Natural Inspection, by Dana Rottler

Natural Inspection
Mixed media sculptural installations by Dana Rottler

Artist reception Saturday, November 6^th, 2010, 6 to 9pm

With live music by Laura  Inserra

Show runs November 1^st to December 11th

Natural Inspection showcases the mixed media sculptural installations of Dana Rottler, focusing on material and meaning. Rottler challenges you too; Dive into exploration! She offers an investigation of her sculpted visions of societal structure, comparing and contrasting today, history, and the future. Displaying artwork of purpose- pushing humans boundaries, searching for a new world order, and seeking a reconnection to life.

About The Artist:

Dana Rottler

As an emerging artist, Rottler's brings a new perspective to the art scene.  Rottler uses materials for their essence, while highlighting the unseen or forgotten elements of life.  Magnifying creation with natural collections placed as the gems in her sculptures.  Everything from sand to human hair is an applicable art medium. Conceptually speaking and believing that modern society has lost sight of the value of life, yet through her creations a realization can be made, potentially colliding with life again.

About the Music:

Laura Inserra is a vibrant and talented composer, multi-instrumentalist, teacher, performer and artistic director.
For the opening pary she will be performing HANG. The sound of the Hang creates an ambiance, a sonic tapestry, an atmosphere that is spacious and easy to immerse oneself in.
The sounds drift in and out of awareness, like the scent of nearby incense...

Visions of Ghana

Visions of Ghana

Photography by Dr. Marcus Lorenzo Penn, original Ghana artifacts complements of the African Outlet.

Artist reception:
Saturday September 25^th, 2010, 6pm to 9pm
Exhibit runs September 20^th through October 30^th 

About Dr. Marcus Lorenzo Penn:

Dr. Marcus Lorenzo Penn is a native Bay Area physician by training, but a photographer by passion.  He has trav­eled throughout the world—visiting six of the seven continents—gathering photos of his experiences.  Medically, he trained to diagnose and treat through medication.  Artistically, he evolved to share and discover through photography.  His work aims to reveal the natural, elemental, environmental, social and cultural intricacies of the sometimes unseen, so that clarity and wisdom can be gained.  His photos will be featured in the exhibition, “Visions of Ghana”, at the FLOAT Gallery of Oakland.  The primary intention of his photography is, “sharing the world with the world, one photo and one face at a time,” says Dr. Penn.  People will see images of grandmothers, uncles, sisters, cousins and more in the work showcased in the exhibition.  The photo series reveals the happiness that many Americans do not see of Africa as well as the paradox of visual beauty and historical brutality felt at the remnant castles of the West African slave trade.  The FLOAT Gallery was chosen to host this exhibition because of its location on the West Coast of the United States—providing a symbolic connection with the West Coast of Africa and creating a place “where the Diaspora meets the domestic” and where the two worlds can be shared, one photo at a time. Dr. Penn has exhibited his photography in galleries and public institutions throughout the Bay Area and his work was most recently showcased at the San Francisco Main Public Library.

About the African Outlet:

In 1994, proprietors Horgan Edet and Judah Dwyer moved The African Outlet to its current location in Hayes Valley at 524 Octavia Street, San Francisco, after five years of doing business in a tiny African stall on Divisadero Street. They have been collecting and showcasing African art, artifacts, adornments and culture for over 20 years. Nigerian born Edet personally selects and purchases the collection’s pieces locally and abroad. His eye for quality is readily apparent. 

Each May, Edet and Dwyer produce an exhilarating African contingent for Carnaval - San Francisco, including masquerade, native doctors, spirited drummers, women performers, and a fine village float. Through recognition by the Sunday San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, Evening Magazine of Channel 5/Suvivor – Africa, various complimentary hotel magazines, gallery exhibits such as FLOAT, and an ever widening customer base, an awareness and appreciation has evolved of the wealth of culture that The African Outlet provides.

JABBERWOCKY

Cheryl and Liz's Adventures in Vunderland

Artists Reception, Saturday, August 14, 6 – 9PM

Opening night music by DJ KODA (45 Amp Recordings),
and Free Tarot  card readings by Virginia & Jennifer.

Exhibit runs August 2 - September 18, 2010 

Cheryl Finfrock (Austin) and Liz Mamorsky (San Francisco) live miles apart but share a love of the bizarre creatures lurking on the margins of the mind. Hypnogogic images floating behind the eyes on the borders of sleep. They invite you to share their painted visions at the Artists Reception, Saturday, August 14, 6 – 9PM.

About the Artists:

Artist Statement - Cheryl Finfrock
Dreams inspire my work. Images ranging from public domain icons to archaic glyphs grab my attention.  My work is narrative in its intent, with titles helping to progress the story.  I see my work as a painterly memoir, and the color and humor are grounding for me in this process. 
Artist Statement  - Liz Mamorsky
Adventures in Vunderland marks my return to painting after a three year stint building my sculptural Artbots. I am enjoying, once again, the sensuality of stroking buttery oils onto canvas and drifting off into the noun-less Neverland where time expands, drawing me into the whorl of creation. Painting is like writing a novel. It starts with the terror of the blank canvas but abates as I make arbitrary marks with brush and fingers. From this messy grid a thread evolves and I surrender to where it is taking me. Characters emerge and are developed, sometimes deleted or allowed to morph into other creatures. It is an exciting process that scares, thrills and delights in turn. I am swimming in the creative soup,
and loving it!

SURRENDER

SURRENDER

Digital paintings by Android Jones & light sculptures by Michael Clarke 

Opening party Thursday June 24th 6pm- 9pm with live painting by Android Jones
DJ Random Rab will be spinning down tempo

Exhibit runs through July 31^st

Digital paintings by Android Jones & light sculptures by Michael Clarke illuminate with Light and energy, both artists have found a way to harness electricity into submission.

About the Artists:

ANDROID JONES

"Jones draws his inspiration from the edge of reality to the corners of human perception. For Android the true medium of art is the mind. He translates the electrical impulses of creativity and imagination directly into an interface powered by light and energy." - Anna Haraszti 

In his art and in his life, Android Jones seeks to expand the infinite boundaries of reality.  He is a techno-mystic visual pioneer of digital and analog art. He draws on a classical background of academic and traditional skills to interface with the machine, communicate to the mind and connect to the heart.

Android takes advantage of multiple mediums of creative expression to further push art history forward into the future. Harnessing the power of electricity Andrew bends light to shape dreams. ajones@spectrum.net, androidjones.net

ndroid Jones will be painting live at the opening party, influenced by his recent experiences in the sensory deprivation tank

Michael Clarke: 

Michael Clarke is a Light Sculptor fascinated by shadows and tones of radiant energy defusing through objects. He uses recycled materials to recommission or re-purpose; resurrecting and breathing new life into the forms. Clarke’s vision begins; seeing light or life where many choose not to. theinnershade.com

“I started with the designing of lamp shades from the X-rays of the many orthopedic injures I sustained as a child from extreme sports. I loved the inner workings of my skeleton exposed, being back lit, showing a period of dark times plagued by injury. The X-rays with the screws or pins on the film are by far my favorites. As macabre as it first appears they represented my healing, my getting healthy the light coming back into me. From there I realize anything could be illuminated and many things should be. Everything could be brought to another level of purpose, and everything has an inner shade and an inner light. That is why I create” – Michael Clarke    

About the music:

Random Rab
"Emerging from his own distinct corner of the West Coast electronic music scene, Random Rab offers a powerful, timeless contribution to sonic exploration. Rab is a master of manipulating our temporal awareness, leading us into seemingly ancient worlds, where to our amazement, we find visible shreds of the future. Allow his sound to catalyze your travels into haunting ecstasy, and you will not return to your same beginning. Playing only his own originally produced music live, the depth and craftsmanship of this offering is remarkable. With an array of drum machines, samplers, sequencers, and instruments, it is a clear devotion to expression and perfection. The beats are smooth, bold, and overwhelming. The original vocals, melodies and hitting bass merge seamlessly into a tapestry of unique and unexpected journeys." randomrab.net

Enigma

The Art of JB-MacKinnon & Dave Meeker

Enigma

Artist Mixer, Friday June 11th, 6-8:30 pm
Artsist Dave Meeker & J.B. Mackinnon will discuss thier work
in the presence of fine company and free labations. 
Show Runs through June 12th, 2010

“The surrealists believed that objects in the world possess a certain but unspecifiable intensity that had been dulled by everyday use and utility.  They meant to reanimate this dormant intensity, to bring their minds once again into close contact with the matter that made up their world.  Andre Brenton’s maxim “Beautiful as the chance encounter of a sewing machine and an umbrella on an operating table” is an expression of the belief that simply placing objects in unexpected context reinvigorates their mysterious qualities.” – Jonathan Lethem

About the Artists:

James Barnes MacKinnon – 2D

Born in Chicago in 1950, J. B. as most people know him, is mostly a self-taught artist, but his work is neither primitive nor innocent. Predominantly a painter for most of his life he has studied many disciplines including photography, drawing, printing, and computer graphics. Often populated with aliens, gargoyles, and crash test dummies, his art is an exploration of the parts of humanity we have a hard time looking at or seeing. His latest work, a series of 3’ square canvases he calls “Bumps” is a study of interruptions, in our lives, our dreams, our culture. Using the metaphor of a road disrupted by speed bumps, each piece looks at an event or time in our history, or a possible future, and lets us explore the effect on us, and how we proceed.   jb-mackinnon.com

Dave Meeker – 3D

I created my first kinetic piece over thirty years ago from scraps of wood, a fan and recycled paper products that my father brought home from his job as an envelope salesman.  My art uses air to inflate, deflate and otherwise make move recycled materials.  I suppose the deeper meaning here is that I’m breathing new life into objects that otherwise would have “died”—destined for a landfill, the burial ground of our culture’s castoffs.  My pieces bring new life to these dead objects.  Davemeekerart.com
“With all my work I’m not trying to change the world, just you.  If I can wake you up to the delight that surrounds us, I’ve done my job”.  Dave Meeker

About the music:

Richard Wright (aka dj fflood, a 1st generation Jamaican born in New York City and loving living in OAKLAND) is a dj, producer, student, community organizer, and writer. As a dj he has been musically transporting crowds with his intuitive, driving, and eclectic style for 25 years. From the sound clashes of Kingston, to the warehouses of New York City, the clubs of Europe, to the art houses of San Francisco, and the lounges and lofts of Oakland, his exceptional sense of selection rand connection to the crowd has become his signature. http://www.myspace.com/fflood

Where do I go from here?

Where do I go from here?

Enter the ever expanding minds of: Mark Wagner, Clayton Thiel and Salane C Schultz.

Three artists explore the next dimension though magic, mythology, symbolism and story telling. Each of these artists is dedicated to actively making the world a better place through art. Art Publicist Nancy Vicknair artfully guest curates the exhibit.

Opening Party March 20th, 6-9pm
Show runs through April 24th

About the Artists:

Mark Wagner, Concept Artist/Fine Art

Mark Wagner is a traditional and digital artist, teacher, and dad. Mark has been as a professional artist for over 20 years. Wagner's artistic endeavors span 40 years. He holds a MA from John F. Kennedy University and a BFA from Pratt Institute. Wagner is involved in the film industry as a professional concept artist, in addition to his work as graphic designer, illustrator, musician, and fine artist. heartsandbones.comhttp://heartsandbones.com/

Mark holds a Master's Degree from JFK University and a BFA from Pratt Institute in. He has taught art and creativity classes in graduate school, state prison, and created core curriculum for computer art schools. He recently completed illustrating and writing his first book “The Art of Being a Dad.”

Mark is also the founder of the nonprofit “Re-Enchanting the World through Art,” which supports and inspires the creative spirit in youth and community.  Their first project set world record for the largest chalk drawing.  The current project is a global illustrated storybook. creativeworlds.org
Clayton Thiel, Sculptor

Clayton Thiel, Professor of Art at Chabot College, is a Sculptor of clay, stone, and bronze, and a storyteller who is restoring magic and narrative to the world of contemporary sculpture. For the past five years, the theme of the monumental ceramic head has been what carries the narrative in his work.  Clay makes it easy for Thiel to tell a story.  He hand builds these “Big Heads” with contemplative expressions often adding symbolic objects or storytelling hints for the viewer’s interpretation. To view two separate You Tube videos of Thiel creating and talking about his current work, visit his website at claytonthiel.com.

Salane C Schultz, Painter

Salane C Schultz is an artist and musician. Using acrylics, Salane paints bold images on canvas or wood, usually containing elements inspired from her musical background or from nature. She also draws in charcoal, constructs hand made mixed media postcards and greeting cards with ink, colored pencil, or markers.   Showing us an intimate glimpse into her mercurial world, Salane's art narrative explores our playful side. missalaneous.com.

About The Guest Curator

Nancy Vicknair received a BA Summa cum Laude with University Honors from NYU in Art History, is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and has an MA from Columbia in Art History and Marketing. She worked at the Whitney Museum in New York, where she planned art openings and also for many Bay Area newspapers where she was calendar editor, arts reporter, columnist and more. Nancy resides in Alameda and concentrates on assisting the Bay Area arts community.

depARTures

Have you ever traveled, and found that you really can’t take it with you, or at least a photograph simply fails to convey the intensity of the experience? These three extraordinary artists have each found a way to commit the flavor of the expedition onto the canvas. Encompass their explorations first hand through depARTures.

Opening Party with live music by didjeridu artist Outlaw Dervish/ aka Travis Wernet  

 January 23^rd 6-9pm

Show has been extended through February 27^th

About the artists:

Martin Webb:

“In his negotiation of a foreign land, Webb uses cement and objects found in travel to explore humanity and naturalism, time and timelessness, the intangible and the concrete.” 

Webb came to the East Bay from England in 2003. Previously a painter and art teacher, he worked as a designer and installer for commercial concrete art projects in the USA, Canada and Mexico. His studio work has been exhibited in the Bay Area and beyond, and his commission work includes private, corporate and public art projects.

Much of Webb’s art reflects on the experience of travel, man’s interaction with the natural landscape, and individual stories of migration. He has developed a simple vocabulary of abstract forms, patterns, representational symbols and figures. He has an aversion to art-stores and prefers to work with construction materials – cement, industrial pigments, reclaimed wood, and found metal objects. quicksandstudio.com

Anna W. Edwards:

The sights and sounds of the Urban Landscape weave a distinctive tapestry of color, texture and geometry throughout all of Anna Edwards early work. The journey started with her grandmother Edwards traveling up and down the east coast and has continued. Walking city streets connects her with a timeless energy that she endeavors to impart in her paintings.  A parallel Spiritual journey is being reflected in this later work, resulting from periods of contemplation and reflection exploring the inner landscape. The urban and inner landscapes both reflect order, harmony and beauty as well as the tension and pathos we all experience.

Edwards a transplanted New Yorker, growing up in Harlem was her first love affair with the sights and sounds of an urban landscape. She started painting in the early 1990’s with Takeshi Nakayoshi in San Francisco. She studied printmaking and drawing at Laney and Merritt Colleges, in addition she has worked with outsider artists at Creative Growth ctr., NIAD and arful steps since 1995. Edwards is owner of the annawedwards.com http://www.annawedwards.com/in San Leandro.

Nanci Price Scoular:

The “urban still life” pieces are part of my ongoing “journeys” series, combining original photographs with acrylic and mixed media.  The process is an attempt to revisit special places, to assign new meanings and context and to link the past with the present.

The photographs reveal moments frozen in time, each one a reminder of a passage or fork along the path I have travelled from Africa to North America.
The rusted iron rings and gates, bound to concrete, are a recurring theme, symbolizing the yearning of an immigrant to gain entry, commit and belong.
Each piece starts out strong and bold and then fades away like a memory, blurring into the background – a reminder that one can never go back and
revisit a place and point in one’s life. There will always be a new context and meaning. pricescoular.com  

Plasma Scultpure by  Michael Pargett.

About the music:

Travis Wernet has been playing  for 11 years and performs in a variety of groups. He currently fronts the band project also known as 'Outlaw Dervish' and performs his own original Spoken Word Poetry with musical accompaniment. One such event gathered the group "Darkshine" for an evening of sacred music in the popular and highly coveted musical venue, Grace Cathedral (April 2007). Travis has also appeared with his band at several festival events in San Francisco, California and beyond, including Sea of Dreams, Harmony, Spectra Ball and Howeird.  cdbaby.com/cd/outlawdervish