Uncertainty, Prints by Besarion Khidesheli & Industrial furniture and sculpture by Jeff Ritter

Artist Party November 14th 2015, 6 to 9pm

Show runs October 25th, 2015, through December 26th 2015

Two Oakland artists working both in and from uncertainty - The lack of certainty, a state of having limited knowledge where it is impossible to exactly describe the existing state, a future outcome, or more than one possible outcome.

Besarion Khidesheli - Artist

"My name is Besarion Khidesheli, I'm a 24-year old self-taught artist from Tbilisi, Georgia, currently based in Oakland, CA. I have been moving from place to place every two years since I was 15 years old. I have been lucky enough to spend good chunks of my late teens and early adulthood in Georgia (the one in Europe), different parts of California, Mali, and Spain. At first, such movement made me anxious -- there are many uncertain aspects to upcoming adventures. Eventually, this anxiety transformed into excitement. My most recent project titled 'Illusions' is centered on the theme of uncertainty. In terms of technique, I first draw by hand, then scan my drawings, digitally adjust these images, and finally re-print them on canvases. I usually find the most interesting details of a given work once it is done, as each step adds a new level of complexity. Also, the viewer can never be certain of what the piece represents. Different angles invoke different emotions and understandings, making my work quite introspective. I have come to appreciate uncertainty in most aspects of life, and I hope to convey that feeling in other humans as well."  besartion.com,   https://www.facebook.com/besartion

Jeff Ritter – Industrial furniture design & sculpture

Jeff Ritter a self-taught artist living in Oakland Ca. Ritter uses reclaimed steel along with different mediums creating functional industrial furniture, and sculpture. Custom orders available.

In the realm of human adornment Photography, jewelry and wearable art by Wendy McDermott & Susan Tuttle

Artist Party Saturday October 17th, 6 to 9pm, With Tom Lattanand on guitar

Show runs September 7th, through October 24th 2015

Two brilliant Jingletown artists explore the more feminine side of art, through multiple mediums.

Susan Tuttle

"My main passions consist of photography and designing and producing jewelry, both self taught. I’ve been photographing for more than 30 years. My captured images are as I saw them and are printed without any computer manipulation other than color correction. I also enjoy creating mixed media pieces, particularly in the form of shadow boxes. I strive to capture humor, depth, and emotion of the unusual as well as the familiar. I become easily immersed in the other world behind the lens. I attempt to challenge myself in capturing an image that may not be clear to myself or to others."

Wendy McDermott

This body of work seems to have evolved directly from and is attributable to my personal experiences as a wife and mother over the past twenty four years. It also encompasses the stories of countless others who have followed similar paths - partly chosen by them and partly chosen for them by traditional societal values and expectations.

The pieces shown here are emblematic of the outer trappings of femininity and fashion while offering content that is characteristic of the internal struggles of maternal existence.

My previous work was characteristically functional – as wearable art – objects of adornment – with more thought given to design and commerce than to emotional or intellectual content. This is in keeping with generations of women that produced functional art for themselves and to sell – utilizing ornament and pattern – to beautify as well as to record their culture, religion or history into objects that they used every day. This “women’s work” imbued with these archival qualities has historically been rich with political and personal significance. (And, sometimes, it is merely decorative).

While I continue to investigate the realm of human adornment, I have now arrived at a different perspective in the body of work being shown here. This work is related to and in some ways derivative of being a jeweler and in fact, employs many of the same techniques. It exists in the framework of functional, wearable art, but is not really practical. Thereby removing itself from the context of “craft” and into a gray area where the oft separated worlds of craft and art blend.

Though this work is intensely personal (speaking to my own experience), I like to think that it is also universal (and even slightly political), in that a wide audience of viewers can and do respond to it as reminiscent of their own life experiences.

The intent here is to fill a gap - to recognize and speak to and for those ensconced in a suburban home environment, rarely recognized for their contribution, save a yearly Mother’s Day Card. It is presented in an attempt to foster a greater awareness among those whose lives are distant from this world – the world of women/moms in suburbia - who are uncompensated for their eighteen hour days - child rearing, cooking, laundry, cleaning, chauffeuring, scheduling, fixing, organizing, supporting, nesting, ad nauseum. They are the hardest working, most selfless and dedicated people I know.

Tom Lattanand on guitar

Tom Lattanand is a multifaceted guitarist, composer, song writer, and producer who resides in Oakland. His dynamic, multilayered, and percussive solo guitar playing creates a sound much bigger than one might expect. His guitar compositions are both intricate and high energy, while drawing from a wide range of musical styles. A steady presence in the Bay Area music scene since 1998, he has collaborated with a long list of artists, while he currently performs in the groups Albino and leads the newly formed project Root Logic. tomlattanand.com,  https://www.youtube.com/user/tlattanand

Poker face

Drawings by Yvette M. Buigues & Ceramics by Julie Stevens

Artist Closing Show Party Saturday September 5th, 6 to 9pm

Show runs July 19th, through September 6th 2015

 

 

 

 

 

Two passionate Oakland artists explore a more whimsical side of life.

Yvette M. Buigues - Drawings

Yvette M. Buigues lives and works in Oakland, California. Her inspiration comes from no one place in particular; in her work one can see and feel her exploration of the emotional, physical and spiritual aspects of everyday life. Through bold images she speaks to relationships between people, the state of the world, the human condition. The mulitple layers of color and detail often times contain subtle observations and a darker sense of humor. Buigues works most often with acrylic paint. she finds great pleasure and touches base with whimsy in her pen and ink drawings, and experiments in seriography. About the drawings: I have always kept a journal of drawings. Until recently they mostly stayed there, not meant for others to see. At the suggestion of a friend, I began posting them on Instagram and Facebook, the response was inspiring, so here they are. Whimsical yet possessing plenty symbolism and emotion, I find these entertaining with a life of their own.  heavyblackline.com  buigues.tumblr.com
 

Julie Stevens - Ceramics

ulie Stevens is Bay Area artist who loves to work with color, texture and different shapes. Architectural shapes being a favorite. She is a painter and a ceramicist. A fan of all things in favor of Oakland and the diverse, wonderful folks who live here... you can also find her most days at her day job cutting and styling hair in Oakland. Her paintings can be found on  Pintrest.

Liquid Landscape

Paintings & mixed media by Andrew Macrae and Diane Mettleman

Artist Party Friday June 12th, 6 to 9pm

Show runs June 1st, 2015, through July 18th 2015

Art derived from our urban landscape, captured and re-imagined these two local artists actualize the art of flow.

Andrew Macrae

I create imagery intuitively, working the composition as I go along. The first objects of the image are scenes from nature: trees, mountains and animals. The scene slowly fills with solid shapes and perfect lines; objects of human conception. I am showing the act of contemplation as man slowly imparts his development over and around the established nature. What remains in the end is an image exhibiting tension between man and nature, a scene where the two are wrapped up in a chaotic commotion. I use a broad array of mediums to create a painting, but I prefer watercolor and gouache on paper. In my paintings, watercolor is used to create faded landscapes, while gouache is used as the foreground medium, so I can push line and color. When combined, my images become vibrant displays of graphic subjects existing in a dream state.  Admacrae.com

Diane Mettelman

“I am attracted to real world objects, constantly rescuing discarded metal objects from the road and highway. I should have a bumper sticker that says, “ I brake for metal scrap!” -D.R.Mettelman About 17 years ago, with scraps of copper given to me by a metalsmith friend, I started a 2D collage. After learning how to make a copper rivet, I had made my first piece of wall art, and I was hooked. Since then, with varied combinations of metals, I continue to create. Sometimes I braze, solder, and use common commercial fasteners, but the copper rivet continues to be my mainstay. Using wood, paint, copper pipe and fittings, I have expanded to create 3D sculpture and furniture. An avid hiker, I began to include stones collected on mountain hikes. Including raw stone with the discarded or “scrap” objects from once natural resources completes the connection to my love of nature. Using recycled materials allows me to communicate the beauty I see in these discarded objects. My pieces seem to create themselves, and like all art, are open to the viewer’s interpretation. I am merely the conduit through which the creations are formed. Mettelworks.com

Parallel Universe

Paintings, illustrations and sculpture of Karl Hauser & Scot Maupin

Artist Party Saturday April 25th, 6 to 9pm

Show runs April 6th, through May 30th 2015

Artists Karl Hauser & Scot Maupin work crosses the line into a parallel universe, that is, if a line exists at all.

Karl Hauser

In my drawing, I'm interested in seeing how characters can portray emotional reality. Years ago, a visitor to a curated show featuring my work wrote a comment in the guest book recommending that I see a psychiatrist.  While therapy can be very useful, it doesn't offer as direct a relationship to the ineffable.  Most of the time I have no idea what I'm doing, or where, the drawing will lead. I enjoy the process of mark making, the unknowable and uncertain outcome. In parallel with that investigation, I enjoy ongoing experimentation with the formal dimension of art making.  ArchitectureofAgony.com

Scot Maupin

Scot Maupin is a Bay Area Artist. This series of pieces were all done with colored pens he fell in love with while living in Japan. As the son of an elementary art teacher, Scot has always found doodling on anything and everything to be useful for both filling his time, and emptying his mind.
These pieces are mostly 'stream-of-consciousness' drawings. Faces, nearby objects, and underwater creatures seem to find their way into the work more often than not, but Scot is never sure where the picture is going until he finishes. Reversing the usual order, the colors are chosen first, then the line dictates what shape is being drawn, and that in turn determines what object it could become. Drawing this way in ink makes him commit to the line, and look always forward in the process, not backward to erase or correct. Once Scot can see the shape in the cloud, he adds detail so that others will see it too.   smaupin.com

The science of beauty Photography by Donovan Rittenbach Sculpture by Benjamin T. Smith

Artist Party Saturday March 14th, 6 to 9pm
Show runs February 23rd, through April 4th 2015

Two fearless artists explore the natural world through dreams, sacred geometry, magic and monsters.

Donovan Rittenbach, M.A. - Photographer
Donavan is a beekeeper, magician and amateur scientist. He will reveal the world of honeybees like you have never seen them before, through a microscope. His intimate portraits of these invaluable insect allies will fill you with awe and wonder. His photographic studies of flowers will reveal the mathematical secret of beauty found in flowers, that fills our lives in magical and mysterious ways  donovanrittenbach.com

Benjamin T. Smith - Sculptor



















Since the beginning I was pursued by monsters in my dreams. Until one night I stopped short and said, “If you’re going to run behind me, follow me, don’t chase me!” Since then they have been my subjects. 
   There’s the friendly monster story. Alternately, there is the horror of the momentum of our current trajectory.  My art is a static representation of hallucination. My favorite piece is a painting by Brueghel, the Blind Leading the Blind.  
   When you see a face in a grain of wood where is that coming from?
I’m sure we have all also seen other things that are even harder to explain. Anyway I do, everyday, in every little piece of junk around me. Incessantly, they call out to be saved. -Benjamin T. Smith   benjamintsmith.wordpress.com

Auspicious

An illuminated group show

Artist Party Saturday January 24th, 6 to 9pm
Show runs January 8th, through February 21st 2015

Stephen Widmark
I received my degree in physics from UC Berkeley before joining the Air Force to fly F-111s.  After my discharge, I became a high school physics teacher.  I’ve been making art most of my life, first as a painter and then as a maker of illuminated art.  Lately I’ve become interested in conceptual SciArt and have been producing works that are informed by my background in physics.  I’ve exhibited in shows throughout the San Francisco Bay area.  paleoneon.com

Michael Clarke
Clark works entirely in garbage, illuminated garbage. What others can find no use for, he sees as a medium to reproduce the natural beauty in the world.

“I am a conservationist and peripheral visionary, together I create perfectly imperfect light from within” – Michael Clark   theinnershade.com

R+D
R+D fabricates steel tables that take on the identity of animated, industrial sculpture by combining organic shapes and smooth postures. These sturdy, functional art pieces are hand crafted originals created in collaboration by artists Peter DeLucchi and Jeff Ritter. R+D is based in Oakland.
 peterdelucchi.comm

Cheryll MacIntyre
Playfulness, that’s me + art. It is the playground in which I am free, to experiment. to explore.
to smile at the many layers of paint. to break. to trust . to be, in each and every moment.   coloursoutsidelines.com

It's Alive!

Plasma Sculpture by Ed Kirshner & Paintings by Yvette Buigues 

Opening Party Saturday November 15th, 6 to 9pm
Show runs November 9th, through January 6th 2015

FLOAT Gallery is once again proud to present the new work from Ed Kirshner one of the worlds leading plasma artists. Celebrating the 4th state of matter, Kirshner continues to advance plasmas elusive self-replication process for us to behold. Adorning the walls of the gallery Yevette Buigues will be displaying her latest work, having taken yet another turn in her ever evolving twist on animals and nature.

About Ed Kirshner, Plasma Sculptor, Glass Artist
I find the sculpting of kinetic gas plasma within the space of a glass vessel both fascinating and absorbing. As might be expected from a media based on chaos, my work is very experimental. It is most often unpredictable and surprising, as well as extremely sensitive to fine-tuning and a delicate balance between numerous non-linear variables. The resulting chaotic order is beautiful, enthralling, interactive with the viewer and often mesmerizing. It seems suggestive of many other natural processes and forms. I believe that some of this beauty and attraction derives from an underlying similarity between the processes creating the plasma forms and the circuitry and functioning of our minds. They actually seem to be in tune with each other.

So, like Dr. Frankenstein in his lab, I hover over my glass and gas plasma work, spending many hours mixing, balancing and fine-tuning. Still, the plasma light behaves in a way that I can never completely control. I can change or direct its behavior by varying the pressure and mix of gases, or the frequency and the voltage of the power, but I can never fully predict the detailed effects any of my actions will have. Though frustrating at times, this unpredictability is at the very heart of my work. This is the personality, the mystery, the life that I try to create in my art.
It has been suggested that the self-organizing chaos of gas plasma is one of the very few natural processes, beyond biochemistry, that might evolve the feedback mechanisms to enable self-replication and thus possibly even life. Igor may have had it right when he declared, “It’s alive! It’s alive!” Aurorasculpture.com

About Yvette Buigues, Painter
When art is transcendent, it will take the common and make it profane. The art of Yvette Buigues takes everyday animals in ordinary situations and imbues these friendly subjects with context and dialogue, giving often taken for granted creatures a unique opportunity to speak to viewers through visual expression and become part of a sort of innocent iconography.
Language is the key to transcendence in Buigues' translation of the lives of animals, insects, and all who appear in her work. Buigues' positioning of creatures in silent dialogue evokes sensations of an important announcement, tracing back to the annunciation painters of the Renaissance and early Christianity. What is this message? Is it a call to respect animals and nature? Is it the artist speaking in her own sacred language? Perhaps reaching into Buigues' own cultural background between the United States and Argentina, there is a quiet reverence for animals in their benign yet glorious nature. This reverence could be seen as an emotional or political statement, as animals sometimes appear with weapons, in landscapes, or with flamboyant floral prints. At other times these figures appear with scripts of jumbled language, almost seeming to be speaking in tongues or in a sort of chant, warning us of something.

Buigues' art crosses the border between animal and human, between countries of origin, between love and war. Her work remains humble, even when glamorous. Perhaps it is that humility that her animals remind us to keep in all circumstances. As Rudyard Kipling tells us in the poem IF: “If you can walk with kings without losing the common touch... you'll be a man my son!” Buigues reminds us that we too are animals, often searching within ourselves for that right thing to say.
-Ana Landis Velazquez,  Heavyblackline.com