Ryan McLennan is in a two person show with Amy Ross entitled Taxonomic Intoxication opening today at Virginia’s Transmission Gallery.

The show features McLennan’s paintings of wildlife, which are entwined with surreal images of disembodied bears made of foliage. The imagery is quite striking and reminds me of artists such as Josh Keyes and Tiffany Bozic, whose paintings of animals is also used metaphorically to address socio-political topics.

TRANSMISSION presents: TAXONOMIC INTOXICATION

New work by
RYAN McLENNAN and AMY ROSS

Opening Friday, Nov. 7, 7-10pm
Show runs Nov. 7-29
Gallery hours: Thurs-Sat, 12-5
or call for appointment

TRANSMISSION
321 Brook Rd.
Richmond, VA 23220
804.200.9985
transmissionrva@gmail.com

KQED Art’s Gallery Crawl has a video of the exhibit A Moment for Reflection: New Work by Lydia Fong at Ratio 3. Lydia (aka Barry McGee) has some interesting observations about the show, including why he assumed the Lydia persona and his obsession with trying to create a traditional gallery show. Peep the video.

If you haven’t yet made it over to Electric Works to see Jason’s Jagel’s solo exhibit, be sure to swing by this Saturday,  Oct 11th.  An artist walk through kicks off at 4 pm, and from 6 - 10 pm there’s a book signing party and night of DJ’ing  - the inimitable Egon, Kamau Amu Patton, Aaron Terry, Jäges and Ala Ebtekar will be spinning.

Be sure to pick up a copy of 73 Funshine, which by a stroke of coincidence, costs $73 with tax. This artist monograph weighs in at over 200 color pages and is accompanied by a 10” vinyl record with 3 jazz tracks by Madlib. The book focuses on Jägel’s endeavors since 2001,  the year that music took hold as a driving force of Jägel’s narrative gouache paintings.

Check out a slideshow of the show below or click here to view the full set:

The Treasure Island Music Festival happened this past weekend on Sept 20th & 21st. When concert attendees weren’t taking in sets by bands such as Justice, TV on the Radio, and Vampire Weekend, there were a variety of other attractions to check out - some of which revolved around art.

San Francisco artist’s Andrew Schoultz, Tara Foley (pictured above) and Hilary Pecis collaborated on painting a 30 foot mural over the two day event.

There was an art and culture tent dubbed the “Treasure Trove” featuring a ‘zine library, a hands-on arts area curated by Triple Base Gallery, and the ‘Carnivalesque Gallery’ (pictured above) co-curated by Betty Nguyen of San Francisco based contemporary arts publication First Person Magazine.

Some amplified looming going on at the Triple Base compound

Silkscreening undies at the Triple Base compound

Gravel & Gold hosted a table within the Triple Base compound where you could make your own bling

Dina Pugh, co-director of Triple Base Gallery, sporting her homemade bling

Curve One (aka Andres Guerrero) hits up the graffiti wall

Zach Houston at work at his Poem Store. You could give Zach a topic and he would create a poem of free verse.

View the slideshow below or click here to view the full set:

If I lived in New York instead of San Francisco, I’d definitely be hitting up photographer Bernie DeChant’s opening reception for Still Life in Japan at the Fall Cafe in Brooklyn, NY this Fri, Sept 19, 7 - 9 pm.

The title of the exhibit pretty much sums up the work - a collection of quiet still moments in Japan, with most of the photographs focusing on a lone solitary figure or object. The exhibit will consist of 5 pieces on canvas (2 at 30×30″, and 2 at 30×45″), and 9 smaller prints at 14×20″. I hear that the Zeppelin (above photo), at 30 x 45, has a silverly look to it in person.

To see more of Bernie’s work visit his site: berniedechant.com

Still Life in Japan
September 13 - October 24
Opening reception Friday, September 19 7-9 pm

Fall Cafe
307 Smith Street
Brooklyn, NY

In the August 2008 issue of Juxtapoz, Adam Wallacavage interviewed Andrew Jeffrey Wright and made the observation that “He’s just been 15 since 1986.” That’s a good summary to describe the art on display for Wright’s solo exhibition “Art for Corporations” which opened at the Luggage Store on Fri, Sept 12.

Wright’s works in this exhibit are intended to “provoke and provide a satirical and absurdly humorous social commentary on corporate infuence on life and popular culture.” Included in this irreverent exhibit are a trashcan full of Furbee’s (as well as a rogue Furbee tweaked out by Barry McGee), fake dog poo, an E.T. constructed out of stones, and a photo of someone with Bart Simpson shaved into the back of their head.

Watch the slideshow below or click here to view the entire set:

You may have noticed the recent proliferation of Obey Giant street art around San Francisco, and for good reason. Shepard Fairey was in town to open up his solo exhibit The Duality of Humanity on Friday, Sept. 13 at White Walls.

For this show, The Shooting Gallery (also owned by White Wall’s owner Justin Giarla) has been annexed by the White Walls Gallery to make room for the over 100 pieces in this exhibit. The upstairs rooms of White Walls have also been taken over, and temporary walls have been installed for the occasion.

Vive La Revolucion, Lotus Ornament and Elephant Peace - Stencil Collages on Canvas

“The difference between this show and the previous ones is that now the optimism of a potential Obama presidency is in the mix,” Shepard said in the show’s press release. This optimism is reflected in such pieces as ‘Elephant Peace’ and ‘Vive La Revolution’ - the former an image of an elephant holding a flower, and the latter with imagery of a young girl (Shepard’s daughter?) holding a dove.

Pieces in the show include the now famous Obama ‘Hope’ image, hand painted multiples (on paper, wood and album covers), rubylith collages, stencil collages on canvas, silkscreen on paper, and screenprints on metal. The fact that the majority of the work sold before the opening speaks volumes about Shepard’s popularity and influence on popular culture.

Two Sides of Capitalism

Throughout the night, Shepard peppered the floor with Two Sides of Capitalism bills:

Shepard interviewing with Video In My Backyard:

The upstairs of White Walls:

Throughout the night Shepard signed copies of his book E Pluribus Venom and other goods:

DJ Diabetic on the ones and twos:

• View the full set of images of Shepard Fairey @ White Walls [ sketchypad on flickr ]
• View artwork in the show [ White Walls ]

THE DUALITY OF HUMANITY, New Works by Shepard Fairey
Exhibition Dates - September 13th - October 4th, 2008

Clare Rojas is one of 22 artists represented in the Wizard of Oz exhibit at the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, curated by Jens Hoffman. The exhibit translates the narratives of L. Frank Baum’s famous book into the narrative of an exhibition.

Rojas created an eye-popping six panel piece for this exhibit, which was inspired by the scene in which a deadly poppy field puts Dorothy and Toto to sleep. Clare’s folk art style of painting, combined with a strong continuous horizontal line, makes this multi-panel piece look like stills from a short animated film.

The exhibit also features cultural artifacts related to the book and film including a first edition of the book, illustrations from the book, as well as a pair of ruby-red slippers worn by Judy Garland’s character.

Unawakened Women in Poppy Field, 2008

Women in Yellow Dress in Poppy Field, 2008

Women Awakened Clearing the Poppies, 2008

The Lion, Crow and Tin Man with Poppies, 2008

Women Fighting Poppies, 2008

Unopened Poppy Buds, 2008

• The Wizard of Oz [ Better Living Through Art ]
• Friends of Dorothy [ sfbayguardian.com ]

The Wizard of Oz exhibit runs through Dec 13, 2008 at CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts.

Add Lydia Fong to the list of pseudonyms used by San Francisco artist Barry McGee. A solo exhibition A Moment for Reflection: new works by Lydia Fong opened stealthily at Ratio 3 on Fri, Sept. 5. Up until two week ago the Ratio 3 website had the show simply listed as ’something by somebody’.

McGee introduces a new lexicon of flat geometric patterns and shapes with this exhibition, along with more familiar work - moving sculptures, a video installation, surf boards, a pimple, photographs and several clusters of paintings. If you look closely you might also find a slice of orange sitting atop a painting, and rolled orange peels squeezed between two paintings. The exhibit also features drawings by McGee’s  father.

At the last show I asked Ratio 3 gallery owner Chris Perez what the next show was; his response was ‘It’s a surprise’. A very nice surprise indeed.

View the slideshow below or click here:

The first time I saw Jason Jägel’s work was at the inaugural Bay Area Now show at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts back in 1997. His large narrative drawings were some of my favorite works in that show, which is saying a lot considering fellow participating artists included Barry McGee, Margaret Kilgallen, Chris Johanson and Rigo.

Jason’s paintings have a story telling quality to them. His works on paper combine text, flat color, shapes, and images to create a narrative that exists in the present. September is a busy month for Jason, as he has shows opening back to back in Los Angeles and San Francisco, as well as the book launch of “73 Funshine”.

Here’s a short interview with Jason. Enjoy.

Reading and Writing, 2007. Gouache, Blo-Pen, ink & pencil on paper, 60 x 88” (152.5 x 223.5 cm)

Tell us a little bit about your upcoming shows in L.A. and San Francisco, as well as your forthcoming book “73 Funshine”
The shows are at Richard Heller in Santa Monica (sept. 6th) and Electric Works in SF (sept. 12th). The book is a monograph, 12 x 14 inches, 208-pages and comes with a 10″ vinyl record with three jazz songs by Madlib.

Where did the book title come from?
It’s nonsense. It makes me think of nothing definite but a few things at once and it changes, slippery-like. There’s an essay in the book that says a bit more.

Spy Vs. Spy, 2008. Gouache and pencil on paper, 39 ½ x 27 ¾” (100 x 70.5 cm)

What kind of influence does music have on your work?
Huge. I think I’ve always wanted to make art that had the feeling of the songs I was listening to whether that was Public Enemy, Minor Threat, Will Oldham, Old Time music, Curtis Mayfield, Thelonious Monk, MF DOOM or any of Madlib’s projects. One of the things that’s so fascinating about music / record history is that it feels like a bottomless amount of material, much of which is relatively unknown either in this country or due to it not being written into history by commercial interests, which we now know as corporate empire. I get energized looking for information about music that I don’t know about and there always seems to be a lot of music that people do for the passion & expression of it, rather than for the “look” or the visibility. When I started listening to Madlib / Quasimoto / Lootpack and DOOM / KMD / MF Grimm in 2000 I was blown completely away. I was an immediate fan to the point that, in my drawing / painting, I created these weird, unholy combinations of them and me as characters and actions . They’re all heavily narrative driven artists in very different (literary vs cinematic- or something) but from such similar desires. Hip hop is really storytelling anyway, found even in the most basic ‘get the party up’ styles, yet doom and madlib have this aura of fictional autobiography that’s both way out there and deeply sincere, even candid. So that’s a big part of what attracts me to them and influences my artmaking.

Tribute to Olé / JWJ, 2007 gouache and pencil on record jacket and paper 12 ¼ x 21 ¼” (31 x 54 cm)

What are some of your favorite bands?
all good music. all old records. with things like Jazz or Reggae or Soul or Funk it’s hard to say “bands” because the music was made by such a wild and shifting mix of characters, some never credited and some in countless combinations over and again. Even all the genres get slippery - R&B into Ska, jazz into funk / blues / soul / “fusion,” rock into psyche / folk / prog. These days hip hop and electro and dance and latin are all mixed up. A couple favorite records lately are the reissues Galwad Y Mynydd 1972 Welsh Folk/Psyche masterpiece on Finders Keepers; the Wax Poetics reissue Rhythm & Blues by Melvyn Price; Herbie Hancock “the Prisioner” 1969; for Madlib stuff the recent Jackson Conti - collaboration with mamao conti of azymuth and then his stuff with Karriem Riggins, Supreme Team and the jazz stuff. What Madlib does with the people around him, how he and Stones Throw attract people is a very inspiring model. Another great record of late is DJ Lengua, artist Eamon Ore-Giron’s sample-based Cumbia joints. And then Nate Denver’s Neck, my man Nate, is at the highest of my list too, sincere as anything and like nothing else out there. He’s a real storyteller.

Read This on Wax, 2008. Pencil on paper, 19 x 17” (48 x 43 cm)

Your father was a painter. What kind of artistic influence did he have on you?
Loads. He was an amazing drawer from life as well as cartoonist / doodler, then he had a great eye for the rhythm of composition and the feeling of color. Plus his studio, the smell and the books. Me and my brother and our friends drew a lot. Going to his studio as a kid are some of my favorite memories. He was really into music, jazz and classical mostly, and he’d crank it way up so he could hear everything that was happening.

The Favela, 2007. Gouache, Blo-Pen, ink & pencil on paper, 30 x 22” (76 x 56 cm)

What’s your process for creating art?
Like something between practicing an instrument and writing a book but with brushes, pencil and color. I like to experiment and try new things. No planning or sketches most of the time.

How would you explain your art?
As products of a sublimated desire to be a comic artist / novelist / filmaker / musician

What inspires you?
all of life

Say, “Ah!”, 2008. Gouache on record jacket and paper, 12 ¼ x 21 ¼” (31 x 54 cm)

What goes on in a normal day for you?
I’ve got two kids so there’s a lot of routine, but it changes from day to day and season to season since my wife and I both teach. One day I might be with my kids all day, the other chained to the computer for one thing or another, the next in the studio all day. Lots of cooking and cleaning and being involved with the family. Read, stretch or watch some program, ideally something like the Wire or Deadwood.

Favorite artists?
those mentioned above. Chester Brown, CF, Haruki Murakami, Winsor Mckay, Isaac LIn, Vikram Chandra, Kota Ezawa, Bob Linder

Wayward Missive, 2007. Gouache & pencil on paper, 22 x 17” (56 x 43 cm)

You recently collaborated with Andrew Schoultz on a sign for Park Life. How was that experience?
It was fun to be on -or above- Clement Street up on a four-tier scaffolding in the wind and fog of the richmond for days. Best when the earbuds pushed music in / kept sound out. Me and Andrew had a good time I think. I had broken my leg so I got to the sign a while after he had already done a lot of painting, so reacting to the stuff he had done was interesting - what came out of me was much different than anything I had thought about doing beforehand.

To see more of Jason Jägel’s work visit jasonjagel.com

Richard Heller Gallery, Los Angeles
Hope Gangloff / Jason Jägel
September 6th, 2008 - October 4th, 2008
Opening Reception: Sat, Sept 6, 5-7 pm

Electric Works, San Francisco
Jason Jägel
73 Funshine, Exhibition & Book Release
September 12th, 2008 - October 18th, 2008
Opening Reception: Fri, Sept 12, 6-8 PM