Downtown Galleries and Painting

I met Helen Chellin at Modernism Gallery http://www.modernisminc.com/ to see the Naomie Kremer show. I first saw her work at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art in 2005 http://www.sjica.org/exhibitions/nightmoves/kremer/kremerNM.htm and was very inpsired by her colors and brushwork. The staff at Modernism are particularly cordial and helpful, much more so than other galleries.

Then Helen and I went to SFMOMA for lunch...good food in a convenient location. As i was getting water, i met an SFAI classmate of mine, Linda Trunzo, a wonderful painter and 2006 MFA graduate. http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/stuart/StudentArt/ast_id/23458

After fortifying ourselves, we headed to Gallery Paule Anglim and was pleasantly surprised to see that Caitlin Mitchell-Dayton had a show there. She was one of my painting professors at SFAI ( and the only one who gave me a "B" in painting!). From there, we went to 49 Geary to my favorite galleries: Haines, Don Soker, Toomey Tourell, Brian Gross, Elins Eagles- Smith (my work would look so good in this gallery!), Steven Wolf, and Stephen Wirtz. I enjoyed the art of Orly Cogan at Steven Wolf Fine Arts http://www.stevenwolffinearts.com/dynamic/exhibit_artist.asp?ExhibitID=46, who used embroidery to describe erotic narratives. Also, Rick Arnitz at Stephen Wirtz used only a household paint roller to apply the paint to create interesting abstract images within formal shapes http://www.wirtzgallery.com/exhibitions/2007/2007_06/arnitz/arnitz_2007_frame.html. I think i like everything Elins Eagles-Smith Gallery shows maybe because the space is so beautifully lit with natural light. The current exhibit while beautiful I feel like I've seen a lot of paintings that look like this, although these were done beautifully. http://eesgallery.com/dynamic/artist.asp?ArtistID=48.

77 Geary has a few galleries worth visiting: Rena Bransten, Heather Marx, and now Patricia Sweetow on the Mezzanine. I loved the work of Joana Vasconcelos at Rena Bransten. Again, i am attracted to the "craft" side of fine art. http://renabranstengallery.com/Vasconcelos_Tour07.html

So, after all that, it was back on BART to return to the studio. I felt energized and inspired and wanted to start painting.

This is what i have at the end of the day. To be continued....