EVERY_BODY
Eleven Bay Area artists present their interpretations of the human figure exploring not only its endlessly beautiful geometry but extending their reach beyond the figure into concepts of self-image, the rhythms of daily life, and spiritual essence – who we are as well as what we are. This exciting collection of paintings, drawings, photography and sculptures celebrates the beauty and diversity of “everybody”.
Opening Reception Friday, November 9, 2012 from 6 to 9 p.m.
Additional receptions:
Saturday, November 24, from 4 to 7 p.m.
Friday, December 7, from 6 to 9 p.m.
Also open by appointment
Featured Artists:
Rob Anderson, Drawings
Artist Statement
The drawings are in charcoal pencil on handmade paper with occasional touches of charcoal white. They are of sculptures from the Great Altar at Pergamon, now housed in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. I worked on the project on-site in the museum for several months over a period of three years. The Great Frieze depicts the battle between the Olympic gods and the giants for control of the world (Gigantomachy) and represents the gods’ moment of victory. It is the “mother of all battles” in Greek mythology and art. The smaller frieze, represented by the Attendants of Telephos, tells the life of Telephos, the mythical founder of Pergamon. Standing with the sculptures, drawing day after day for several hours at a time, I discovered their power.
http://www.robandersonstudio.com
Gabriele Bungardt, Acrylic on Canvas
Artist Statement
Inspired by events in the news – the faltering economy, the Occupy Movement, the 99% – my “American Working Man” Series depicts the daily struggle for survival that fills the lives of men and women across this country. Everyday tasks, like the backdrops in my paintings, loom larger than life, overshadowing the figures whose strength and determination is still evident though their burdens are heavy. These are the everyday heroes who scratch out a living and hope their paychecks will stretch far enough to cover the basics. Beyond these exhausted faces, we see the families who depend on them; we imagine their dreams and share in their hopes for a better future.
http://www.gabrielebungardt.com
Mi’Chelle Fredrick, Drawings, Colored Pencil and Watercolors
Artist Statement
For as long as I can remember, I have looked at my surroundings as if sizing them up for a role in a drawing or painting – examining textures, analyzing shapes, watching colors change with shifting light and shadow. Drawing is the foundation for my creative work and influences my approach to painting and photography. An extensive background in architectural rendering and technical drawing brings detail to my work.
The human figure presents unique challenges. The body is an exquisite container for all that makes us who we are. It holds our memories and our dreams in a delicate balance of strength and frailty. To convey not only a likeness, to reveal something of the person beyond the surface and create a relationship between the viewer and the subject is the challenge for me.
http://www.frankbettecenter.org/artist-galleries/artist_michelle_fredick.html
Bob Giles, Photography
Artist Statement
Photography for me has always been informed by the history of painting as well as the classic style of vintage photographers.
I’ve concentrated on the realm of black and white photography but have
often toned my prints with sepia or selenium to get secondary tones beyond the basic black and white.
My subject matter has often been documenting the sculptures of the Victorian era cemeteries of the United States and Europe. The idea of photography as a way of preserving an art form that is rapidly disappearing through age or vandalism strongly appeals to me. I seek out the mythological angel figures which for me are symbols of hope and a desire to connect to the spiritual world.
Irene Hendrick, Acrylic on Canvas and Limited Edition Prints
Artist Statement
Irene’s paintings originate partly from historical and old photographs and stories told to her by her mother of post-war time England. Although many of the characters in her paintings are of a certain era, Irene brings to them a modern sensibility by isolating them from their “space” and placing them into a different scene, thus creating a new visual narrative.
She purposely leaves the characters faces vague in order to keep within the memories of past stories, while at the same time allowing the viewer to insert his or her own narratives into the scene.
Irene was born in England and has made her home in San Francisco for the past several years. Her collectors come from across the globe and her work has been featured in numerous solo and group shows.
Diane Komater, Wire Sculptures
I call myself a Wireist. I make 3 dimensional sculptures, mostly figurative, using various gauges of annealed steel wire. I literally “draw in the air”. I started using this wire when I lived in Los Angeles and was making jewelry that was featured in a few galleries around LA, San Francisco and Japan. I was invited to participate in a figurative show at one of the galleries representing me. I made a couple of 7 foot long figures using my wire and detailing them with primary color glass marbles. This intrigued me very much and soon I was making wire people anywhere from 3 feet to 10 feet tall.
I am inspired by mostly everything; movies, artists, the landscape, comedians, children…with a special interest in graphic novels. I love Robert Crumb for his amazing renderings and his sense of humor. Charles Burns is another favorite of mine.
I have been working with wire for 26 years and the possible imagery is endless, like doodling.
Suzanne Lacke, Oil on Canvas
Artist’s Statement:
I have been able to engage a love of paint, texture and color through a series of paintings of dresses which I find in thrift stores, hang on the wall and render with light coming on them from the side. As I am painting, a life comes into the empty dress as if there were a person inside, a person who lives on in the dress although the original wearer is anonymous and gone.
The dress covers and reveals the skin beneath which just covers the heart, the nerves and the soul. We use them to pretend, to put on a face, to prepare for going to a particular place. Once they were objects for “dress-up” . In the end they are a self portrait as all paintings are.
Judy Miller, Ceramic & Darjit Sculptures
Artist Statement
Creating art has been a driving force in my life for the past 30 years. Although sculpture is my first love, I believe that creativity is actually what drives my work. I love the creative process, exploring something new in a different way. I seem to never run out of ideas and never cease finding new art forms to explore. Therefore my various series have a widely different feel to them using different media and subject matter in a variety of ways. These differences excite me, and I hope I never tire of opening a new door.
Stephen Namara, Watercolor or Dry Pigment on Paper
Artist Statement
Not only do I find it hard to find the appropriate words to describe one’s own work, but I also prefer to let my work speak for itself. I have always felt that it makes no difference what you draw or paint as long as you paint or draw well.
However, if it necessary to speak out, I might say that specifically, my subject matter is the human nude, despite the general impression that “no one paints the figure anymore”.
They are some of us that have never abandoned the time-honored human body as an image for picture making.
Does my work satisfy the needs of those who look hopefully to the artist to throw some clarifying beam on the existential maelstrom, which surrounds us?
You be the judge.
Dickson Schneider, Oil on PVC Panels
Artist Statement
Texas born painter Dickson Schneider lives and works in Alameda, California. He teaches Painting and Art at California State University East Bay. His eclectic attitude to art has lead him to traditional media, video, digital prints and writing. His current work applies high realist technique to emphasize the unlikely reality found in fashion advertising. Oil painting on PVC panels offers the richness of the traditional with post modern materials.
In the current work, models are placed in fine art contexts (the art gallery/museum). Thus a super-model drifts past the crucified Christ while showing off her beautiful handbag.
The paintings create a deliberate cognitive dissonance between real/unreal and desire/humor.
Darcy J. Sears, Clay Sculptures
Artist Statement
Life is clay; clay is life. Darcy Sears is an artist whose work is driven by the need to mold life from clay.
Darcy’s work expresses the spiritual, historical and inevitable relationship between the human form and clay. She feels that there is an inescapable cycle of life, through the earth, spirit, air and back again. Years from now when this artist is forgotten and the sculpture gone back to the earth, a new artist will use the same earth to create a new sculpture in a new millennium.
The evolution of her work has ranged from realistic to whimsical, classical to abstract. Clay knows no boundaries or limits.
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