Occasional gunshot sounds

FLOAT Gallery is proud to present:

Occasional gunshot sounds
Paintings & skate decks by Yvette M. Buigues



Opening Party Saturday September 15th, 6pm – 9pm
With live music by Laura Inserra
& Free 5 minute tuning fork Tune-Ups by Shen Sounds
Show runs September 9th through October 28th, 2012

Paintings & original art skate decks by fine artist Yvette M. Buigues. From the streets of West Oakland, her work contains great whimsy, subtle observations and a dark sense of humor.

Yvette M. Buigues:
Paintings emerge from my intuition, dreams and sentiments; rarely do I know where a blank panel will take me.  Working with icons and discovering the full text of the story as I move through a painting, I often find I have been directed to a place that is real yet far away. And when finished, I have gained new insight and understanding in my surroundings.

Using acrylic paint, colored pencil and, sometimes, collage and found objects, I work in translucent and opaque layers creating many textures.  Paint brushes, dental tools, screw drivers, sticks, rocks, and palm sanders are some of the tools used. Upon first glance, my images appear as silk-screens or stencils; a closer look reveals that each subject is an original, each icon unique.

Why skate decks?
“I needed a birthday gift for my husband, I grabbed his skateboard and the fun began!
I allow myself to get very playful with these, using characters that, up until now, have not made it out of my sketchbook along with those that are regular subjects in my paintings. A healthy mix of humor and darkness, these decks are an escape to a place where hurt is healing and “doom & gloom” is bright. I am currently working on finding a licensing representative to market and reproduce my designs. “
- Yvette M. Buigues heavyblackline.com

Opening night:

About the Music:
Laura Inserra is a vibrant and talented composer, multi-instrumentalist, teacher, performer and artistic director.  For the opening party 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. www.laurainserra.com
Free 5 minute tuning fork Tune-Ups by Shen Sounds:
"Get grounded and Get In-Tune with Shannon at Shen Sounds. Shannon is offering free 5 minute tuning fork Tune-Ups to get your OM on for the weekend! Fork yeah!" www.shensounds.com

An elusive moment in time… Hand printed black and white photography by Janeyce Ouellette

FLOAT Gallery is proud to present:

An elusive moment in time…

Hand printed black and white photography by Janeyce Ouellette

Exhibit runs May 27^th trough August 2012

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.

"Hot Chicks and Homeless Peeps"

The art of Ange McLane

Opening party Friday 4/27/12, 6 to 9pm

Featuring the music of Tyler Jakes
Show runs 4/16, through 5/26/12

 “Hot Chicks and Homeless Peeps,” takes risks with the borders of the acceptable and the risqué. 

Ange McLane 
Born in Mexico City to a Mexican mother and American father, Ange McLane grew up first below the border, and then above, in Texas—finally choosing to make her home in the Bay Area, in 2005. Her experience of the two cultures, and an early exposure to art-making, heavily influence her current photographic work.

Ange began carrying a camera with her daily at the age of 8, photographing her friends as well as her own installation art work, which was comprised at the time of doll nativity scenes and modeling clay cities.

In college, Ange pursued Advertising at the Universidad de la Comunicacion in Mexico City, Art History at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, TX, and Fine Art Photography at the Glassell School of Art in Houston. More recently, she studied Digital Photo-Montage and Experimental Film at the San Francisco Art Institute. 
“Hot Chicks and Homeless Peeps,” takes risks with the borders of the acceptable and the risqué.

Her subjects are not overtly sexy, nor overtly subjugated. They are complicit with the act of being photographed. She captures each one’s subtle essence, inviting their revelations, whether in flesh made visible through lingerie, or in personal message exposed via cardboard and marker.
She says, “I am interested in the sensuality of the image, the bold colors, not just in a visual way, but in a contextual way. I enjoy when an image brings together a balance in light and dark and bold color.”

Of her series of street photographs, Ange describes, “Seven years ago, while I was studying at the Glassell School of Art, I frequently ventured into downtown Houston—this was pre-gentrification—with my camera. I was meeting people that were living on the streets, talking to them. I would buy them beer or cigarettes and we would talk about their lives. I started to carry cardboard and markers with me. And I would invite them to share their real message with the world. This was way before the time of Facebook and smart phones, way before anyone was carrying a camera and posting their thoughts with apps.”

Regarding the juxtaposition of the two groups of subjects, Ange’s work invites the viewer to question assumptions. She says, “With the homeless, I wanted to portray that beauty and that fight. And when it comes to the girls, it’s not slutty — they’re just feminine.”

The collection of images in “Hot Chicks and Homeless People” bears witness to Ange’s natural affinity to bold colors, architectural composition, and edgy, thought-provoking themes.

"Viscosity" Showcasing the sculpture of Michael Sturtz & Benjamin Cowden

Opening Party Saturday February 25th, 6pm – 9pm
Show runs February 20th through April 14^th , 2012
Local singer/songwriter Drea Roemer will be Performing live.

Viscosity is a mix of kinetic and found objectification art, mimicking and expanding beyond the human experience.

Michael Sturtz:

As a fixture of the Bay Area arts community, Michael has worked as a sculptor, a teacher, and as a facilitator since the early 1990s.  As the founder of  The Crucible  , a non-profit industrial arts education facility and gallery, he is known for his innovative creativity and ability to make challenging artwork and ideas possible.

Michael’s pieces address concept and form through the visualization of fused biological and mechanical elements. His sculptures are hybrids of impossible pairings and momentous environments coming together to radiate destructive and re-constructive energy.

His art showcases a strong juxtaposition between materials including; metals and glass, stone and kinetics, fire and liquid, 3D objects and video.  By contrasting natural functions with industrial and technological processes, Michael has formed a body of work that is incapable of stagnation, and instead explores the exponential evolution of medium and concept. MichaelSturtz.com

Benjamin Cowden:

Benjamin Cowden began working with metal during an undergraduate anthropology project in Cameroon in 1997, where he studied how Baka Pygmies turned worn machetes into utility knives. He later worked with street-jewelers in Costa Rica, learning small metals techniques, before taking a more formal route to education by attending blacksmithing workshops at the John C. Campbell Folkschool in North Carolina. Benjamin was an Artist-in-Residence at the Appalachian Center for Crafts in Tennessee from 2001 to 2003, during which time he focused on utilitarian forged ironwork, including furniture and kitchenware. Cowden began earnestly making sculptures in 2004 when he entered the Master of Fine Arts in Metals program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Making work which viewers can touch and use remained central to Cowden’s work, and throughout his graduate studies Benjamin focused on interactive mechanical devices which addressed human experience. After receiving his M.F.A., Mr. Cowden relocated to Oakland California, where he is continues to explore the depths of mechanical sculpture. His current fascinations include pseudo-random and 3-dimensional movements, as well as 3-D printing in metal.  Twentysevengears.com

Opening Night Music by Drea Roemer:

Drea Roemer is a local singer/songwriter and acoustic guitarist who is currently working on  her first album. Her songs have been described as a textured and dark-edged, with palpable emotion and mood. Songs can be found at: Soundcloud.com/drea-muldavi

Rinse & repent, off with their heads

The FLOAT Gallery is Proud to present…

Rinse & repent, off with their heads

Mixed Media by Ian Gerard Fabre
& Functional Art by Jeff Ritter



Opening Party Saturday January 21st 6pm – 9pm,
Dj Listen and Learn will be DJing
Show runs January 2nd through February 18th, 2012

Two Cotton Mill Studio Artists invite you to further explore living the dream as an American consumer.

Ian Gerard Fabre, Mixed Media: 
From graffiti artist to burnt out graphic designer. Ian Gerard Fabre pulls from every experience thus far. Graduating from the California College of the Arts with an interdisciplinary degree he employs anything and everything. From neon signage to screen printing, Ian pokes at the underlying issues within contemporary consumer culture. As of late his work is installation based and in it one can find sculpture, two-dimensional pieces, and video. His practice is his way of slowing down and reflecting as he encourages you to do the same.

Jeff Ritter, Funcional Artist:
“Weighing in at found pieces turned into functional art, it comes out of the gate strong and lean, and does its thing” – Jeff Ritter

Opening night music by:
Dj Listen and Learn  will be DJing 90's hip hop and foundational funk, soul, jazz and breaks.

Nina Glaser Mosaics, With Plasma Sculpture by Michael Pargett

Opening Party Saturday November 5th, 6pm – 9pm
With solo acoustic guitarist Tom Lattanand
Show runs October 31st through December 31st

 

New work.. Defunct Gallery

FLOAT Gallery is proud to present the return of Nina Glaser. Exhibiting her Glass Mosaics illuminated by Michael Pargett’s Plasma Sculpture.

International photographer Nina Glaser’s photography career included teaching at the Academy of Art University, and the publication of two monograms: "Outside of Time" and "Recomposed". Nine years ago, Glaser decided she had completed the body of work she felt she was destined to do. Glaser's photography is both haunting and extraordinarily powerful. Her creative energy then shifted to creating her now thriving hypnotherapy business. Nina Glaser Hypnotherapy.

After a 9 year absence from the art world, Glaser is back taking her next step into the tactile world of glass mosaics; many contain imbedded images of her extraordinary black and white photography.

Past work.. Metal Ring

“I was a fine-arts photographer for 18 years. Black & White images, painted nude figures, stark and timeless. I left photography when I felt that I had used the medium enough to express and explore the themes that mattered to me. In my break from photography, I taught fine-arts photography at a local university and printed for other photographers.
Even though my current day-time work is highly creative in thought and language, I missed the tactile experience of art. I have always loved glass, and have wanted to paint. Making glass mosaics lets me enjoy both. I use bright, colorful stained glass and apply it as if it were paint. My current body of work is narrative in nature; each image tells a story, while also inviting the viewer to participate and interpret.” -Nina Glaser

About The Sculptor:
Michael Pargett enjoys the paradox between the high energy that creates the illumination, and the slow, sensual movement of the gas mixtures that can be achieved to present a visual experience that is as compelling as it is hard to describe. His expressions are at times humorous and at others inspired by a desire to honor the basic elements of the gasses themselves. During the filling portion of the creative process, he attempts to allow the gases themselves to express how they would like to manifest within the glass.

“They feel as though they have something to say, if I only knew how to listen consistently” - Michael Pargett