Coming Up: Bay Area Shows This Summer

As I mentioned in previous posts, I will be skipping town in a few days to lounge around Eastern Europe, eating phyllo dough-wrapped things and sipping coffee while listening to some haunting gypsy jazz in outdoor cafes for six weeks.  This means I will be missing a few art shows which are worth a stop if you are in the area.  San Francisco, like most second-tier art cities, has a quiet art season in the summertime while everyone (the collectors) go to their vacation get-aways.  That being said, I think these shows will be great and I hope to be able to stop by before the end of their runs.

"Sea Change:  The 10th Anniversary Exhibition Part I", Marx and Zavattero, 77 Geary, San Francisco, Opening June 11 5:30- 7:30 though July 16

David Hevel

Marx and Zavattero are celebrating an impressive feat in providing high quality emerging and mid-career art to San Francisco for the last ten years in the form of a two part group exhibition showcasing all represented artists.  I am particularly excited about Libby Black's new piece, an eight-foot painting of Brooke Shields kneeling in dirt, which I had to help her strap to the top of her car from the East Oakland canvas maker and drive at 15 miles an hour all the way to her Berkeley studio.  The show will also feature work by two more favorites, felt-loving James Gobel and celebrity-obsessed David Hevel.

"Desirée Holman: Heterotopias", Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, Opening June 26 through September 18

Holman film still

Desiree Holman, represented by Jessica Silverman Gallery and a CCA Graduate professor, combines pop culture, fantasy, and identity in a variety of artworks from film to drawing.  In this show she shows both real people and avatars to "[construct] a Möbius-like relation between real and virtual", according to the museum press release.  Looks like a great reason to stop by the BAMPFA, since I still have never been!  And if you ever needed more of a reason to go, there's the frozen yogurt place across the street that prices your goodies by the pound.

"Travis Collinson: Paintings and Drawings", Baer Ridgway Exhibitions, 172 Minna Street, San Francisco, Opening July 23 through August 20

Sofa, King, Cool, Travis Collinson

I seriously can't tell if I like these paintings or not from looking at Baer Ridgway's website, which is in itself a good reason to go see a show.  I like how weird the features of his subjects are, reminding me both of Lucien Freud's early work and the drawings of Josephine Taylor.  It looks like Collinson is still pretty unknown, with only one small solo show under his belt.  Baer Ridgway is taking a chance on a kid.  The thing with figurative work for me is that I get excited when people show it, but I can't help but compare it to every other figurative artist I can think of, including myself.  If they are good, I will gladly say, "Well done" to Collinson, and if not, I'll say, "What about me?"