A. The Hive: Small Voids
How many artists does it take to create a one-night pop-up gallery? According to Todd Jannausch of Seattle, it takes 100. His installation, “Small Voids,” is making the last stop of its tour at The Hive in Oakland on Friday after Portland, Ore., and Seattle.
Seattle and Jannausch calls the installation an “invisible gallery.” The small pieces are each presented to the viewer in small vitrines, similar to those seen in museums to protect the work. However, they are attached to stop signs, poles and other sidewalk spots to truly make the streets the artists’ gallery collectively. The concept is in line with the spirit of First Friday in general but without even having to enter a gallery. What’s left are the works themselves, bare for the viewer to see in an open-ended way.
B. Loakal: Between Paint and Light
For Loakal’s newest exhibit, photographer 2wenty and painter Gregory Siff are combining their distinct but city-influenced styles. 2wenty’s light photography “paintings” are the result of waving a light source, such as a glowstick, before a camera with a timed shutter release. But even if the technique behind 2wenty’s magical or Photoshopped-looking work is unveiled, the way he chooses to dance his light across the frame still endears viewers.
Siff’s jagged lines and use of color clearly speak the same language as Basquiat but can entertain a spectrum of audiences from subway riders to highbrow museum-goers. His portfolio consists of quick cartoonish figures with captions like “Trilla” but also includes more abstract, expressionistic paintings.
C. Swarm Gallery: Fictional/Familiar
Cybele Lyle, Leigh Merrill and Emma Spertus fabricate and rearrange images to create familiar scenes in Swarm Gallery’s group show, “Fictional/Familiar,” which opened last week. Billboards and streets stare back at the viewer blankly, making one feel as if they can induce deja vu. The effect is surreal, both from Merrill’s vibrant prints to Lyle’s three-dimensional interactive installation.
The three artists present differing versions of hyper-realities that aren’t always too far from the truth, pointing out how odd our surroundings can be. The title of the show itself demonstrates the paradoxical relationship that fiction and reality have — the two exist in tandem, although at times, they can have opposite meanings.
A.J. Kiyoizumi covers visual art. Contact her at [email protected]. Check her out on twitter at @Ajkazoo.