Peter Foucault in Micromanagement

Peter Foucault presents new work at the Performance Art Institute of San Francisco. Opening Saturday, October 15 at 7.30, performances begin at 8.000 pm.

The Performance Art Institute is located at 575 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA.

Jim Campbell at Art Platform 2011

Jim Campbell. Fundamental Interval Commuters #2. 2011

As an admirer of Bill Viola's work, it's a natural progression to view Jim Campbell's work too. A former student of Viola, Campbell's new work, Fundamental Interval Commuters #2, is a captivating and well made example of the genre. Using photographs shot at Grand Central Station, Campbell programmed a computer interface to create the illusion of motion and traffic.

Jim Campbell. Fundamental Interval Commuters #2. 2011

LEDs, custom electronics, resin boards. 

33 x 44 x 3 in. (83.8 x 111.8 x 7.6 cm)

Edition 2/3

video clip courtesy Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery 

Clifford Rainey speaks

Clifford Rainey Lecture

AACG Board Meeting. St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco. 5^th March 2011

A twenty-minute synopsis on my work.

In a time of conceptual pluralism what matters to me is the fusion and interjection between the content of a work and its fabrication. Art for me is like life, a journey of self-discovery with a humble beginning and an enriched end. My ideas are triggered by particular things and events rather than on abstract ideas.

First there is the invention of an idea, a notion, a whim. Next there is reasoning, justification and judgment. Then there is a period of research and drawing to hone the idea. Making. This involves “modeling” an idea into physical form when the brain and hand work in unison allowing for further creative discoveries.

Thinking through making is an important and integral element of my process: It allows the idea to develop and change, keeping the resulting form alive and vibrant.

My studio practice is eclectic in that I work in many differing materials, techniques, and ideologies. I think through drawing – the primal language. Drawing for me is the instant mark from mind to hand. It is the visual creation of an idea, the beginning of what is to come. Basically drawing allows me to think and develop an idea visually.

What drives my art?

First and foremost I have a deep respect for nature. A divine reverence filled with awe, fear, and wonder. I constantly explore the world around me with a spirit of inquiry. I love to travel, look, see, and understand. Conservation, ecology, anthropology are all rich subject matter. I believe humanity does best when nature is abundant.

I believe in the beauty of difference. I am politically and socially aware and am not afraid to be a catalyst for social change.

I often look to the Archaic, forms inspired by the past, the mythological, archeological, the historical. I am an anthropologist, tapping away, memorizing the cultural traces that make up the long walk - to today.

After many years I have acquired the skill and dexterity to craft my ideas with expertise. This expertise gives me the freedom to realize works that have been touched by my own hands. Finally; I try to put the knowledge of craft to the service of art and engage an ongoing discourse about art and its relationship to the contemporary world.

A Touchy Subject.

I would like to take this opportunity to talk about the relationship between the artist, gallery/dealer and collector/patron. Not unlike a metaphorical ship sailing toward its destination, the participation of each member of the crew is needed for a successful passage. In this time of financial uncertainty each element needs to support the other. Large discounts help destroy an artists life long attempt to build reputation and future appraisal value. It also helps to drive galleries out of business and devalues private and public collections.

Clifford Rainey is Chair of the Glass Department at California College of the Arts. His two newest works, Polychrome and Amphyctionis: Greek Goddess of Wine and Friendship Between Nations, debuted at Amorphous Dreams on March 3.

image: Polychrome, 2011. Glass, steel, gold pigment, gesso, oil paint. 58 x 16 x 16 in.

Exhibition, Installation images

When we closed our gallery doors, it was with some trepidation that we wouldn't be able to honor the beautiful work of our colleagues in the same way.

I think, with Amorphous Dreams, we've put that fear to rest, and thank all the wonderful people who were instrumental in making this exhibition happen so beautifully. They are in chronological order: Susan Longini and Prema Murthy, Silvia Levenson, Warren Poole, Cynthia Plevin, Marvin Lipofsky, Jay Musler, Bella Feldman and JP Long, Dorothy Saxe, Clifford Rainey, John Green, John LaPrade, Michael Damm and Francesca Ginocchio.



Amorphous Dreams is on exhibition at Bekris Gallery from March 3 through March 29. The opening reception for the artists is Saturday, March 5 from 2 to 4.30. We hope you can stop by and spend a moment with us.

AMORPHOUS DREAMS (Project 2:2011)

Please join us at the opening reception for

AMORPHOUS DREAMS: Prema Murthy, Susan Longini, Marvin Lipofsky, Jay Musler, Bella Feldman, Silvia Levenson, Clifford Rainey.

Saturday, March 5 from 2 to 4.30 pm

Micaëla Gallery + Projects in collaboration with

Bekris Gallery

49 Geary Street (2d Floor)

San Francisco, CA 94108

925.457.5645 http://micaela.com

Exhibition runs March 3 through March 29

Preview works from the exhibition online at http://micaela.com/home/Project_2_2011.html

"Some men see things as they are and say 'why'? Others dream things that never were and say 'why not'?" -George Bernard Shaw

Micaëla Gallery + Projects, in collaboration with Bekris Gallery, is pleased to present AMORPHOUS DREAMS (Project 2:2011) an exhibition of artwork by seven contemporary artists whose mediums of expression are glass and new media.

Invoking ideas of beauty and mythology, while commenting on contemporary culture, these artists simultaneously challenge our intellect as well as our sensory experience with their sculpture. Meticulously, and expertly, crafting artwork with color, material and, in some cases, sound, each artist presents vibrant compositions. The artworks address personal cultural references of contemporary community, life, metaphysics and politics by Prema Murthy, Susan Longini, Marvin Lipofsky, Jay Musler, Bella Feldman, Silvia Levenson, and Clifford Rainey.

With a resume that includes exhibitions at PS1/MoMA Contemporary Art Center, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the New Museum of Contemporary Art, among others, Prema Murthy introduces the Merkaba, known as the star tetrahedron, a portal into higher dimensions. Comprised of video, drawings and an installation, Murthy’s work is an extension of the artist’s ongoing exploration into the ever-shifting boundaries of embodiment, cognition and Mind. She references math and science to locate and map our interconnections to the universe on micro and macro, inner and outer, physical and spiritual planes.

Susan Longini’s work references the lost community of Caithness, Scotland, where windswept landscapes and crumbling buildings bear witness to abandoned homesteads. Using pâte-de-verre to create variegated landscapes, Longini devised a unique and convincing way to unify realism with traditional landscape abstractions, and address her social comments in so doing.

Marvin Lipofsky, collaborator, educator, inveterate traveler, multi-awarded artist, respected sculptor, and passionate supporter of the arts, is credited with bridging international communities of artists, overcoming ideological barriers and continents, to form an international glass community. His career as a working artist is a story of artistic depth and broad recognition over a five-decade journey. A master colorist, Lipofsky’s work deliberately pays homage to the communities he works with, classically addressing sculptural concerns of light and space. He established respected glass programs at the University of California at Berkeley and the California College of Arts and Crafts.

Jay Musler is a visual person. He states, “Wherever I go and whatever I do is reflected in my work.” His inspiration begins with reverie-like assemblages of shapes, forms, and colors. Working with glass to reconstruct patterns he finds in nature, landscapes, and architecture, he cuts, shapes, and paints the glass of his sculpture until satisfied. An abstractionist, Musler’s work incorporates humor with playful thoughtfulness.

Since 1992, Bella Feldman has been occupied with two series of work involving movement and interaction. The first, inspired by the Gulf War and her own concerns, is "War Toys," a flock of comic, ferocious, fantastic machines with wheels and clumsy movement. Made small, ankle to knee high, they impart on the viewer an opportunity for Olympian detachment. Alternatively, they are pet-size, seductively interesting, and inviting to play with. A new series, “War Toys Redux,” continues the concerns of the original "War Toys." These toys in glass and metal reference bio-terror. Feldman states, “As in the earlier series, these sculptures intend to please and provoke and to address war itself as an ongoing preoccupation.”

Silvia Levenson addresses life and femininity with wry wit and beautiful work. Addressing concerns of daily life and the veiled ambience of home, her work offers viewers a darkly comic window of “bliss.” Modern self medication, “happy-ness,” the home, as cocoon and battlefield: a place of love, hate, and tension, are playfully displayed with dualities of fragility and imperviousness - effectively conveyed via her chosen mediums of glass and video. Much of her work is an attempt to resolve the difficulties of living with threats of violence, political and domestic, that are out of our control.

Classical icons, contemporary society, and diverse cultural symbols collide in clever, allegorical sculptures. Clifford Rainey’s first issued edition work, Amphictyonis: Greek Goddess of Wine and Friendship Between Nations is nothing less.

Born in Northern Ireland and now a San Francisco Bay Area resident, Rainey chairs the Glass Program at the California College of the Arts. His work is exhibited in collections that include the Victoria and Albert Museum, the MH de Young Museum, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, among others. Rainey’s work pushes the veristic boundaries of figurative glass sculpture, finding opulent visions in muscle, bone and sinew to create dense and exquisite allusions. Always working with glass, introducing techniques of polychromy married with ideas of personal expression, Rainey’s sculpture and its seemingly abstract manipulation of the human figure reveal alarming depths in the loveliest of forms.

AMORPHOUS DREAMS is about visual expression - the ideals, interpretation, materials and hope - articulated by these artists and used in a contemporary and classic vernacular. We are honored to present this exhibition of magnificent artwork.

Micaëla Gallery + Projects is a project-oriented program and art advisory, independent of traditional gallery confines, retaining presence through curated exhibitions, international art fair participation, collaborations with private art consultants and gallery colleagues, publications, gatherings (where select artists, critics and friends come together to enhance our visual art community), and of course, through new and traditional social networks.

Micaëla Gallery + Projects presents AMORPHOUS DREAMS in collaboration with Bekris Gallery at 49 Geary Street (2d Floor), San Francisco, California. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11 to 6, and by appointment. Contact info@micaela.com with any questions or to set up an appointment.

Images, top to bottom, left to right: Susan Longini. Caithness Coast #8, 2010. Kiln cast pâte-de-verre, 35 x 41 x 1.5 in. Prema Murthy. Merkaba II, 2010. Wool yarn. Installation. Dimensions variable. Marvin Lipofsky. Pilchuck Summer Series 1988-1990 #12, 1988-1990, 15 x 18 x 16.5 in. Jay Musler. Enjoy the Silence, 2010. Lampworked glass, oil paint. Bella Feldman. Church. Steel, blown glass, 16 x 16 x 10 in. Silvia Levenson. Life Strategies, 2006. Video and kiln cast engraved glass, chair. Dimensions variable, approximately 6 x 6 ft. Clifford Rainey. Amphictyonis, 2010. Glass, wood, gesso, oil paint and gold pigment, 30 x 12 x 8 in. Edition of 7.

"Trust in dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity." -Khalil Gibran

Project 1:2011 Los Angeles Art Show

Launching 2011 with its inaugural exhibition, Project 1:2011 at the LOS ANGELES ART SHOW, Micaëla Gallery + Projects (USA) introduces the following artists: Donata Benker, Marvin Lipofsky, Eugenia Pardue, Lorraine Peltz, Kevin J. Pocock, and Nicole Schmoelzer.

Firmly planted in the 21st century, our gallery program embraces the enriched vernacular provided by contemporary fine art approaches to drawing, painting, and sculpture. With an exhibition of paintings addressing ideas, social perceptions (Benker, Pardue, Peltz) and light (Schmoelzer), sculpture (Lipofsky), and video (Pocock), Micaëla Gallery + Projects presents an introduction to Los Angeles of artworks that are as beautiful to regard as they are engaging.

Each artist was carefully chosen because of singular contributions to contemporary visual dialogues.

Kevin J. Pocock | LA Art Show 2011

Kevin Pocock’s videos and digital work often arrive from a process different to his paintings and drawings. Some follow the 'idea and design' process, while others come very spontaneously in the moment. 'The Painted Forest' falls in to the latter category. Pocock was on holiday in Slovakia. With no intention of making this film, he found himself on a quiet descent from a spectacular mountain. Drifting gently past the tree tops of the mountain side forest was a rare, strange and special moments. He was compelled to capture it.

Pocock states: ‘I am fascinated by the thoughts, memories and dreams we carry with us each day. The ones that make us tick. I present these ideas in a semi-abstract, defined architectural space, often using common symbols and elements. I like to incorporate the universal to represent the very personal. Private thoughts made public. The internal made external.’

IMAGE: Kevin J. Pocock. The Painted Forest, 2010. Video still from video with audio. 5 minutes, looped. Ed. x/100.

Lorraine Peltz | LA Art Show 2011

Lorraine Peltz' work is a continuing discussion of feminine ideas in a fresh, beautiful manner in relation to place and identity. Her vernacular uses recognizable, highly charged images that explore women's fantasies and desires. Peltz' mimicry and reconciliation of how information comes to us and how meaning is made -- real life alongside memory, poetry next to prose -- become the landscapes of her exterior world and an interior space of dream, desire, hope, and memory. Images of chandeliers, among others, co-mingle the language of 17th century-esque still-life objects and pop imageries of lightening bolts, puffy clouds, painted lips, ominous blackbirds, and more. Peltz received her MFA from the University of Chicago. She lives and works in Chicago and teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

IMAGE: Lorraine Peltz. Chandelier Blue, 2010. Oil and acrylic on canvas. 40 x 40 in. Singular.

Marvin Lipofsky | LA Art Show 2011

Marvin Lipofsky, educator, inveterate traveler, multi-awarded artist, respected sculptor, and passionate supporter of the arts, is credited with bridging international communities of artists through ideological barriers, over time and across continents, to become a fundamental pillar of the international glass community. Working with established and respected artists from the Czech Republic, Venice, China and the United States, among others, his collaborative sculptures can be found in important museum and private collections worldwide. A master colorist, Lipofsky's work pays homage to the communities where he created his work. For example, during his visit to the Czech Republic, his sculpture referenced the landscape and political climate, while the work he made during his visit to China used colors that traditionally augur joy and prosperity in Chinese communities. Lipofsky's work also addresses the manner that light shifts through space as well as the effect on space that his work occupies, in terms of color and texture. He established the respected glass programs at the University of California at Berkeley and the California College of Art; and resides in Berkeley, California.

IMAGE: Marvin Lipofsky. California Loop Series #17, 1970. Blown glass. 9 x 27 x 18 in. Singular.

Eugenie Pardue | LA Art Show 2011

Eugenia Pardue credits art for saving her soul. Born in Los Angeles, Pardue lived in Minnesota, New Orleans and Miami, where she received her BFA. She received her MFA in 1998 from Clemson University.

Pardue's work is concerned with the organization of space, rater than the figure. Using her brush as a tool to carve into her paint, she defines her work as a fusion between painting and sculpture. Her current painting vocabulary addresses the surface of painting, asking the question, 'What is a painting?'

In 2005, Pardue decided to focus solely on the surface of her work, using tonal variants of white, while applying decorative motifs and architectural elements. Today, the tension of her forms and surfaces possess allure, shadow and shape, resonating with ideas of femininity and the natural world.

IMAGE: Eugenia Pardue. Anne of Bohemia, 2007. Acrylic on panel. 36 x 36 in. Singular.

Donata Benker | LA Art Show 2011

Donata Benker's landscapes do not connect to the conventional genre of paintings. Her work evades the classical definition of 'landscape' because they do not refer back to an external reality but to themselves. Her understanding of landscape universally includes presence and absence of people, animals, objects, natural and artificial places. Over and over again, apparently recognizable places or objects appear in her paintings and invite the viewer associative access to her figurative world. In describing her work, Benker states, “A landscape is much more than just a place: it is rhythm, movement, color, light. With all its voices, it tells about things I have no words for. My paintings try to approach the space behind the landscape that elude our direct view.” Benker's paintings are about the tension between real conditions and their abstractions, between corporeal application of paint and transcending colors, and this is the source of their strength.

IMAGE: Donata Benker. Pausenhof, 2010. Acrylic, oil, lacquer on canvas. 39.4 x 51.2 in. (100 x 130 cm).

Idiot with a Tripod (aka, Man in a Blizzard), by Jamie Stuart

Time Magazine (online) and Roger Ebert like this video enough to state it deserves an Oscar. I love the video!

2011 New Year resolutions

Dear Friends,

With a hearty and sincere farewell to 2010 (may you never return...), I thought it might be fun to share a few of my New Year resolutions for 2011 with you.

1. Avoid evangelists (religious or any other kind of sales). Anyone who tries to evangelize knows nothing of the downside of the evangelist spirit, and probably didn't check in with you. In fact, if you meet an evangelist, leave immediately. Go next door, where your neighbor is preparing for the next Hell's Angels run to South Dakota. Keep your self respect.

2. Hydrate - it's the new PC word for drinking water. Hydrate with as much tap water as possible. And quickly. It's rapidly becoming a rare commodity. You can no longer find natural potable sources in Africa or developing 3d world countries. In the USA and Europe, it's politely offered in small plastic bottles. Drink up! For the frat boy or sorority girl in you, every sip is a great pre-drinking binge and post-hangover tonic (I'm not advocating a binge ... my champagne dealer tells me she prepares for a cocktail party by seriously hydrating an hour before). For the organic fashionista - nothing is more organic than pure H20. In fact, it's an heirloom thing our ancestors enjoyed before we were ever a twinkle ... It's a treat. Enjoy. Have a glass for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's 2011! Stay healthy.

3. If something comes with fringe benefits, use it. That's the entire point of fringe benefits. Fringe benefits do not come alone, they come as a gift, or a bribe, or something given to you by mistake. But, they're yours to enjoy, and are supposed to be a good thing. Ask questions later. Make lots of friends, who knows, there might be a fringe benefit to that too, and you'll get more the next time around if you're really good. Enjoy the benefits. Stay friends. Repeat. Be good.

4. As for traditional resolutions, like getting back into shape, losing weight, tracking your gas mileage, opening a savings account, scheduling that botox or nose job appointment, always ask and consider: Why bother? Is it worth the pain? Be honest.

5. Do not check in with your best friend for matching New Year's resolutions in an effort to support your new resolutions. The whole point of making resolutions each year is to break them, feel guilty, and suffer all year long with whatever character you have left. Your friends will feel better about knowing you, as they're doing the same thing. And you can have lots of fun with your friends and enjoy being naughty. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you check out the malls or your favorite stores between now and the end of January. You can do that in April when taxes are due and you won't have any money to spend. Now is the time for long walks with your dog, which you'll need after having circled the many Christmas buffet tables you were invited to, and partying all night long on New Year's Eve. Enjoy the fresh air and the company of your dog. Soon you'll locked up in your office again, and no one will love you so much as man's best friend. Be smart.

7. If you come across something really tempting during your walk with Fido outside (it's possible you live next to Union Square and the Saks Fifth Avenue windows are irresistible - they'll let Fido in, they luv dogs!) like that must-have bottle of perfume, Italian shoes, diamond earrings (didn't get what you wanted for Christmas, huh?), or necessary tech toy, position yourself near your target and don't budge. Check the credit limits left on your plastic, discreetly riffle the paper in your wallet, and pretend to text-message, as you review your smart phone bank balance. You'll soon be the center of attention, before you know it, with many new friends. Be kind to yourself.

8. Same for books. Magazines. Posters. Anything in print. Grab one of each. Or if you don't like posters, grab two magazines and a book. Always have three. When else do you get to seriously think about your future? Labor Day? This is perfectly justifiable because you're feeding your intellect (you bought GQ or Vogue? Well, aren't you the fashion savvy one, huh?!)

9. Did someone mention friends? Granted, they're loaded with the mandatory (occasionally, celebratory) obligations, but avoid new ones at all cost. I mean, have some standards. Treasure your old friends, after all, they are your old friends for a reason. Same with family. Avoid the newbies, make them earn their stripes.

10. Lastly: If you don't feel terribly noble when you're done making your New Year's resolutions list or finish reading this, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over and hurry. 2011 began today, and 2012 is just around the corner.

Remember these thoughts to live by:

• Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. Soren Kierkegaard
• In life and business, there are two cardinal sins.. The first is to act precipitously without thought and the second is to not act at all. Carl Icahn

I'm looking forward to a terrific future and our continued friendship.

Happy New Year! Best wishes for Joy and Prosperity in 2011!!

Micaela