Cliff Notes
Each week, our regional Cliff Notes columnists Jaydra Johnson, Brittney Frantece, Blessing Greer Mathurin, and Quintessa Matranga pick the most exciting events and exhibitions on the West Coast.
INDEX
Curated by Lucy I. Zimmerman
Casemore Gallery, San Francisco, CA
March 9 – April 26, 2025
The show presents the work of artists with disabilities from NIAD’s studio in the East Bay with several contemporary artists like Ruby Neri, Chris Johanson, and Alicia McCarthy. What struck me most when entering this exhibition was how much more I gravitated to the work by the NIAD artists in contrast to the contemporary artists they were paired with.
Karen May’s framed drawings were particularly delightful, and at $1,200 each, very tempting. In all five untitled drawings on view, May uses simple felt tip markers to deface magazine advertisements for other artists’ shows. From the 10 ½ x 10 ½ dimension, I am pretty confident these pages came from Artforum, but the listed media on the checklist for these works just says “mixed media.” I love how by coloring in these ads for Barry McGee and Louise Lawler, May cheekily pokes fun at these much more established artists. She signs her drawings “Karen May” on their faces. This simple low-fi gesture hilariously transforms these pages into impressive advertisements for May, herself. One can imagine this being an Artforum ad for Karen May at the Whitney before noticing Laura Owens name down at the bottom of the page. There is also an element of institutional critique built into these drawings, more apparent when you are standing in front of them than in reproductions. Despite, or maybe because of the simplicity, you really feel the effectiveness of their humor and biting critique of the ego inherent in the art world.
I think organizing a show like this is tricky. On the one hand you want to find new ways of contextualizing the work of NIAD’s artists, on the other hand the Contemporary artists chosen for this grouping work in a naive style that doesn’t seem to particularly add anything to the conversation, beyond some very obvious formal resonances. I wonder how emphasizing the minimalist and conceptual side of NIAD’s artist work could lead to a larger, more interesting, and less-explored side of the conversation.
RBG at 50
Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco, CA
February 8 – March 29, 2025
I am wary of ceramics because the medium tends to dictate the form too much, but this show completely refreshed me. Aside from including some wonderful examples of work from familiar favorites like Ken Price, Peter Vulkos, and Ron Nagle, the show included really great discoveries for me.
Dennis Gallager’s cup and Robert Hudson and Richard Shaw’s untitled vessel from 1973 really stood out to me. The Hudson and Shaw work looked like a somewhat traditional pot, but with the inclusion of these coarse protruding fibers. The fibers, which also looked like hairs or cactus spikes, permeated the surface of the vessel making it a really varied, interesting, and surprising overall surface. The clay body was painted a tan color so it looked more like skin. The short black hair coming out of the form made the whole thing funny and abject. But it wasn’t so over the top that you knew the hairs were meant to be in reference to any specific part of the body. The ambiguity of this object just really captured my attention.
I also loved the Robert Arnenson bifurcated self portrait bust. The sculpture was split down the center and was separated by a 2 inch gap. On the inside of the sculpture, one side was mirrored, and one side had a collage of men’s faces from maybe a magazine or catalog. The male models are reflected in the mirror, only visible at an angle. The split statue reminded me of a geode from a science museum. The rough outer shell of a simple rock reveals a glittering universe within when split in half. Little treasures like this were scattered all over Rena Bransten Gallery at 50, commemorating the gallery’s 50th year in business. Starting out as a ceramics-focused gallery in San Francisco in the 70’s, this exhibition pays homage to some of those first shows.