2 posts from March 2009

Molly Springfield - Steven Wolfe Fine Arts
At first glance at this show I wanted to just leave the room reflexively (see previous entry).  After a couple turns about the room the pages of a photocopied book pages became drawings of photocopies.  The shaded shadows and dark edges betray graphite instead of toner on about 28 double pages laid out in cases set at waist level on a drafting table angle for viewing.  All pages are from Marcel Proust's writings.
Springfield's 2nd grouping of pieces in the show reveal the artist's hand more since they are larger and feature re-drawn hand written scribblings that someone with the painful task of studying Proust;s writings might have to scrawl.  Subtle photocopy toner variations are religiously preserved making these drawings and objects at the same time.  
The duality though collapses once you learn the trick of everything yet the work makes a comment on the drone of literary works like this.  The artist's overinvestment in these drawn recreations reflect the endless narrative and endless blur of text adopted as readymade.  The work was grouped and priced at $78K and $8K.

Jonathan Solo & John Slepian - Catherine Clark Gallery
A Saturday January 31st opening at Catherine Clark Gallery put a good face on bad times.  Jonathan Solo's drawings in the front room were sold out.  It's too bad the red dots had to fly in from Miami to make it that way but renderings were impecably done.  What is NOT amazing is the level of photorealism.  The artist is actually helped by having one eye in this case.  The condition known as stereopsis inhibits binoculor folks from achieving this precision unless they favor one eye.  What is interesting about the work though is it's integration of photorealistic drawings in the act of collage.  In the age of cut and paste mutilating drawn work then reintegrating it without an undo key invigorates the process.  In keeping with the Clark Gallery creepy fantasy aesthetic work by John Slepian features furry blobs in photo, vid & sculptural forms grouping cliché, carnival tricks and gimmicks.  It almost makes one wish the motion detector was never invented but what are you gonna do.  This is as remarkable as 90's de-evolutionary cyber poetry.  There is a lot of time spent on this but you leave it think why and what for.  What really bothers are the efforts made at slumming Slepian's ideas of furry headless rats into a hybrid with backlit waterfall lights.  The lack of variations executed in the three works forecast an early extinction.

It would be sooo easy to blame the economy for not writing but several of my blogs hit the trash faster than a 401K before they were even posted to this site.  You could say well the shows were bad because of the economy and that is why they were nothing to write home about but most shows are planned several months in advance.  Granted the big sucking sound from the financial system did begin this summer but all I know is that I would walk into a gallery and would just be bummed out by the lack of invention or creativity. 

How can one write about nothing?  Well there have been a couple things out there in San Francisco which I will get to but first the state of things:  It's closing time!

The vanity galleries are of course the first to go (a small skater gallery on Geary in the Loin, Little Tree gallery in the Mission) and then the art center-curatory type party places have gone "online" (Queen's Nails) but Hackett-Freedman?!?  Yeah well they're on there way out too as a bricks and mortars establishment.  The cushy yet claustrophobic venue on Sutter Street will come up for rent in October but doors are closing sooner than that.  This is a loss but like several others they may of course deal privately.  A gallery space is moving away from big ticket showroom to a place of adventure, hopefully though one that is curated by someone with incite.

This of course was bound to happen and now that the art market is out of the stratosphere maybe artists can set down to getting real work done.  And then collectors can also make interesting acquistions of new AND old work.  For example a couple Bay Area folks struck by Cyclone Madoff are already selling off their holdings just to pay the mortgage - you'd be surprised what is up for consignment - find those details by visiting the galleries on your own - this advice will cost you. :) 

There are some great buys out there for the financially disciplined.  Artists who have been laboring in obscurity can begin to innovate and get a show as previous sellers in galleries yield less and less of a return from the usual suspect collectors.   Artists who continue to work on their one hit wonders should be cautious about an emerging market that may find the prices and repetition prohibitive.

San Francisco real estate remains steady unless you want to buy on the edges but a large portion of commercial real estate remains vacant.  Mission galleries have and may in larger numbers find some outstanding rental opportunities downtown.  Who knows, who knows?