

Albert Hwang began drawing from an early age.  He majored in studio art at UC Irvine and studied painting in NY before moving to San Francisco in 2005 in order to pursue his career as a painter. Much of his recent work deals with the duality of nature by rendering the tension between opposing pictorial forces.

On display will be both his black & white spirals and color paintings. These works will be on public display for the first time.

“There often comes a moment while working on a painting when it seems that the shapes and forms may actually spring to life. If this moment were realized, I may have found myself painting the perfect picture. This cycle of hope and despair is both stimulating and habit forming, acting as an impetus for each successive picture” – Albert Hwang
 

 

Victoria Skirpa is largely self-taught, gaining skills through apprenticeship and trial and error. As a result of her incredible creative and material breadth, her skills include glass casting, large and jewelry-scale metal smithing, and restoration.

Skirpa’s glass-work confronts and explores the tension in attraction and repulsion; the grotesque is a point of inquiry. Her metalwork tends to evoke futuristic universes. She often seeks a playful relationship with work, evocative of feminine iconography and sexual innuendo. However, a continual thread remains: the relationship of forms to living bodies - animal, human, and insect. On display will be glass, metal and mixed media sculpture. 

“A Gesture is a form of movement, is something that glides past its motion, resonating in space, moving beyond its initial expression. Gestalt formation is where a gesture stops gliding and is perceived as form.” – Victoria Skirpa

From Aperture to Audio

A multimedia collaboration by: Photographer Peter Lippman, and Composer Dan Finnerty.
Opening Reception:
Saturday November 18th 06, 6pm-9pm
Show runs 11/15/06 through 12/14/06


Presented for the first time, a multimedia collaboration between photographer Peter Lippman, and composer/DJ Dan Finnerty (Spinnerty).   From Aperture to Audio introduces the pairing of Lippman’s photography with Spinnerty’s computer-based compositions. Spinnerty’s music combines voices, keyboards, sampling, and everyday industrial and natural sounds.  Each image/composition is presented as one; imagery infused with music and exhibited with listening stations.
 Lippman is a self-taught San Francisco Based professional photographer who has been published internationally and has shown across the US. Most recently published in German based Feierabend, his work ranges from simultaneously stoic and sensitive black and white images to dramatic color images. Lippman’s work, often dreamlike, draws the viewer into his world. “Lippman’s images have a sense of long lost memory; like someone longing for love and affection.  They are quite moving and poetic.”,said Thai photographer Ohm.
Spinnerty’s compositions provide a lush, textured and eclectic soundtrack that is reminiscent of Radiohead, Portishead, the films of Kurasawa and 2001, A Space Odyssey. Spinnerty is trained in the traditions of classical, jazz and improvisational music; his most recent work is included in the "Discoveries" compilation due out this November on urban and electronic label Om Records.
A DVD of the photography and music is available for purchase both at the gallery and online at: spinnerty's blog

Peter Lippman
Spinnerty.com

RAW From the streets to the walls

A group show of two young up and coming East Bay Artists
Whitson Hunter & Rebecca Lord – Painting and mixed media

Opening Reception:

Saturday October 14th 06, 6pm-9pm
Show runs 10/14/06 through 11/15/06

Whitson Hunter grew up in the streets of Oakland; he lives, works and loves this city. On any given day he passes the faces on the streets that speak to why he respects and loves Oakland with such a passion. He retains the memories of those characters and brings them to life on canvas; his way of documenting the daily life of Oakland. Self described as scrappy and Raw, Whitson is one of the most powerful young emerging artists of Oakland today. Hunter learned to paint while studying graphic design at Philadelphia University, with roots in print making, his explorations have lead him to painting, photography, collages, and mixed media. Armed with his new weapon of choice; he merged his love of Oakland into his work. RAW is just a small glimpse of his view of the cultural power, Intensity and brilliance of Oakland.
Artist statement: “This body of work is a tribute to my community. It embodies the same colors and textures of Oakland. Each face has a story behind it and is a reflection of the feelings and emotions that I feel from the streets. I use solid colors, collage paper, and a persons eyes to recreate my environment, my goal is to express feelings though images.

Whitson Hunter

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Rebecca Lord a self described Berkeley poet comes from a family of artists, and combines painting and poetry into a raw vibrant cabaret/circus style of art. Mixed with a bit of shadows, chaos, and often dark text, Lord will be showing her work publicly in a gallery for the first time ever. Lord was born in Malden, Massachusetts and grew up in many different apartments in and around Brookline.  On Groundhog's day 1996 she moved to California and has lived there ever since.  She uses only gouache and her style is not quite fine art yet, not quite cartoonish, it is somewhere right down the middle. From doodles of lambchop to the Spice Girls to now painting, she has been has been creating art her entire life.

"If I couldn't express myself on paper, I would feel lost." - Rebecca Lord

Rebecca Lord

RAW

Embrace self-expression through freedom of speech . empower though words... act with vision

Gods & Aeroplanes Acrylic and mixed media of Sally Rodrigue

Show runs September 15th - October 14th, 2006
Artists reception: Saturday September 16th, 6pm - 8pm

GODS & AEROPLANES:  Unveils Sally Rodriguez’s most spectacular mixed media piece to date. Rodriguez invites you to experience a present day metaphorical tale. Her creatures both god like and of half human spirit result in a gargantuan display of multi-media pieces representing the quest of seeking god and finding ourselves.

Dioses
GODS & AEROPLANES = forces of nature divided by the actions of man
…think of it as a mathematical ratio.
AERO = to soar
PLANES = our existence

Surrounded by atmospheric gods Rodriguez’s premier piece Icarus is a colossal soaring creature designed and built specifically for this show. Icarus, half human half beast rises to the next atmospheric level post wing repair. In a compilation of blueprints, three dimensional wall blocks of sheet metal and copper nails are interspersed in paintings of vibrant red and blue abstract in both acrylic and oils.

About the artist:
Sally Rodriguez began painting in 2003 while living in Missoula, Montana, she is entirely self taught, and works in a wide variety of painting styles and mediums. Her work creates an ethereal experience filled with colorful characters and festive vibrancy.

Educated at the University of California Santa Cruz she holds a Bachelors degree in Women's Studies, with a minor in Latin American History.  Rodriguez, then 36 found artistic expression so powerful, that she has continued to explore reality through the means of color, texture, and form.  Presently she works full time as an artist and a teacher.

Artist statement:
“MY ICARUS is not about failure, but of triumph through the repair of his wings, utilizing the transformative spirit intrinsic to human creativity.  I challenge the audience to take their own interpretation of myths, gods, and beliefs and to apply them to our current times.”

fortunaluz@sbcglobal.net
http://www.fortunaluz.com/

déjà vu, Photography - Janeyce Ouellette Sculpture - Kelly Steinauer

August 16th - September 14th, 2006

Artists reception: Saturday August 19th, 6pm - 8pm

déjà vu invites you to challenge your view of the human form. Life, death, presence, absence, strength, vulnerability, loss and fear are rolled into this deeply private spiritual group exhibit. On display is the hand printed black and white photography of Janeyce Ouellette and manipulated leather sculpture of Kelly Steinauer.

As a photographer Ouellette will often hear feedback about the noticeable absence of people in her work.  Their very absence, however, notes, like negative space, their presence.  Implied, anthropomorphized, or subject matter touched by human hands, now long gone, individuals are indeed present, spiritually, if not physically.

Her education and background is in both psychology and art. As a clinical social worker, Ouellette has maintained a fascination with the integration between psychology and the therapeutic aspects of art.  The creative process is deeply integrated in her professional practice, just as it is in her personal life.

This body of work resulted from her direct support to others as they coped with their loss and grief in San Francisco during a time besieged by overwhelming, and relentless loss from AIDS.  Within her professional caregiver role, ironically, she found herself without opportunity to process her own grief. Photography has become her own creative expression of honoring those no longer physically in this world.

Like life itself, photography captures an elusive moment in time; shadows and light in black and white reflect the interplay between life and death. Its absence falls somewhere within the gray, as psyche converge with objects, they transform from form to spirit. Her work is a deeply private and spiritual process; she rarely chooses to show her work publicly.

Janeyce Ouellette

415.731.0380

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Professional designer and sculptor Kelly Steinauer, prefers to work in leather because of its qualities of strength, malleability, and its resemblance to human tissue. She manipulates and molds leather with water to explore the endless textures and forms of the human body. Some of her unusual techniques include the incorporation of found objects and the application of a rusting process to the leather.

Influenced by armor, exoskeletons and anatomy, Steinauer explores fear and safety by transforming leather into aged metal and skin-like sculptures. Internal organs, featuring found metal fixtures, look like abandoned car parts with rippled cellular textures. A helmet made of rusted leather scales curls in on itself like a crustacean hiding from a predator. A set of skin-covered teeth appears to grind quietly in a cage.

Steinauer's sculptures blur the boundaries between the organic and the mechanical, and expose the body from the inside out. Utilizing the visual and structural elements of armor and anatomy, she is exploring the dichotomy of personal safety and fear.

“I have encountered and explored my fears of being attacked in remote hills of Oakland where I spend a large amount of time running alone on trails. These fears get blurred with contrasting feelings of strength and invincibility that come from exercise, movement, and breathing fresh air. I seek to capture these seemingly contradictory experiences in my work to encourage viewers to question their own ideas about safety and strength, vulnerability and comfort.”

Kelly Steinauer
www.kellyst.com

Unassuming Anarchy, Paintings by Bruce Tamberelli

With the mixture of color, design, inner thoughts and outer experiences, Tamberelli explodes
 on the canvas in a tsunami of chaos.

Tamberelli is an Oakland based multi-media artist, Compulsive yet controlled,
stories in stories, designs merging onto …… unassuming anarchy
Unassuming Anarchy runs through August 15th
Artist reception: Thursday July 13th, 6pm - 9pm

Bruce Tamberelli

Is an Oakland based multi-media artist with 27 years of experience, he has traveled the world extensively documenting his unique perspective. His mediums include; photography, gouache and oil, and more.

Bruce received his initial training in photography in the late 1970s. During the 1980s he lived in Hoboken, New Jersey, documenting the gentrification of the area. That work is now part of the collection of the Hoboken Historical Museum. It was during that period that Bruce started to explore mixed media, using manipulated Polaroid’s and acrylic paints. In the early 1990s oil paints came into his art fold and he has been painting ever since. /p>

The primary basis of his paintings lies in the imagination. Some possibly buried in the unconscious imagery, others not. He sees his work as non-traditional landscapes incorporating familiar subjects, world events and his own daily life. Looking to express emotions, thoughts and sometimes humor in a condensed, yet intriguing manner Bruce draws in the viewer. In the past 18 months, he has made close to 500 paintings and recently been doing photography again.

In the late 1990’s, he had a life changing experience while sharing his passion for art and creation with mentally challenged adults. Teaching at Options, in Kentucky, proved to be one of the most inspirational experiences of his life.

In ‘unassuming anarchy’ he challenges his audience to view compilations of small paintings joined as one large image. Each painting represents one second in time, moving to the next second, it’s any time, anywhere, you decide. Each painting is a new experience, titles, relationships, ideas and insights all intermingled into the various combinations………of unassuming anarchy.

What do you see?

Contact Bruce : 510.465.7286,

Duane Cramer WORKS, 10 years in the making

Provocative, sensual, hypnotic, earthy: just some of the adjectives that apply to Cramer’s work.

His work invites the viewer to look into the souls of his subjects and look beyond the obvious.

Cramer Is a San Francisco based internationally acclaimed photographer. Over the past 10 years his work has developed from classically beautiful black and white photography of nudes to photojournalism, architecture, and International magazine work, transcending many styles.

Cramer turns every shoot into, a lively, sensual event. Therefore, Ultimately exposing the timeless beauty that is immortalized in his images.

In addition to being an accomplished image maker, Cramer is an active member in the community. He has been a tireless advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness and education. He currently serves as vice president of the Frameline board of directors, and previously served on the board of directors for the Millennium March on Washington, NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, and LGBT Community Center of San Francisco. He is also an active volunteer for the Black AIDS Institute.

In July 2006 Cramer will embark on a national tour: ELEGANT is a traveling exhibition of Duane Cramer’s photographic works. Provocative, sensual, hypnotic, earthy: just some of the adjectives that apply to Cramer’s work. He establishes an intimacy between the subjects of his photos and the viewer, inventively employing light as a facilitator to seduction. Cramer’s imagery is simply ELEGANT.

On display at FLOAT is a small preview of his work....

Nick

Duane Cramer WORKS runs from May 16th - July 11th 2006

Artist reception:

Saturday June 3rd, 6 PM - 9 PM


www.duanecramer.com

Card design by: Damien Alverez 415-827-1469
Henning

Duane@duanecramer.com

FLOAT, Floatation Center Art Gallery opening Art show

FLOAT opened on April 15th 2006 with a group show of diverse san Francisco bay area artists.

The show ran April 15th - May 15th, 2006

Featured Artists:
Albert Hwang, Bruce Tamberelli, Duane Cramer, Janeyce Ouellette,
Peter Lippman, Maria Nikl, Martin Web, Sally Rodriguez, and Adekunle Kabir Adejare