Notes from visiting the galleries, art studios, and collectives in Oakland and the East Bay in Northern California on Saturday, June 2nd…
The people and organizations that drive these events deserve as much attention and acknowledgement as the spectacular artwork itself. Months of planning, redtape, and marketing culminate into a purposeful exchange between enthusiasts, artists, and gallerists. Special thanks to Pro Arts studio in Oakland for supporting local emerging art in the Bay Area!
What a spectacular weekend of events in Oakland this summer. Seeing the vibrant, positive interaction between people along warehouses on 26th Street, Jack London Square, and along the many back streets - is a beautiful thing. Founded by Hiroko Kurihara, the Collaborative is, “an incubator of slow-food and slow fashion artisans practicing local, ethical manufacturing and innovative resourcefulness.”
Here’s a quick video span of the interior of the place…
Seemingly every alley, vacated business location, and warehouse was a cove of fantastic art and creativity of Oakland and East Bay Artists. Please check out some of the fantastic artists showcasing their work this past weekend.
As an artist I can attest to the appreciation and thankfulness each of us have to the people and groups that work and financially support local art. Events like this bring the community together, inspire, address strife, and heal. Decorate your house, give a gift, buy a piece of art from these or any artists. Here is a list of Open Studios participating artists in this year’s event. Thanks everyone for an uplifting and fun weekend.
by Michael Accorsi
Michael Accorsi is an artist and blog writer in the San Francisco Bay, California. His work is displayed at www.michaelaccorsi.com and he writes for his own art appreciation blog at Plotlines Art Journal. Say hi on Facebook or follow his ridiculous tweets on Twitter.
nel pascolo aperto. charcoal and conté on paper, 11x14.
Finally, I have a new series of work to come out in the next few weeks. “Like” my studio page on Facebook and here are other social media links if you’re on them.
A preliminary sketch of a larger 24”x36” painting that is part of the new series, Sormontato. This collection of work is set in the context of human spirit illuminating under the restraints of life. A source of pride for many Italian people, as well as many other beautiful cultures I’m sure.
This painting is a design for a tremendous youth service project in San Jose, California. The original and prints of this painting are currently available.
Gordon Smedt, Mountaint, Oil on Canvas 72 x 80 in.
by Michael Accorsi
The San Francisco Art Fair surprised art lovers with one of the art events of the year on the waterfront piers of Fort Mason jutting out between Alcatraz Island and the breathtaking vista of The Golden Gate. The fair pleased the Northern California art enthusiasts with well over 68 local, national, and international art galleries exhibiting their finest work. Founder and Executive Director, Rick Friedman’s vision to create and host a first rate art event in San Francisco delivered an invigorating statement that the art industry is vibrant in Northern California.
SF Art Fair, photo by Michael Accorsi
The show at Fort Mason was held in conjuction with shows at ArtHaus on Brannan Street and the San Francisco Academy of Art. The fair’s main exhibit Anything Goes: The Whit and Whizdumb of William T. Wiley proudly displayed the riveting work of art veteran William T. Wiley,curated by SF based curator DeWitt Cheng. Additional events on Saturday focused on the music, art, and dance of Chinese culture with events showcased throughout the day.
William T. Wiley exhibit, photo by Michael Accorsi.
With seemingly thousands of noteworthy pieces of art, here are some of the standout exhibits by galleries at this year’s fair:
Christian Hohmann Fine Art exhibited work, photo by Michael Accorsi
Christian Hohmann Fine Art gallery in Palm Desert exhibited spectacular large paintings by Croatian artist Zivana Gojanovic pictured below.
Zivana Gojanovic, Figure K9, 2011, Oil on Canvas, 48 x 48 in.
Hohmann’s display also presented the abstract figurative paintings of Bay Area painter Michael Azgour. Be sure to visit the Christian Hohmann gallery to puruse the brilliant work of Eberhard Hueckstaedt.
SF Art Fair, photo by Michael Accorsi
British Columbia gallery, Realism Fine Art Gallery presented spectacular figurative work by renowned artists such as: Malkolm T. Liepke, Nikolai Blokhim, Alexander Sherversky, Sorin Sorin, Nadia Lozano, Zin Lim, Andrei Belichenko, Alexei Veilikjanin, Vladmir, Goncharuk, Tamara Korako.
Stephanie Breitbard Gallery Exhibit, photo by Michael Accorsi
Mill Valley, California gallerist Stephanie Breitbard displayed the bold and gripping work of Jylian Gustlin and Paule Dubois Dupuis.
The Studio Shop Exhibit, photo by Michael Accorsi
Perhaps the surprise gallery of the day for me was The Studio Shop out of Burlingame, California. Managing Partner, Janet Martin was engaging and enthusiastic about the beautiful work of painter Melinda Cootsona.
Montse Valdes, 3-3-12, Oil on canvas, 58 x 58 in.
Breathtaking work from Villa del Artes Galleries from Barcelona, Spain (pictured above) stood out among some of the top international galleries. The delicate, yet textured full-sized portraits spoke of Valdes’ sophistication and technicality as an artist.
Westwood Modern Gallery Exhibit, photo by Michael Accorsi
Carmel’s Westbrook Modern Gallery showcased the powerfully textured paintings of Dennis Hare, pictured above and below.
Westwood Modern’s Dennis Hare paintings photo by Michael Accorsi
When the day was done, the gallery I revisited and one of the many that left enthusiasts buzzing was Hamamjian Modern of San Francisco. Paintings by Gordon Smedt and Douglas Andelin filled their display as onlookers gazed and the fantastic contemporary samples of modern art.
Hamamjian Modern’s Exhibit photo by Michael Accorsi
Congratulations to Rick Friedman, the San Francisco Art Commission, and the dozens of sponsors and participating galleries that made this year’s event a remarkable success.For a list of participating galleries and sponsoring agencies, please visit the San Francisco Art Fair. Also find participating galleries at the ArtHaus show.Please share my video highlights of the SF Art fair with your art and Facebook friends.
Michael Accorsi is an artist, painter working from his studio in Northern California. He writes about art on his blog Plotlines Art Journal. Connect with Michael on Facebook and Twitter as well.
Fantastic art, Chinese music and dance, and wine at the SF Art Fair at Ft. Mason. Very well organized and some of the best art galleries in California are here today.
Peruse Jason Juan’s expressive, figurative work with your favorite music playing and glass of wine - it’s an experience within itself. I had the opportunity to interview Jason this past week for EIL - enjoy!
MA: Tell us a little about your art background and studio. Where do you do most of your work?
Jason Juan: I recently moved to Bay Area. The art scene is still new to me at this point. For the last nine years I lived in Seattle and worked with Eastside Artists Collaborative, Gage Academy of Art, and Art or Not Terminal. I learned a great deal at EAC which is run by Larine Chung. We started to incorporate windows with natural light to the settings which create the best quality of lighting on the subjects.
Artist, 12x16, Oil on Linen
Artist is a portrait of my artist friend. It is such a joy when a painting got done so smoothly and everything just feel right. If the setting and lighting are right, the painting is halfway done. When I was painting him, he was actually drawing as well until the last ten minutes I asked him to look at me so I could finish the eyes. MA: Can you tell us the methods you use to start a large work?: (sketches, smaller mock-ups, etc.) Jason Juan: Before I paint a large sized painting, I prepare a smaller oil sketch usually around 9”x 12” to 16”x20”, or Charcoal/Pencil sketch which is usually 8.5”x 11”. With large work, it has to be done in several stages. I prefer to paint straight for a few hours so the canvas is still wet or wait for another week until it totally dried so I can work on it again. Sometimes sandpaper is used in the process especially for the smooth area such as skin before I put another layer of paint. I also paint over my old work a lot if some of the abstract elements in the old work is something I was to help in the composition for the new painting.
Temptation, 24x30, Oil on Linen
Temptation is a painting I developed from a quick sketch at one of my drawing sessions. The primary sketch is pictured below.
MA: What I enjoy about your figurative work is the interplay between realistic classical figurative work, then some interpretive contemporary twists and loose styles – how does this ability to have versatility work for you?
Jason Juan: I believe the contemporary twists and loose styles you saw in my paintings were from what I learn in Chinese calligraphy. Chinese calligraphy contains many elements which I feel has big connection with human figures, and sometimes I even feel they could be the same such as certain curve lines, compositions, and the power of the strokes.
Figure Sketch, carbon pencil on paper
MA: Are there any contemporary artists that you admire or made impressions on your work?
Jason Juan: There are many contemporary artists who have inspired my work. Here are just few of them: Chuck Close, Lucian Freud, David Leffel, Jeremy Lipking, Nikolay Blokhin and Carl Jackson, who is one of my instructors in school, and he shared personal and painting experience with me while I was learning to draw between 2002-2005.
The Light #3, 22x28, Oil on Canvas
MA: Where can interested collectors see and purchase you work?
Jason Juan: I worked on both traditional media and digital media. Waterhouse Gallery at Santa Barbara carry some of my oil paintings. Visit my blog or contact me for more detail info if you are interested in more paintings and limited archival paintings of my digital works.
Jason Juan in his studio
Jason Juan is a traditional and digital artist working in the San Francisco Bay area. After working for nine years in the Seattle art scene Juan is making an impression on contemporary artists across California. See more of his work and drop him a note on his blog. Jason Juan website
Michael Accorsi is an artist, painter working from his studio in Northern California. He writes about art on his blog Plotlines Art Journal. Connect with Michael on Facebook and Twitter as well.
