Tonight I visited a gallery opening at E6 Gallery located across the street and met up with my artist friend Mark. I liked the sculpture by Kienholz.

My artist friend shared a free museum pass, so I finally got to see the Magritte show. It featured work from his later years, wherein he explored other painting techniques and themes that most people do not know about. I particularly liked his night paintings.

My friend Ilana Crispi was having an art show that was interactive and so I quickly grabbed my bike to go. This artpiece is extremely strong both in concept and aesthetics. 

Today I visited Pier 24 Photography Gallery with an artist friend, Gary. How have I lived in the city for almost 28 years and never heard of this gallery?

I have a mixed relationship with photography, but the current exhibit, THIS LAND, is exemplary. I do not remember the last time an exhibit affected me this deeply. It was painful, exhilarating, and depressing. I would like to visit again.

I was not very impressed with the building because it felt really cold and uninviting. Regardless of that, I saw several artworks that I loved. 

Kirk Maxson at Eleanor Harwood Gallery

Kate Nichols at Eleanor Harwood Gallery

I was disappointed in the Klimt exhibit at the Legion of Honour because it was far too small. It was also poorly organized.

It wasn't until I was in college around 2002 that one of my mixed-media instructors kept urging me to explore Rauschenberg's work. I finally grew to love his amazing formalism.

After visiting his current exhibit at SFMOMA, I am surprised by the wide range of mediums he employed. I must admit I like his earlier works and when he discovered silkscreening, I believe the quality of his work declined.
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"Red is the most difficult of colors" –Rauschenberg

I really love this piece and would consider creating a version of it and then naming it after him.

This was probably the most surprising piece that used a pool of bubbling mud that corresponded to sound equipment.

Today was the reopening of the Randall Museum. A sketcher's group decided to attend and I joined them. 

I visited art studios out at Hunter's Point with a friend. Saw A LOT of boring "art" and one painting I really liked.

​Kubo is associated with ArtSeed. ArtSeed's mission is to connect the most resourceful and gifted with the youngest and most vulnerable citizens of the Bay Area and beyond through projects that explore links between classical and cutting-edge fine arts disciplines.
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Visited my artist friends' new art studio and met a couple of new people. I was especially intrigued by this artist's work, which is woven hair.

Visited the SFMOMA today to check out the traveling show by Edvard Munch. His skin colors are spot on, but I'm not a fan of his brushstrokes. Some of his later compositions are good too, but in the end, I'm not a huge fan.

This self portrait was painted when he was 19. It was my definitely my favorite.

This is only a small portion of the painting, but I love it just like this.

I absolutely loved this show and met one of the artists, who was so excited to share his work with me. I love this gallery!

Exposed Opening Reception

August 3, 2017
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Venue  Creativity Explored
Location  3245 16th Street

​Exposed highlights the work of six artists who routinely represent the nude figure in various media. Gallery and Exhibitions Manager Amy Auerbach and Gallery Associate Stephanie Rudd say that the exhibition’s theme was particularly inspired by Antonio Benjamin, whose extensive work in the genre was recently recognized with a book, Book of Nudes, published by Books for All Press. The exhibition also includes artwork in a variety of media by Andrew Bixler, Camille Holvoet, José Nuñez, Thomas Pringle, and Kate Thompson.

Love the composition and especially the vibrant yellows.

I always love his work!

The Ft. Wayne Art Museum had some amazing pieces to see. Here are a few discoveries:

This incredibly fantastic photo is quite large and the detail was astounding. This inspired me to look up more of her work on-line. I am a fan!

Sun shining through a glass sculptural work by Winnie Teschmacher.

In the art museum's gift shop, there were these nice sculptures by Mary Pat Wallen. Obviously she is inspired by Giacometti.

My mom and I visited Wabash Indiana to look at a bunch of public sculptures, which were okay. However, the best find of the day was in an antique shop and discovered some outsider/folk art in a back room. So bizarre!

Spent the day with an artist friend at the de Young Museum. We visited the painter's show, that seemed like Pop Art before it was a thing. Interesting, but didn't move me. It felt like graphic design work.

One of the best things was the new lobby installation by Leonardo Drew.

Today it was just my artist friend Tobiah and I. We explored the museum for many hours and visited some of my favorite artworks.

Danh Vo
Lot 20. Two Kennedy Administration Cabinet Room Chairs, 2013
Spring twine and nails
The upholstery twine and nails that hang from this wall were originally part of two Chippendale-style chairs that furnished the Cabinet Room in the President John F. Kennedy's White House.

LACMA has expanded in the last few years and was so happy to visit again. My favorite piece of the day was by James Turrell, which is extremely difficult to describe and capture in photography. The viewer must wear booties and enter the oddly-colored room. The end of the room has all corners removed so depth perception is compromised. The experiential installation was phenomenal.

Ginny Bishton
Walking 1, 2004
Photo collage on paper

During daily hikes, Ginny Bishton–who began her Walking series in 1998–used a 35mm camera to document local vegetation, focusing on color and tone. After printing the photographs she organized them into piles based on color, then out of hundreds of small circles several millimeters in diameter. Bishton subsequently glued these minuscule dots onto sheets of paper in color-directed patters, resulting in labor-intensive, vibrant photo collage derived from the artist's observations of her surroundings.

Giuseppe Antonio Gianotti
Presentation Frame, c. 1785

This work was completely inspiring and I would love to create frames with black mirrors.

Jusepe de Ribera
Spain, 1591-1652

A Philosopher,1637
Oil on canvas

I haven't seen work by this artist, who I now love. His work reminds me of the style of Rembrandt. 

Detail of a Spanish painting of Jesus.

Melchoir Lorch
The Pope as Wild Man, after 1545
Etching

Matthias Grünewald
c. 1475-80 to 1528

Head of a Crying Child, c. 1515-20

Today my friends and I visited the new SFMOMA and found a couple of new artists that I'm wild about. I also love the Kapoor wall sculpture.

Shimpei Takeda
Japanese, born 1982

Trace #10, Iwase General Hospital
2012
Gelatin silver print

Photographs from Takeda's Trace series seem worlds away from destruction and disaster–perhaps depicting distant stars or galaxies dotting the night sky. In fact, they are among the most direct records of the nuclear fallout from the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011. Takeda traveled around the hard-hit Fukushima region, where he had been born, collecting soil samples from sites that evoke the tension between life and death such as temples, military bases, and, in this case, a hospital. He then packaged the soil with sheets of unexposed photographic paper for a month. The developed papers reveal traces of radiation that poetically challenge the invisibility of nuclear disaster.

Shizuka Yokomizo
Japanese, born 1966

Stranger No. 2
1999
Chromogenic print

Anish Kapoor
Vortex, 2004

My friend's art opening was tonight at Ampersand Gallery.

01.19 - 02.18.2017
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ampersand international arts is pleased to present Fleeting Shattered Continuous a solo show of work by Sarah A. Smith.


In Fleeting Shattered Continuous Sarah A. Smith employs properties such as fragility, erosion, and decay to examine the contradictions, tension and violence in political and economic structures. Exquisitely baroque technique paired with images of animals and nature, create emotionally charged narratives that question notions of preciousness, permanence and worth.

Using decorative methods more often used to create opulent, gilded interiors for the wealthy, Smith examines the conditions that support their privilege. "Imperialism, domination and hoarded wealth are ideas I seek to poke holes in. The symbols of power are rendered as fragile, breakable; with one kick all shatters." -Sarah A. Smith.

Belying the notion that lushness denotes abundance, for this exhibition Smith layers images, materials and techniques to create a fragmented narrative of irretrievable loss.

Today was my first visit to the expanded SF MOMA. I had an incredible time.

These painted bamboo sticks evoke tools used by lost cultures to measure the passage of time. The markings suggest notions of size in anthropological photographs of such artifacts. Two phrases are painted on the hanging latex strips. "Bamboo city" refers both to the safe areas and watering holes used by American soldiers during the Vietnam War and to the refugee camps that emerged along the Cambodian and Thai borders. "Chinese porcelain" references the historical trade economy between China and the Netherlands that relied on Vietnamese ports. For Sietsema the sticks also act as metaphors for his movement through time periods while researching his projects.
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This textured and mottled image began as a bitmap source file in Photoshop, which Guyton then printed on a linen support. Inkjet printers are not intended for fabric, and the artist's deliberate misuse of the technology provoked disruptions, jams, blurs, clogs, and streaks, creating a surface akin to a lushly painted canvas. The imperfections and glitches remain as markers of the work's making: the uneven vertical line at the center is a reminder of the folding process Guyton devised to print on material of this width, while the white horizontal lines at the upper right reflect the incomplete transfer of ink.
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One of my favorite pieces I've ever seen by Anish Kapoor.

I only got to see a small portion of this video work and was completely mesmerized. I cannot wait to revisit the piece and sit for the entire piece.

I wandered around Chelsea neighborhood visiting galleries today with my friend Honey, who is also an artist. The highlight of the day was the last gallery featuring work by one of my favorites–Paul McCarthy. We talked to the security guard for quite some time who had some great inside information about McCarthy's process. I'm really grateful for him sharing because it answered many questions that we had before he approached us. For example, there was a rumpled carpet and according to the guard, McCarthy and assistants meticulously arranged the corner of the carpet, until it perfectly matched documentation photos of McCarthy's art studio. He further explained that the large sculptures were made in McCarthy's studio, carefully and copiously photographed, shipped to the gallery on palettes, then painstakingly positioned again to the original art studio layout.
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Some beautiful, new architecture being built in Chelsea.

Mark Beard/Bruce Sargeant's paintings at Clamp Art.

Karin Pilem at Claire Oliver Gallery

Karin Pilem (detail)

Mark Rothko's art show, Dark Palette at PACE Gallery

Tony Scherman's Difficult Women art show at Winston Wächter Fine Art.

Artwork at Cavin Morris

Sylvain & Ghyslaine Staelens incredible sculptures at Cavin Morris

Mami Kosemura's installation at Dillon + Lee

Benny Andrews' surreal paintings dealing with racism. I was blown away.

Met up with artist friends in NYC at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and visited the show for Kerry James Marshall. It was the largest collection of his work that has shown together. I was greatly impressed not only by his excellent painting technique, but his gut-wrenching content. While drawn in with his passionately bright colors, I was conversely sickened by the expression of racism in America and particularly in the Chicago area.

​The locket paintings were the highlight of the show. They acted on an almost subliminal level. He has removed most of the original photograph of a lynching and kept three of the women that are present.

There was an affiliated show that highlighted works by other artists that have suggestions of Marshall's work. It's not surprising, that I fell in love with the African power figure.

After visiting The Met Breurer, my friends and I headed over to the main museum. I made a fast stop to see a Spanish relic that I really like. Afterwards, I quickly went through the exhibit Fragonard: Drawing Triumph and wasn't really interested in it. So then I walked through Valentin de Boulogne: Beyond Caravaggio, which was really incredible.

Finally, on the way home, my friend and I walked around the city and I took a couple of photos.

PENDANT RELIQUARY
Gold, rock crystal, enamel
​Spanish, 16th century
This reliquary takes the architectural form of a two-story altar, with a shell niche in the upper story framing enameled figures of the Crucifixion. In the lower story, a rock crystal cylinder displays a cross that was believed to incorporate a fragment of the true cross, and the capsule below contains a supposed relic of the sponge held to Christ's mouth when he was on the cross. The upper mount of the cylinder is engraved with an inscription that translates as "The wood of the cross, the alleviating sponge".
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On my walk home, I passed by an art gallery in Dumbo that I've been to before. In the front window was my friend Vincent Como's work. I especially like this series and reminds me of an art piece I created years ago of an all-black, oval Victorian picture.

Tonight I attended the art opening for Touch On, which was held at SOMArts.

TOUCH ON
DECEMBER 1, 2016–JANUARY 12, 2017

• WHAT: Fourteen multidisciplinary artists reflect on the meaning and power of touch through painting, sculpture, photography, performance and video.
• WHEN: On view December 1, 2016–January 12, 2017, with an opening reception on Thursday, December 1, 6–9pm. Gallery Hours: Tuesday–Friday 12–7pm & Saturday 12–5pm.
• WHERE: 934 Brannan Street, between 8th and 9th Streets.

​I especially loved the performances by Dia Dear and boychild. I was completely blown away and haven't felt this excited about an art show in a very long time.