“Abundance”,
popUp Gallery’s latest show, overflows with extravagant imagery.
The work in this exhibition offers widely differing views on the theme, including fantastic scenes of adventures with donuts, strangely wonderful pastries, and paintings inspired by infinitely elegant microscopic organisms. But there are also maps that chart the global vastness of self-indulgence and haunting reminders of those who do not share in the wealth – those for whom abundance is just a dream and hunger is their reality. These artists pose questions about how – and, perhaps more importantly, by whom – “abundance” is defined.
Opening Reception: November 8, 2013, 6pm to 9pm, during second Friday Estuary Art Walk
Second Reception November 23, 2013, 4pm to 7pm
Closing Reception December 8, 2013, 6pm to 9pm
And open by appointment
1517 Park Street, Alameda, California
Exhibiting Artists
Recent studies suggest that power and wealth may adversely affect one’s ability to feel empathy. The paintings of Gabriele Bungardt explore that theme as it relates to everyday encounters. Poverty and prosperity share the same street corner as if in some kind of co-dependent relationship. As this scene plays out daily on city streets, it is often surprising to see who lends a helping hand and who does not.
Mi’Chelle Fredrick’s mixed media drawings are lushly rendered with delicate detail. A combination of graphite, colored pencil and watercolor give her work a soft, dreamy quality. And though her somewhat surreal and strangely delicious-looking “Landmarks in Pastry” may hint of the excess that surrounds us, they will still leave you wanting dessert.
Album Cover by Eric Joyner for ‘ Ben Folds Five’
The deliciously lush settings of Eric Joyner’s paintings are the epitome of abundance and a treat for the senses all by themselves. That they are also inhabited by adventurous, exquisitely detailed robots and their nemeses, giant, mouth-watering donuts, is – pun intended – the icing on the cake. This delightfully odd pairing of characters appears in many of Mr. Joyner’s paintings.
Meat Map 1, 90″x60″
In a series of masterfully detailed, disturbingly beautiful paintings and sculptures, collectively called “Topography”, Mr. Kerbow presents imagery that encourages us to question our actions and consider the impact that our personal choices may have on the world around us. Exploitation of riches or abundant resources to fulfill short-term desires may have unintended and potentially irreversible long-term consequences.
Spawn
We see them around town sporting “FREE” signs, hoping for new homes –voluptuous chairs losing their stuffing, sofas with sagging cushions, their once elegant fabrics now faded like the memories of the good times they witnessed. Hap Leonard captures their last moments in portraits charged with emotion and filled with untold stories. Though these cast-offs are evidence of our throwaway mentality, they remind us of the fullness of the lives they shared.
As If Each Were The First, 42″x60″
Michelle Mansour’s richly layered paintings take us through the microscope into a world at once familiar and foreign. Her works speak of the fullness of life and the infinite paths physical and metaphysical journeys may take. Ms. Mansour’s interest in science comes from a family of science and health practitioners. She says of her recent paintings, “The tensions between the scientific & the spiritual, the corporeal & the ethereal are what drive the work.”
PopUp Gallery is open in November and December during Second Friday Art Walk from 6 to 9 pm
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