BlogGING ON MEDS

Walking on Thin Ice – Jan. 21st in SF

ampersand is pleased to present Walking on Thin Ice – A group show of 14 emerging San Francisco Bay Area artists on view from January 21 to February 18, 2011. We are most excited to see the work of our friend Kristina Bell Detullo.

Here’s what they say about her and the show:

With her Bandages series, Kristina Bell DiTullo creates collages about chaotic psychological states with a veil of beauty and order. Using (these culturally ubiquitous) materials that are most associated with accidents in a very controlled manner, she reflects on our shared human experience, transformation and isolation, healing and torment, joy and pain.

Walking on Thin Ice premise is the acknowledgement and celebration, in the face of crisis or vulnerability, of the transformative and redemptive powers of art making as well as art viewing. Walking on Thin Ice is a collection of recent drawings, paintings, photographs, sculptures, video work and work on paper, by Miguel Arzabe, Leo Bersamina, Kristina Bell DiTullo, Lori Gordon, Dee Hibbert-Jones & Nomi Talisman, Carrie Leeb, Kristina Lewis, Kirk Maxson, Abner Nolan, Sarah Smith, Jennifer Starkweather, Marie Van Elder.

Don’t miss the opening on Friday January 21st, 6-8:30pm

Bruno Mauro @ ampersand international arts

1001 Tennessee st (@ 20th st.) San Francisco California 94107 415-285-0170

ampersandintlarts.com

Kim Froshin @ SF MOMA

Kim Frohsin
February 3 – March 16, 2011

San Francisco artist Kim Frohsin exhibits new work that employs collage, paint, colored pencil, discarded paper cups, and other mixed media. In the series, which the artist sometimes refers to as Cokework, both the red color associated with Coca-Cola and the distinct shape of the original fluted glass bottle serve as unifying elements throughout. Some pieces present a female face with eyes closed, rendered as a high-contrast positive likeness reminiscent of the mid-nineteenth-century life and death masks. Other work presents the curvaceous bottle as a motif that can be rendered in any color or pattern and remains utterly recognizable. Frohsin, originally from Atlanta, relishes the autobiographical possibilities (including images of her hometown’s dominant brand) in her work. “There is a level of literal and metaphorical self-reflection at play in the self portraits and the mix with the collaged icon of Coke – a meld of identity of a face and a place,” she said.

Bold Hype Gallery presents “FRACTURE” feat. Kelly Allen, Brett Armory, Douglass Hoffman, and Chris Uphues

FRACTURE
OPENING RECEPTION: Thursday January 13 6PM – 9PM.
Open to the public, Meet the artists: Kelly Allen, Douglas Hoffman, and Chris Uphues will be present.

BRETT AMORY
Born in Chesapeake, Virginia in 1975, Brett Amory is descended from a long line of visual artists and musicians. He studied at the Academy of Art from which he received a BFA in Fine Art in 2005 and was recipient of two major awards given by the school: The Student Choice Award for 2004 and Second Prize in landscape painting for 2003. He is the recipient of a gold medal from Online Artists Interviews, an international juried art competition (2009). He graduated from the Academy of Arts in 2005. Brett began working on the painting series entitled “Waiting” in 2001. The series depicts the urban individual’s yearning for presence and the seeming impossibility of attaining it. The paintings portray commuters in transit immersed in either a quiet, even hopeful state or, alternately, an anguish of unfulfilled anticipation.

KELLY ALLEN
Through the use of oil, acrylic, and gouache paint, graphite, and colored pencil, Kelly Allen’s work continually tricks the viewer into thinking they are experiencing a collage. These dreamlike, trompe l’oeil paintings and drawings featuring clusters of animals, insects, plants, fruits, molecular structures, and graphic elements, sometimes referred to as “mass hybrid creatures” are exactingly executed by the artist’s hand, and are inspired by the beautiful systems within nature and the human experience of them.

“I am extremely intrigued by the natural world, and by the workings of the human mind. I am so curious about the ways that we, as individuals, and as cultures, give meaning to the objects and events in our world. I believe in universal consciousness, and my process allows me to feel as though I am tapping into something greater than my own mind.”

She doesn’t expect the viewer to go so deeply into decoding her paintings. She welcomes each person to bring their own insights to the work, and to enjoy them on their own terms. In addition to painting and drawing, Kelly has created illustrations for publications like New York Magazine and The Sunday Times, UK Edition. She also writes for artists and occasionally designs screenprinted apparel with her fantastic husband, Jay.

DOUGLAS HOFFMAN
Douglas Hoffman’s artwork lies somewhere between abstract expressionism and graffiti, filled with interlaced imagery in beautiful color combinations.

“Gathering experiences from constantly moving and traveling while growing up, I felt as though there was endless material to work with. I became very interested in native tribes and ancient civilizations and their cultures, outer-space and nature, animals and all forms of life in general, space and dimension twisting, all liquids, smoke, ectoplasm, spirits and spiritual energy, aliens, martial arts, handmade weapons, viruses, violence, architecture, decay, natural disasters, surgically gridded faces, and anything living or non turned inside out.”

CHRIS UPHUES
Chris Uphues’ paintings and drawings are concerned with a distinct visual vocabulary, embracing pop culture, graffiti, video games, comics, and all things Japanese. His work is included in major art collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. An Illinois native, Uphues received his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and now lives and works in Brooklyn.

-The Bold Hype Team

BOLD HYPE GALLERY
547 W. 27th St. 5th Floor
New York, NY 10001
T. 212-868-2322
Tue – Sat 12-6 pm
info@boldhype.com
boldhype.com

Streets of San Francisco NYE with STEVE AOKI

“Streets of San Francisco”
NEW YEARS EVE 2011
with STEVE AOKI
at Fort Mason Center’s Festival Pavilion

Tickets: http://streetsofsfnye.eventbrite.com/
Tables: http://streetsofsfvip-tomrochepresents.eventbrite.com/

Experience a truly world class event production as the historic Fort Mason building is transformed into a miniature cityscape emulating the landmark sights and sounds of San Francisco. With themes from the days of the Gold Rush to what San Francisco might look like in the future!

Featuring a premium hosted bar for all guests (9pm to 2am) with the largest bar staff of any NYE party in the Bay Area, panoramic views of the entire Bay from Alcatraz to the Golden Gate bridge, front row seats to the fireworks shows, signature midnight champagne toast, and a special headlining set from global trendsetter, dj/producer Steve Aoki.

Also featuring a special one of a kind tribute to the world champion San Francisco Giants inside the party!! (trust us. this is not to be missed)

Additional DJ sets by
Aaron Axelsen
Designer Deejays
& DJ Zaq

Follow “Streets of San Francisco NYE” on Facebook.

Custom iPhone/iPad Cases from Artsprojekt & Zazzle

Artsprojekt & Zazzle, in collaboration with Speck, a leading designer and manufacturer of popular electronics cases and bags, announced the availability of artist designed iPhone and iPad cases. Speck’s cases, now combined with Zazzle’s powerful customization tools and massive marketplace of content from artists and brands worldwide, promises to make this offering the hottest new gift for shoppers this holiday season.

Releases will include cases from top artists (Camilla d’Errico, Andy Howell, Justin BUA & more) plus the world’s largest movie, comic and game franchises (Harry Potter, Street Fighter, Batman, Wonder Woman & more) for the new iPhone and iPad.